[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

lol phone warz. let’s not drive ebola’s thread off a cliff

anyway, amazon music was able to open it and play it in the correct order better than the files thing.

so i listened this morning before getting out of bed— and liked it! and i’m listening to it again while i write this.

i like the songs, they’re good. im talking about them as “tunes” not as “sung words”. i rarely “get” lyrics, so you could be singing in japanese and it would be the same to me. so my comments are not about words, except to say— the words don’t bother me (more often than not lyrics bother me when i understand them).

having said that, i think you’re generally hiding the vocals in the mix. they’re too low for me. maybe that’s the effect you want but comes across as... shy? no— you’re in front of a microphone— belt it out or turn up the faders. in parts of attic is flooding she’s barely audible. gotta pay attention to the dynamics of the mix. also sounds like your loudest sound is generally coming from the bassier part of the spectrum which might muddle things a bit.

the impression overall i get is that these songs could have been in one of those KRS compilations from the early 90s— you know the ones i’m talking about? except updated, this is not a late 80s/early 90s sound— it’s less rockist, mellower, clearly post-noise. i hear a little bit of yo la tengo / wye oak in it (ylt when you sing, wye oak when she does or maybe war paint). but what i mean by all this is that i hear a budding indie band that needs to maybe work on polishing up some details but sounds fundamentally good and can go far.

i’m sorry to disappoint your horrible fears and leave your fretting hanging out to dry, but you don’t suck. good tunes, good guitar, her voice is nice (just mixed too low) and i generally hate men singing but you actually do a decent job so i don’t hate your singing.

now get to work on your mix and you’re good to go. and please get on spotify so i can lissen to you on the regular and pay you a fraction of a penny for each replay. come on!

I think the low mix is intentional. It’s a “bedroom pop” thing. Check out some Ariel Pink (“Another Weekend” from his new album is a nice example)... this is kind of a deliberate sound. I’m not saying you’re not right; just that it may be the style they’re going for.

[evollove]

I was holding off on coughing up money for a real mix but I wasn't sure it was worth it. I guess I'm sort of convinced it is now. I mostly mixed it myself and I really don't know what I'm doing.

Talk about phones! After a better mix I want to push it further into the world, and I'm really curious how people would access it. I want the process to be as easy as possible. I feel bad you ran into problems Symbols, but i appreciate the effort and I'm glad you dug it.

Yeah, this thread could turn into a "how to acquire and play music" talk and I'd be thrilled.

[!@#$%!]

Originally Posted by evollove

I was holding off on coughing up money for a real mix but I wasn't sure it was worth it. I guess I'm sort of convinced it is now. I mostly mixed it myself and I really don't know what I'm doing.

Talk about phones! After a better mix I want to push it further into the world, and I'm really curious how people would access it. I want the process to be as easy as possible. I feel bad you ran into problems Symbols, but i appreciate the effort and I'm glad you dug it.

Yeah, this thread could turn into a "how to acquire and play music" talk and I'd be thrilled.

cough up? cough up $100 for a pair of studio headphones and you’re good to go.

but yeah hm... there are other aspects. mixing is tricky. a good mix could improve your product tons.

now don’t feel sorry or take me for a typical subject on the phone thing. i’m fundamentally lazy and want to spend 0 time tweaking my phone. problem is im stuck with an android which requires “customization.” most android users know how to do shit on it.

but i’ll say that bandcamp makes it difficult to download. i mean— i could stream, but i like offlining better because a) i have bad internet, b) i can get a better quality file that way.

with spotify, i just slide a button and it offlines at my desired bitrate and lets me play it offline for 30 days and doesn’t let me easily pirate (but who needs piracy with such convenience?).

with bandcamp if i want to download i have to enter my email (!), then it emails me a link and i have to go in my email (!!) then i can download. then it’s a zip file (!!!) i have to unzip it somewhere (!!!!). then i have to find a way to load it to a player. that’s 5-6 steps instead of 1. so for my adhd i’ll go with simple.

in my cheapo android phone it opened up right next to the google hangouts alert sound and some other nonsense and it listed it backwards. ayayay. i had to resort the folder but still it was around the crap. so fortunately amazon identified it correctly as an album and let me play it as an album (and btw, i can pirate it from my SD card i suppose). anyway i don’t know how it would work in apple, the unzipping and all— better i imagine. i could try on the ipad, but i just dont play music on the ipad cuz it’s for work.

with soundcloud i always had problems, i’d punch buttons that wouldn’t work, it was always complicated for me, etc. now soundcloud is in financial trouble, had to be bailed out, who knows the future?

meanwhile, spotify continues to be the most popular audio player. now people are starting to sell vinyls on it and you get notices for when your favorite band is going thru town and all that (but i live nowhere— the ads i get are for places 8 hours away). anyway, if you start to tour i’ll see your tour dates and go pester ya.

get a good mix and put it up there and you’re good to go. it’s not hard to do. slavo has an album on spotify an i have it offlined and chill to it often. ask him how to get on it.

go forth! thrash!

