r/musicians

This might be a very silly question. So we are a dance punk duo that have been producing and releasing everything ourselves in our own home studio. We got some funding from the government/NGO that support musicians, so we are not desperate about money. Now a few labels reached out to us wanting to release our songs. We have already finished them and ready to release ourselves. We also been pushing on social media with high quality reels (as we also have some good cameras). We’ve also been booking shows and getting international press by ourselves.

So now I’ve got no idea why would we sign a label deal? It looks like if you have a good label to “endorse” you it make look much more professional and there’s definitely some gatekeepers in the industry. I guess our music won’t get on charts if we stay independent (?) and probably won’t get big press coverage. But it’s really hard for us to think of a good reason to sign a label deal that takes part of our ownership.

So why would you sign a label deal and what’s the biggest benefit of having a label these days? I mean most big popular musicians still have a label deal except for Bad Bunny. So why do people do that? Am I missing some big benefits?

One of the things no one ever warns you about when you decide to play in cover bands is that if you do it long enough you will slowly amass a list of songs you can no longer enjoy because it's shrouded in a bunch of bad memories

Don't get me wrong a lot of the times it's fun but if you do it long enough you will have bad experiences like failed gigs, terrible band mates, or venues that stiff you with terrible clientele. I can't listen to "Play the Funky Music Whiteboy" on the radio without reflexisively changing the stations.

Anyone else have examples of the hazards of playing in cover bands?

I'm back again with my third BB cover! This time, im taking you through Brian's SMiLE-Era odyssey "Heroes and Villains"

I used to be way more into playing live around 2010-2012. I fell out of music really hard and wanna get back into it. I was thinking of starting an acoustic solo act.

Maybe this is mostly in my head but it seems hard to create something interesting that isn’t “cringe” to me. I know they’re crowd pleasers but I hate hate hate hate cliche, simple standard chording music like margaritaville or sweet Caroline. It’s overplayed, boring and too simple. It seems uninteresting to me. Maybe this is all just in my head though. I tend to gravitate towards a lot of 90s rock and alternative especially songs that require me to play an actual riff most of the time instead of just simple chording. (1979 and cherub rock by smashing pumpkins for example) This kind of music seems a lot more interesting and pleasant to listen to acoustically. It’s more complex but not necessarily difficult to play. Whether that kind of stuff actually goes over well or not I have no idea.

On top of this, I really wanna do everything I can to create a really high-end and clean sound. Every time I see solo acts, no matter how cheap or expensive their guitar is, they ALL sound terrible and harsh plugged directly into the PA system. I found something called the “fishman aura spectrum” that makes the guitar sound incredibly warm and real and pleasant. I’ll also have be using some kind of vocal effects pedal to add some light harmonies here and there and some compression and natural sounding reverb. I just wanna sound super clean and easy to listen to. Something I don’t see very often with solo acts.

Anyway I’m just looking for advice on how to be a little different than your typical acoustic musician. Sorry if I come off conceited or anything. That’s not my intention.

i’m in my late twenties and my band has been getting more serious lately. we’re playing shows more often, writing new material, and trying to actually promote ourselves. the problem is i also have a full time 9 to 5 that drains most of my energy during the week. by the time the weekend comes, i’m exhausted, and band practice or recording sessions feel more like another job than something i enjoy. i love playing music and i don’t want to quit, but i’m starting to feel the burnout creeping in. for those of you who work a regular job and also take your band seriously, how do you manage your energy and time without resenting either one. do you have strict schedules, specific recovery days, or have you just accepted that you’ll be tired all the time. i’d love to hear any systems or mindsets that have helped you keep going without losing the joy

Hi everyone, today I released a single and someone who I went to school with messaged saying something along the lines of “the sooner you quit making music the better it’s terrible”.

I know as an artist you have to expect stuff like this and know how to deal with it, it’s not the fact said person doesn’t like my music, it’s not for everyone and I’m very aware of that. It’s the fact this person has taken time out of their day to personally message me to spread their negativity and in turn has made my day pretty miserable if I’m honest and has fully tanked my mood.

We don’t even follow each other on instagram so obviously someone’s sent it to him and they’ve made fun of it amongst themselves but it’s really got me down and It’s made me second guess wether I could ever even become something as an artist.

I’ve only just started taking my music somewhat seriously so to hear stuff like that is excepted but it’s really dampened my day. The song is called goldgoose by raph2swagg ( my artist name) and is a sort of scenecore/ rave rap sort of thing I couldn’t even put a genre on it. But this has really mentally affected me today and I’m looking for some kind words to cheer me up abit,

thank you all

If you some enough time running an open mic night you’ll eventually encounter The Joplin Dilemna. A drunk, usually older woman staggers up to the stage and wants to know if you know Bobby McGee.

Of course you know but maybe you don’t want to indulge her so you think maybe you should just tell her you and the band don’t know it.

Don’t do that. It’s a trap becaus then she will abuse you with her spotty rendition of that a capella opus.

“Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”…

It will be excruciating either way.

My solution is usually to play Bobby McGee so at least the band can play a bit and it won’t be a total disaster.

Sometimes I need a bathroom break though...

I'm not musically talented at all. But I am autistic and curious. If you're a trained singer or musician, can y'all tell who might have a good singing voice through conversation? Like from the sound of their voice, tonalities, volume, and speaking pitches? I'm always curious how others' minds work

Sorry if this is the wrong sub. I’ve spend the last hour trying to find something but I can’t find any with that match these parameters. Feel free to also share any spots that are good for bands with drummers though even if they aren’t on weekends! Thanks!

