you may be wasting your time

[skins345669]

wow that is some dumb s***

[leaflet]

This is true Helagargoyle,

BUT

your looking at it in the wrong way... Having an image is great, for all types of music. But as you said image is more than the visual, it is a story, a concept, beliefs etc. If you have this it shows that you are true to your craft and not someone that is just doing it as a hobby. If we are looking up to individuals within a scene we get inspired when we see that they have put their heart and soul into hat they are doing, that they would give their life up for it. It's a good thing. It shows how determined we can be as individuals, and shows that we can achieve our dreams if we put our mind to it. (personally I believe the music always comes first but the image/story/concept is almost just as important - if not more so).

Cheers

[nowaysj]

I believe the music always comes first but the image/story/concept is almost just as important - if not more so.

TOTALLY!

[NinjaEdit]

I really don't think packaging is more important that product design.

[erratech]

I write music to express thoughts and ideas that I want to solidify, for myself. But when that music connects with other people it is a great feeling. I now understand that the other stuff is part of connection, that is what people want - a connection to the music, and often its creator. You dont have to be a fake, just be yourself and do cool shit cos its fun.

Edit: Or maybe thats my brandd speaking

[hellagargoyle]

real recognizes real. i love all u guys for real posting on this. erratech no shit ur post made me tear up none fell tho . your so close. for me i cant not create, music just made sense for an outlet. its bigger than music for me. my reality in this world is just another creation ive made (starting to see myself as a visonary)... neways its a gift i guess but sometimes feels more like a curse that can only be explained with visuals and words and sounds... atleast for me, but now im gone. forever. thought i was done here but i was wrong haha but now i am :DDD

[hellagargoyle]

JUST BE YOURSELF, y are you worried about me?
JUST BE YOURSELF, you will be more happy

our work is never over.

[ChadDub]

Lol anyone here who says that the music actually is more than image is naive. If you can produce one decent track and happen to have a good image (something that people can attach themselves to) then you have a better chance at making it than the people on soundcloud with good song after good song but don't even show their face on their profile. Another thing that goes into it is how cool it is perceived to be to listen to a type of music or an artist. If someone hears an artist that hasn't made it yet they might think the artist sounds meh, but if that same artist has millions of fans then the person listening will most likely fall into it. Not saying anyone with a lot of fans will instantly pull anyone in, but it helps a lot. Especially in a genre like dubstep or a genre like EDM Trap where everyone sounds the same.

[jaydot]

No.

[wub]

Lol anyone here who says that the music actually is more than image is naive. If you can produce one decent track and happen to have a good image (something that people can attach themselves to) then you have a better chance at making it than the people on soundcloud with good song after good song but don't even show their face on their profile. Another thing that goes into it is how cool it is perceived to be to listen to a type of music or an artist. If someone hears an artist that hasn't made it yet they might think the artist sounds meh, but if that same artist has millions of fans then the person listening will most likely fall into it. Not saying anyone with a lot of fans will instantly pull anyone in, but it helps a lot. Especially in a genre like dubstep or a genre like EDM Trap where everyone sounds the same.

I wouldn't necessarily agree with that for all genres. Maybe the more commercial leaning aspects of certain genres, but certainly not a blanket rule.

Look at Benny Ill...hardly the most marketable bloke in terms of image, but makes some banging tunes.

[ineffable]

"make it"

[bennyfroobs]

i'd say that 60% of the decent DJs i saw at Dekmantel were relatively fat old men with beards and they probably make a very tasty sum of cash

if the music is great literally no one in their right mind cares about image. /finito



also lol hellagargoyle, those delusions of grandeur

[nowaysj]

Just cause you're built like a tree in winter is no reason to go around name calling.

[kiene]

It boils down to your motives behind making music and whether or not you classify your music as popular art.

"Distinction", as defined by Pierre Bourdieu, between the popular art and the pure art still exists today, but I believe it seems more ambiguous to classify when consumers of art are, in giant numbers, becoming producers. By "wasting your time", you assume the motive behind the artist is to succeed in the business of popular art--the commodified aesthetic that's packaged, marketed, and lucrative. Branding and image become an important aspect in this line of work; your artistic labor is disproportionately valued. A large audience, a catchy image, and a relevant sound do, in fact, become the goal of the popular artist.

But you can't assume everyone out there gazes upon their art with popular eyes. Not everyone makes music or paints for commercial ends because not everyone out there is interested in winning capitalist games (especially when it comes to something as cathartic as producing art). By submitting yourself to the rules of the "music business", you run the risk of giving up the pleasure in creating music for you. To look at an even bigger picture, you also throw yourself into an infinitely growing supply of music producing artists who, just like you, want to make it big and turn your hobby into a career. The problem with this is that our system does not allow for a large supply of art to be met with an equally large demand. The value of your labor instantly diminishes when it is compared among the millions doing the same thing as you, regardless of your hip image and social networking skills. If this is off putting, then perhaps the popular gaze isn't the framework in which you should view your music.

[nowaysj]

Oh, we got a live one here.

[wolf89]

most my grime records I own are on white labels with no artwork and are by people I've never seen before.

[xtcvsmistycold]

most my grime records I own are on white labels with no artwork and are by people I've never seen before.

congrats

[JamesHanvey]

It's true though, definitely got more plays when i upped the quality of my logo design

[xtcvsmistycold]

It's true though, definitely got more plays when i upped the quality of my logo design

who gives a fuck though

if your stuff is shit more plays is gonna hurt you not help you

and you'll definitely get more plays when you "up the quality" of your production forget logo design you donut

write sick music and things will fall into place

if your primary objective is to gain followers and fans rather than write sick music...

you're lost

[JamesHanvey]

It's true though, definitely got more plays when i upped the quality of my logo design

who gives a fuck though

if your stuff is shit more plays is gonna hurt you not help you

and you'll definitely get more plays when you "up the quality" of your production forget logo design you donut

write sick music and things will fall into place

if your primary objective is to gain followers and fans rather than write sick music...

you're lost

Woah there, just stating what happened in my circumstance, but I would imagine the people that give a fuck are the ones on this thread.

I never said I got 18392839249 more plays through upping my logo, just saying I noticed abit more activity. Presentation IS important though and it goes without saying that production is more important, at no point did I say it wasn't, so what are you ranting over?