[noisereductions]

The Pixel looks dope btw

[!@#$%!]

yo, i started searching for bandcamp vs spotify and found these 2 interesting ones:

this is from 2014: https://medium.com/@gloom303/a-year-...d-872925797930

don’t know how his predictions have held

this is recent-recent but vague: https://www.slant.co/versus/733/740/...fy_vs_bandcamp

maybe get it in both, then? or all 3 w/ soundcloud?

[Severian]

Originally Posted by noisereductions

The Pixel looks dope btw

Looks literally exactly like an iPhone, but runs Android, is several hundred bucks cheaper and has a better camera than most (apparently). But seriously... in terms of design, I’m totally shocked that Google hasn’t been sued. I mean, Apple sued Samsung for “stealing” its, like, beveled edges or whatever. Here we have a phone that has precisely zero distinguishable differences, and no suey-suey?

I’m still not sure how I feel about Google. Not sure if they’re good witches or bad witches, if ya know what I mean.

Just saying “if” Apple continues down this path. Hope they don’t.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

cough up? cough up $100 for a pair of studio headphones and you’re good to go.

but yeah hm... there are other aspects. mixing is tricky. a good mix could improve your product tons.

now don’t feel sorry or take me for a typical subject on the phone thing. i’m fundamentally lazy and want to spend 0 time tweaking my phone. problem is im stuck with an android which requires “customization.” most android users know how to do shit on it.

but i’ll say that bandcamp makes it difficult to download. i mean— i could stream, but i like offlining better because a) i have bad internet, b) i can get a better quality file that way.

with spotify, i just slide a button and it offlines at my desired bitrate and lets me play it offline for 30 days and doesn’t let me easily pirate (but who needs piracy with such convenience?).

with bandcamp if i want to download i have to enter my email (!), then it emails me a link and i have to go in my email (!!) then i can download. then it’s a zip file (!!!) i have to unzip it somewhere (!!!!). then i have to find a way to load it to a player. that’s 5-6 steps instead of 1. so for my adhd i’ll go with simple.

in my cheapo android phone it opened up right next to the google hangouts alert sound and some other nonsense and it listed it backwards. ayayay. i had to resort the folder but still it was around the crap. so fortunately amazon identified it correctly as an album and let me play it as an album (and btw, i can pirate it from my SD card i suppose). anyway i don’t know how it would work in apple, the unzipping and all— better i imagine. i could try on the ipad, but i just dont play music on the ipad cuz it’s for work.

with soundcloud i always had problems, i’d punch buttons that wouldn’t work, it was always complicated for me, etc. now soundcloud is in financial trouble, had to be bailed out, who knows the future?

meanwhile, spotify continues to be the most popular audio player. now people are starting to sell vinyls on it and you get notices for when your favorite band is going thru town and all that (but i live nowhere— the ads i get are for places 8 hours away). anyway, if you start to tour i’ll see your tour dates and go pester ya.

get a good mix and put it up there and you’re good to go. it’s not hard to do. slavo has an album on spotify an i have it offlined and chill to it often. ask him how to get on it.

go forth! thrash!

Spotify pays bands less than Apple Music, which pays less than Tidal, which pays way less than it should, but is still, somehow, the “gold standard” in that one single thing. All of them pay more than YouTube, which is just awful.

I have friends whose music is on these services, and they all tell me they do it only because it’s practically a requirement for a band that’s trying to gain traction... not because of any financial reward, or even substantive assistance with word of mouth. It’s just... a necessity. Sad.

I’m not sure how I’d do it. I haven’t been in an active band since the bands411 and MySpace days. I imagine it would be frustrating as hell. I mean, I think I’m unfairly compensated NOW, and I have a 401k.

Also, I think YouTube is actually the most popular streaming service. Like, by far. Maybe I’m wrong, or maybe it’s the most popular streaming service but not specifically *music player* ... cuz yeah Spotify is a huge beast.

I could never really make Soundcloud work either. Not on my phone at least. Goddamn ri-Damn-diculous. I think it’s a cool idea, but it’s just a shitty UI and system, and probably needs to go away.