I use Waveform free as my DAW, have a mackie onyx producer 2•2 for my interface, and recently got a Samson Q2U mic. When I plug my mic into my interface via XLR, I can hear audio in my headphones, but my DAW doesn’t have an option to select my mic as an input or output.

I’ve tried connecting it straight to my computer USB and that works, however I can’t record like that because I can’t hear anything in my DAW because then my headphones would have to be connected directly to my mic.

Any ideas as to what the problem is and how I can get to recording vocals ASAP?

As the title says. I’m talking about a basic from start to advanced. Even as simple as learning the ABCDEFG notes for Piano. Sorry if this is the wrong sub all the other subs took it down. Thanks.

Hi! I created a small side project that lets you create programs for concerts/recitals. You basically fill out sections (pieces, instrumentation, etc) and it generates a PDF that you can print, and works with getting the page layouts right to be able to fold into a booklet.

Not something I put together for money or anything - I am a programmer who plays saxophone and wanted to share!

https://concert-programs.projects.jaygoel.com/

Been going through a bit of a weird situation lately, and I guess I wanted to hear other’s opinions on it before I finally pull out all the stops.

Last summer I (24 F) formed a band. I was the lead singer and rhythm guitarist. Shit was great for a while. Last summer I also got dumped out of nowhere by someone I was convinced I was going to settle down with at some point, and it devastated me. Like, regularly waking up in the middle of the night screaming, unable to eat without getting sick sometime after the fact, grieving completely and entirely. Still choosing to try to work through it, I tried my best to keep playing with the band. My ex took two days off of his job to drive three hours to see us play. I chose to follow him back to mine to talk after our set, choosing to sort out my personal life over a band I had been in for only a few months (and at this point I was burnt the fuck out between my emotional shitstorm and the drummer and lead guitarist clearly starting to resent me but neither of them saying anything about it even when I asked if everything was alright). The relationship was medium distance, like across the state, so it was incredibly unlikely I’d ever get the chance to speak to this individual in person ever again after this.

My ex crashed on my couch, we got mediocre food, and he left. I realized I’d been all over the place and extremely exhausted and unable to process a damn lick of anything due to everyone else in the band wanting to push to continue to play live. There were shows and a recording session that I’d done that I just straight up remember next to nothing from due to how completely detatched I was— or I was so exhausted I could barely stand and move. I sent everyone (including the drummer’s gf) apology texts, and got left on read by EVERYONE but the bassist who told me that we’d talk next practice.

I go in to next practice and proceed to be reamed at— the drummer calling me embarrassing, saying they felt like my backing band, and complaint after complaint after complaint until the lead guitarist yelled at me (I commend the bassist for actually speaking to me though, hope she does well) for about twenty-odd minutes (some completely valid, some unnecessarily mean) while even the drummer’s girlfriend just sat there and watched. (She’s their new lead vocalist, and they’ve since gone a completely different direction which good for them! But I also know how relationships in bands tend to work out, so whatever happens happens). I kinda realized I’d had enough, that I wasn’t having a lick of fun anymore, that I genuinely disliked being a part of that group with all the clique-y-ness that came along with it and decided to take a break which eventually became quitting the band all together.

I’ve recently started doing solo gigs again, and I’ve kept writing and posting to my YouTube channel because I do genuinely enjoy music and I like sharing my demos for funsies. After being consistently sub-posted by the new vocalist of the band, I’ve also since blocked every single member and person adjacent to them, cause frankly I don’t trust any of them anymore— not even a little bit. I can’t stand a “better than thou” attitude especially from someone who’s just starting. All of that on top of people coming up to me and immediately playing the comparison game, which is annoying in its own right. (I appreciate that they’re trying to compliment me but there’s no reason to bring someone else down???)

Now, I’ve come to the point where I’ve found someone that’s willing to drum for me, which is extremely exciting!! Only problem is, I am TERRIFIED of my behavior when I was grieving my relationship and overall burnt the fuck out coming back to somehow bite me in the ass and haunt me. I feel like I’ve worked out my personal life enough to fully dive in, and having someone directly ask me to drum is a chance that I fear cannot pass up. I really want to do it again, but I don’t know why I’m letting the ghost of my former band haunt me so bad. We all still generally operate in the same area, yknow local scene and all. What do I do here? Do I keep waiting on it any longer? Or do I just full send it?

Hi!

I’m a newer guitarist, been playing seriously for about a year now. I’m also older, in my 30s. I mostly play metal, lots of Metallica and Iron Maiden since I’m the male equivalent of a basic bitch.

The last month or so, I’ve really gotten the itch to play with other people. Nothing too serious… just finding some cool dudes and dudettes to play loud with, crush some beers and smoke some jays. I honestly don’t think I care too much about what music I’d play. I sadly couldn’t offer much in terms of songwriting… just my axe. I also can’t really play lead, I’d want to play rhythm.

So how do I know I’m ready to start playing with others? And most importantly, how do I go about finding other people to play with? Do I need to have anything prepared like playing demos? What do I need to say about my skill level and playing style?

I’ve never done this before! So I’m not sure how to make myself marketable or what this process looks like.

I want to learn how to play drums, and need to know a good budget drum kit to do so, since I don't want to dump a bunch of money into something im not prioritizing (I play guitar and bass in bands already, so they are my priority), but i do really want ti learn drums. any suggestions?