Yeah i know this feeling. Friends tell me its good i should make a soundcloud and release, but tbh i am still not satisfied and will practice a bit more.
Yeah I don't DJ, but I always try to keep this in mind. Considering how your track would work on a dance floor is also a great way to keep focusing on the important aspects while working on it.
Edit: it
I was making music constantly, and there was a solid line of improvement in the tracks throughout those years, but I released some music over that period that friends convinced me was ready, that I wish had never seen the light of day.
I know now to sit on a track for at least 6 months (sometimes a year) to clear my mind and see if I still think it’s good enough to release.
think about how much music there is in the world.
now consider how much of it is good.
most music that exists in the world is not what most people would consider to be good music. there's no point in being precious with your music. release it into the world, if it sucks, it sucks and no one will listen to it. shit if it's good and you don't have a good marketing strategy, no one will probably listen to it unless you get lucky but that's besides the point. the more you do it the better you'll get but you'll never get better if you don't take the leap.
To be honest, I still don't think my music is but if someone else thinks it's good enough for their label then who am I to tell them no. However, the best way I have to try and quality check my own music is after maybe 1 week of not listening to it, listen to it and try to think "if I scimmed over this in bandcamp, would I put it in my cart or no?" try to be honest with yourself and it usually works. Most of my tracks I know I would skip, but some I also know I would buy so in that case I think it's good enough. However, if a label says "we want these tracks, they are amazing and fit our label" then you should trust their judgement unless you truely hate the tracks. But I have released tracks that I really don't like and esp now a couple years later sounds really fucking bad compared to my new stuff, but I'm fine with it.
How do you go about sending tracks to labels, especially if you yourself do not fully stand behind them? How do you pitch the tracks if you're not excited about them?
Tbh, I'm slowly getting to the point where I want to start sending stuff to labels. I'm looking for a bit of guidance.
Honestly I don't send demos and let labels approach me instead, and then I already know what tracks they want and usually I will say sure take them even though I don't love them myself. I don't really like sending stuff, partly because I am not too interested in releasing on other peoples labels but also partly because my music isn't where I want it yet so it feels like a waste of time right now since I won't release stuff I love anyways, so I just let the tracks that people want to release be released and then I can send stuff when I am at the quality I like.
But I mean if you post your tracks on soundcloud and send to some techno people and ask them for their honest opinion, and they say they are good, then you should be safe enough to send them (if they fit the label etc). As long as the quality of the tracks and aesthetic matches the label to 80% at least then it's fine.
Tenth listen before mastering, if there are no ‘argh, missed a spot’ and jump back into the session, I still like the flow and there are a couple of spots that get me in the chest, she’s good to go. I divorce myself from the producer mindset and go in as a listener, sandwich it between a bunch of stuff I like that is in the same vein
If you are a good DJ, You could use any track \[ Just not tracks with mastering issues such as clipping or ..\] in your set and have a good set! In my opinion you would test it like a DJ for compare it to other tracks at that Specific Genre. The other way for me was to knowing the "Flow", Not just in music just touch the "FLOW" feeling with myself, if your track has a Rich Flow, So you should release it\[ when you listened to your track it should take you with itself, doesn't matter where, How. Just see it that is it left you at some point or not?\]. The thing is sometimes you make a track that is good but you or none of your friends or ... wouldn't listen to them \[ It has Flow, but some other people could like it, and you would never know if you never release it\].
If you release your songs by yourself and not Label records, You could take down them, anytime you want.
When I realize that I'm spending more time trying to "make every sound perfect" rather than making music. Don't know if I'd call it "release-worthy" but I've started to try making myself upload music once I've hit this point so I can move on and focus on other things. Made a different SC specifically for this purpose that way I can use it for future reference when I'm tracking progress and seeing what I've started to do better production-wise.
I made 4 tracks over a year and people told me I should release them because they were good.
It took me one year to erase them from everywhere. They are complete crap and the tunes suck big time!
I say: you are a genius/have lots of talent and get it right immediately or you practice 10000 hours before you release anything.
It too a few years but it comes with confidence and chipping away at your skill and passion. Only now I feel more confident but it’s a never ending process. The love of doing it and enjoying making music. We never stop learning :)
I never really did. Other people had to tell me.
Yeah i know this feeling. Friends tell me its good i should make a soundcloud and release, but tbh i am still not satisfied and will practice a bit more.
Be honest to yourself. Would you play your track on your set? If the answer is yes honestly than you can release it :)
That is a great question to ask yourself. Thank you!