I genuinely have come to really like Apple Music though. I wish they would include more videos and concert films and stuff, but they send notifications too when bands come to town. Could be better, but if I’m only paying for one service, I’m fucking definitely paying for the one that syncs remotely with my phone and laptop, pays artists a little more (but still nowhere near enough) and only *sometimes* forces terrible U2 albums on you no matter who you are or what you want. Lol. Like being raped by shit music, that. Ouch.

[!@#$%!]

what the fuck is tidal. oh yeah the madonna/jay z thing? lololol.

so what you’re saying is get spotify even if it pays crap. which is what i’ve been saying and posting links about.

as for youtube— true, true, true. a lot of people use it as a music player.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

what the fuck is tidal. oh yeah the madonna/jay z thing? lololol.

so what you’re saying is get spotify even if it pays crap. which is what i’ve been saying and posting links about.

as for youtube— true, true, true. a lot of people use it as a music player.

I’m not saying that. I’m saying I’m not sure what I’d say. If I were in an active band I might try to subvert this shit. I’d probably use bandcamp exclusively actually. But my friends who are in bands are — mostly — on all of the services except for Tidal, which is weird, right?

Yeah Tidal is the Jay-Z thing. I don’t think Madonna had anything to do with it, but could be wrong. Founded by Jay, with Daft Punk, Beyoncé, Coldplay, Kanye, Lil Wayne back when he was still semi-relevant, and a few others. At this point it’s basically just a “4:44” app. I dunno. I had it when the last Kanye album was exclusively available through it, and I got it again when 4:44 was exclusively available through it. Deleted my account in short order both times. It’s expensive. Apple should buy it.

I don’t know about YouTube Red, the music exclusive player thingy. Maybe that’s better. Maybe it pays more than YouTube did. Shrug.

[!@#$%!]

ok anyway this thread is about ebola’s music & how to get it out there right?

since he’s not in it for the profit but rather seeking exposure i’d say (thrice) get the mix done right and then go for everything that’s out there making it easy for people to access and then let him sort it as he goes.

[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

ok anyway this thread is about ebola’s music & how to get it out there right?

since he’s not in it for the profit but rather seeking exposure i’d say (thrice) get the mixe done right and then go for everything that’s out there making it easy for people to access and then let him sort it as he goes.

Yeah AND... I’d like to say that professional level mixing can be done on a freaking MacBook — or, y’know, laptop of your choice — for not an unreasonable amount.

Most difficult thing might be finding someone who knows the ins and outs of digital recording, since you claim not to. I mean, I don’t either... BUT, I did take some audio engineering (analog) in college back when such a thing was still offered, and for our final project, we recorded an EP for a band. We chose our own band, but not everyone in the class was a musician, so some folks had to look for local bands that wanted a free demo cut, and it was a no-cost, experience-for-experience kind of thing.

Things can’t be SO different now that such things don’t still go on. If you, evollove, live in or near a college, put up some flyers (listen to me... like it’s 1998), or social media yourself some ... uhh... things, and maybe there’s a student who’d lend you his or her limited expertise?

Personally, I don’t think the mix is that bad if you’re going for a bedroom pop I’m-lo-fi-deal-with-it sound, but if you’re not, then definitely get that shit sorted out.

If you become famous, hire me as your publicist.

[evollove]

There are companies which can upload one's stuff to all the major platforms for a nominal fee. Considering the headache involved, it's probably worth it.

I'd like to know how to target the right audience. How to zero in on the "80s/90s indie fans who don't demand something especially groundbreaking" crowd?

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

with bandcamp if i want to download i have to enter my email (!), then it emails me a link and i have to go in my email (!!) then i can download. then it’s a zip file (!!!) i have to unzip it somewhere (!!!!). then i have to find a way to load it to a player. that’s 5-6 steps instead of 1. so for my adhd i’ll go with simple.

That sucks.

Just so you know, I don't get any email info. There have been a few downloads and I get nothing. I think they just use it for updates, if we release something new?

What pisses me off is there is a "require email address" option on my end which I deliberately turned off to avoid annoyances like this.

Originally Posted by Severian

If you become famous, hire me as your publicist.

Why don't I hire you now and you make me famous?

[Severian]

Do you have any friends who are in bands or in film or any kind of “scene?” In an active way?

That crowd you’re trying to reach is pretty elusive, but probably an SY forum isn’t a bad place to start.

[Severian]

If you don’t have real-world connections, I’d say the best place to start would be by connecting with other artists who play similar music. Get a Facebook and Twitter and Instagram account, promote other bands, and some will likely promote you back.

When I was doing this shit, my bands and friends cultivated a little mini-community. We supported other bands, and they supported us, even when we didn’t get along with them or like their music. Now the communities are mostly online, but I’m willing to bet the same structure is at least somewhat in play now.

I have never used Reddit because my god I’ve heard some stories (alt-right stuff, stalky stuff, the rest), and also the whole system confounds me, but Jesus talk about community-building. I’m sure there’s a sub-Reddit of a sub-Reddit that is entirely devoted to the exact demographic you want to reach.

Seriously, follow the Ariel Pink and John Maus or Crystal Stilts fans and there’s probably an active group — under, /m/ under, like, /fucking-alt-m or whatever/, under /indie/ under /bedroomindie/ that exists solely for discussion and discovery of “bands that sound like late-‘80s/early-‘90s lo-fi but also kinda sound newish but not too new.”

Just spitballing here.

Also (and I’m not sure why this wasn’t the first thing I asked) WHERE DO YOU GUYS PLAY? When is your next show? If your answer is “we don’t play live,” maybe because you don’t think you’re “there” yet, well... get there. Like, before you pay to have your shit uploaded to streaming services, get your live shit together. Being available and ready to play a show can be a HUGE boon. Having that information out there for promoters and bands looking for touring partners or opening acts... man. Yes. That is super important.

Just say something if any of this resonates or sounds good to you.

ETA: Crystal Stilts not Crystal Castles. The post-punky ones, not the electro-bang-bang rapey ones

[evollove]

It all sounds good.

But sounds like work.

I just like writing. The rest is kind of a bother.

Actually, I appreciate you naming a few bands whose coattails I can ride a little. I could use more of those.

I think I will delve into Reddit, which I've avoided til this point. But if you think it's worth checking out...

[Severian]

Originally Posted by evollove

It all sounds good.

But sounds like work.

I just like writing. The rest is kind of a bother.

Actually, I appreciate you naming a few bands whose coattails I can ride a little. I could use more of those.

I think I will delve into Reddit, which I've avoided til this point. But if you think it's worth checking out...

Ok, you just like writing and everything else is work. But you’re only ½ of this thing right? Maybe it’s less work when split between two people. (By “maybe” I of course mean “definitely.”)

I can think of some more artist who have a sound that kinda hits close or adjacent to what I think you’re going for (Shocking Pinks, People Skills, Thought Forms?) but probably so can you. These are more well-known artists though. Lesser known ones are probably best found on bandcamp.

What about playing live though?

[!@#$%!]

don’t worry about my email, i use the spam one for things like that. but yes it’s a bit of a pestilence in that regard. but again don’t worry— instead just adapt.

i’ve only done audio for video— music is harder because it’s more critical to get it right— it’s all audio after all— and techniques abound. it’s not so much a matter of hardware as skill these days. find someone who knows.

i really can’t buy this “bedroom” label for the inaudible parts— i wanna hear music not guess what it may be. it’s that simple. while i understand there are aesthetic reasons to mix a certain sound at a certain level i don’t feel that in the parts that i can’t hear right there’s a specific purpose to it. it’s just something that can be improved.

also i don’t think the crowd you’re trying to reach is that elusive. music apps will often give you suggestions of “you might like” and discover buttons and suprises and shit.

as for demographics, there are millions of gen-xers out there who grew up listening to this kind of stuff and millions of younger people who followed and will continue to like stuff in this style. this is the deal with postmodern culture— there is no great unknown waiting for us to arrive. we’ve seen and heard everything. it’s the eternal return now.

i agree with the trying to play somewhere sometime. even if it’s the corner bar in your neighborhood. BUT if you hate that shit you could just live on the interwebs. music videos would be a fun way to exist that way.

[!@#$%!]

ETA: i’m trying to train my news app to show me business news and this was in right now

http://www.billboard.com/articles/bu...y-users-report

[Severian]

Originally Posted by !@#$%!

... and techniques abound. it’s not so much a matter of hardware as skill these days. find someone who knows.

^^ s’what I said

i agree with the trying to play somewhere sometime. even if it’s the corner bar in your neighborhood. BUT if you hate that shit you could just live on the interwebs. music videos would be a fun way to exist that way.

Eh, I think playing live (even just being ready and prepared to) is absolutely essential. Still how a lot of new music is heard and learned about.

Don’t be like, “I don’t like playing live so I’m gonna stream stuff.” It’s not the same. Just play live. Play an open mic night. Play whatever. But if you want to do this, this really has to be part of your thing. Says I, at least.

[!@#$%!]

what if he hates crowds and wants to be the next corwood industries