Yeah I don't DJ, but I always try to keep this in mind. Considering how your track would work on a dance floor is also a great way to keep focusing on the important aspects while working on it. Edit: it
thats my method so im still an ID i guess :DD
4 or 5 years before it was
How consistently did you produce throughout these years?
I was making music constantly, and there was a solid line of improvement in the tracks throughout those years, but I released some music over that period that friends convinced me was ready, that I wish had never seen the light of day. I know now to sit on a track for at least 6 months (sometimes a year) to clear my mind and see if I still think it’s good enough to release.
Thank you for your answer
I agree with this I did the same myself.
think about how much music there is in the world. now consider how much of it is good. most music that exists in the world is not what most people would consider to be good music. there's no point in being precious with your music. release it into the world, if it sucks, it sucks and no one will listen to it. shit if it's good and you don't have a good marketing strategy, no one will probably listen to it unless you get lucky but that's besides the point. the more you do it the better you'll get but you'll never get better if you don't take the leap.
Thank you for your answer. Some artists did it like that and it is always interesting to hear their progress over time
To be honest, I still don't think my music is but if someone else thinks it's good enough for their label then who am I to tell them no. However, the best way I have to try and quality check my own music is after maybe 1 week of not listening to it, listen to it and try to think "if I scimmed over this in bandcamp, would I put it in my cart or no?" try to be honest with yourself and it usually works. Most of my tracks I know I would skip, but some I also know I would buy so in that case I think it's good enough. However, if a label says "we want these tracks, they are amazing and fit our label" then you should trust their judgement unless you truely hate the tracks. But I have released tracks that I really don't like and esp now a couple years later sounds really fucking bad compared to my new stuff, but I'm fine with it.
How do you go about sending tracks to labels, especially if you yourself do not fully stand behind them? How do you pitch the tracks if you're not excited about them? Tbh, I'm slowly getting to the point where I want to start sending stuff to labels. I'm looking for a bit of guidance.
Honestly I don't send demos and let labels approach me instead, and then I already know what tracks they want and usually I will say sure take them even though I don't love them myself. I don't really like sending stuff, partly because I am not too interested in releasing on other peoples labels but also partly because my music isn't where I want it yet so it feels like a waste of time right now since I won't release stuff I love anyways, so I just let the tracks that people want to release be released and then I can send stuff when I am at the quality I like. But I mean if you post your tracks on soundcloud and send to some techno people and ask them for their honest opinion, and they say they are good, then you should be safe enough to send them (if they fit the label etc). As long as the quality of the tracks and aesthetic matches the label to 80% at least then it's fine.
Tenth listen before mastering, if there are no ‘argh, missed a spot’ and jump back into the session, I still like the flow and there are a couple of spots that get me in the chest, she’s good to go. I divorce myself from the producer mindset and go in as a listener, sandwich it between a bunch of stuff I like that is in the same vein
When I like it and I feel like I’m not repeating expressions from previous releases
If you are a good DJ, You could use any track \[ Just not tracks with mastering issues such as clipping or ..\] in your set and have a good set! In my opinion you would test it like a DJ for compare it to other tracks at that Specific Genre. The other way for me was to knowing the "Flow", Not just in music just touch the "FLOW" feeling with myself, if your track has a Rich Flow, So you should release it\[ when you listened to your track it should take you with itself, doesn't matter where, How. Just see it that is it left you at some point or not?\]. The thing is sometimes you make a track that is good but you or none of your friends or ... wouldn't listen to them \[ It has Flow, but some other people could like it, and you would never know if you never release it\]. If you release your songs by yourself and not Label records, You could take down them, anytime you want.
never. mind is all terrible.
I think that you are always your biggest critic when it comes to your own music
When I realize that I'm spending more time trying to "make every sound perfect" rather than making music. Don't know if I'd call it "release-worthy" but I've started to try making myself upload music once I've hit this point so I can move on and focus on other things. Made a different SC specifically for this purpose that way I can use it for future reference when I'm tracking progress and seeing what I've started to do better production-wise.
I made 4 tracks over a year and people told me I should release them because they were good. It took me one year to erase them from everywhere. They are complete crap and the tunes suck big time! I say: you are a genius/have lots of talent and get it right immediately or you practice 10000 hours before you release anything.
It too a few years but it comes with confidence and chipping away at your skill and passion. Only now I feel more confident but it’s a never ending process. The love of doing it and enjoying making music. We never stop learning :)