Hear me out:
An inactive community sucks, we can all agree on that? When notification popups suck and you go to your wall to see a post of just a random track by a random artist, it feels icky right? The most natural thing to do is be like "bug off this sucks" real oscar the grouch style. But maybe that wasn't the artists intention? And what other way are artists on this platform supposed to promote without thousands of followers?
^and don't say board posts cus NO ONE is reading these
SO WHAT IF instead, it was a more engaging comment?
**EXAMPLES: ** "This song reminds me of your pfp! i used the chord progression from PokeMans GOO and made it chiptune!"
"I could really use some feedback on this mix, it sound..."
or even a silly little thing like, "If you like hot chetos that taste like sawdust, then DONT listen to this song at 2AM..."
This stirs up discussion and not only ENGAGES the community with responses and feedback, but also opens the doors for newer artists to end up being discovered.
To summarize: I think 'spam' is good, ofc, to a certain extend. Leaving your song with no comment? not pog. Leaving a funny or thoughtful remark on someones page with a song link? Coolio!
Comments (23)
I don't typically post my links to anybody's walls because it makes me feel icky, and I definitely suffer for it. I've been trying to add interesting comments or additions to the links I post on my wall since I've noticed that it seems to help with engagement a bit. Not as much of a hot take as you may be led to believe
my issue with spam is that it's begging for engagement without approaching me like a fellow artist. i'd prefer someone post their tracks on my wall who's built a rapport with me or around the site first, because then it feels less like an ad and more like we're neighbors. but if i've never interacted with you before, and you've never listened to any of my music, what am i supposed to think of you linking me your music other than that you spammed every account you could find? its giving "mr breast give me money" vibes
+my take is that too many people on here focus on growth way too soon and way too much. this site dies when everyone uses it like instagram; your goal shouldnt be to platform yourself here. this is a community of artists, you should be making connections with people and using those connections to improve your ART. and ironically that's how you platform yourself anyway. if instead your destination is likes + chart placements, and your only interactions with people are spamming your shit everywhere, you honestly need to evaluate why you're even a musician
Thats partly why I say such insane things. Also please ask before posting your song on some random persons wall, me personally I dont like it unless its like "oh what do you think of this" or if its a moot, espesally with no comment it just feels kinda rude.
+1
Whenever there's a social application attached to anything, there is a hierarchy within that system (be it Instagram, TikTok, Reddit, etc.) As much as we build as a community, there will always be a ranking of some sort among artists. This post isn't to validate the topic of "Is social media good?" it's to combat the growing issue in the community that people are LEAVING. Most established artists don't listen to new users or their music, and if they do they don't provide anything useful in the way of feedback (not all, but a large majority). How are new users supposed to enjoy the site when they get bullied off it? How are they supposed to learn the DAW without feedback? I absolutely see your point, but when you don't have anyone on the site to start with, how exactly are you supposed to grow?
All of this to say, many users forget there's an actual world outside of this DAW. Charts and numbers on here equate to literally nothing, yet people are so hell-bent on making it a top priority. Why? Personally, I believe it has to do with confidence. Seeing a song chart is a sign that you are on the right track and have been accepted by other users on the platform. To come back to your comment about "you're not an artist if you spam" I think that you would be less of an artist if you didn't believe in your work enough to post it. There is a sea of musicians out in the world who are much louder; you should be doing EVERYTHING in your power to make sure your song is seen/heard and if you're not, you just don't want it bad enough. (that last comment pertains more to promotion off audiotool as there's a means of making a career from your art) If your motivation in making music is to be forgotten and overlooked constantly, then by all means this is great advice.
i didn't say you're not an artist if you spam, i'm saying you're not pursuing music for the right reasons and won't be successful doing so if you exclusively chase numbers. i want to make a career out of my music and i want to be noticed, but you can't build a career off of behaving like a bot account. you have to be involved in the community in real ways. i've been super active on this site since i was 10 and worked very hard to make friendships and connections just for the sake of it. becoming friends with the eggs is ultimately what platformed me here. and when i started charting, that wasn't the end goal, it was confirmation to me that what i'm doing is working! now people have paid real money for my music and i have a reputation that will help me sell myself outside of audiotool
but you just said it yourself; the numbers here realistically mean nothing and are just a milestone. if you're on audiotool trying to get famous, you're simply gonna fail. just bc so many ppl are hellbent on that goal does not make it the right goal. i personally don't think it's bad advice to work towards building as many creative partnerships as possible instead, because that's a more fruitful goal. if you put all of your work into building an audience, you'll quickly be demoralized when you've been grinding nonstop and still only have x number of listeners/likes/followers. and if you put more work into building an audience than improving your music, you'll be marketing a bunch of mid. so how do you improve your music? you engage with the community and build creative partnerships with people...
TLDR: community = success & better art
good examples of engaging with the community = collabing, hosting competitions, hosting tapes, platforming OTHER people, chatting & making friends, participating in discussions like this--all better than spamming
people don't take advantage of the fact that audiotool is a community of ARTISTS. we can learn from eachother and build eachother up, but people choose to be in competition and treat their peers like spotify listens. it's fundamentally misunderstanding the purpose of the site, and it's very common now. that's why people are leaving and this site is dying: the sense of actual community is nowhere to be found
preach brotha preach
It's almost like actually getting to know the people in the community works in your favor. Actually trying be befriend people and be someone others would wanna talk to instead of being an annoying stain on someone's wall...
Lol
I think it's best to just say things straight to the point. But yes, posting a track on my wall is fine. Just expect honest feedback.
Edit: That, but also, engage, as withdecay said. If you are purely chasing charts and acting like a bot account, you will only ever achieve temporary and shallow success. To actually achieve some stable audience. You need to engage, act like a person. It's not the 124 favs on the track you spammed everywhere that are important, because only like a tenth of those people actually cared about what you made. The important part is the 10 people that listen to whatever you publish, because you built a connection. Those are probably also the real numbers you can expect from AT.
You gain no respect if you don't at least show that YOU care a bit. And a ton of doors open that way.
Skrillex said it best: success is something you attract and not something you chase.
while it sucks that it takes a blessing for me to get more than 10 likes on my tracks nowadays, it does make me feel good when i know its from peeps i know who ARE used to my sounds and music than someone who may not be used to it and could send like explosives to my mailbox or something lol
i just dont respond to spam cause like, common sense
i only look at peeps tracks if i know em n such, or if im curious enough xd
ok po911t
I personally encourage other users to send me their tracks so that I can do exactly what @evilpanda107 is talking about. I allow my door to be open so that I can give new artists that opportunity to approach me and ask me for advice. That being said I do say that newbies probably shouldn't spam my wall but should directly message me with questions that they have about aspects of their music they wish to improve or get advice on. I feel that this is much more conducive to learning and networking.
That being said I leave all these instructions on my wall for people so that they can see them when they read it, except they don't fucking read it lmao so idek man
Just be a regular human. Pretend loke you're on the street. If you walked up to a complete stranger and shoved CD in their face, how appreciative of that do you think they would be? Especially if they didn't know who you were. You're going to have a bad time.
Now imagine the same interaction, where instead of just running up to someone and shoving your content in their face, perhaps you found a way to address them in a polite manner or simply to say Hi how are you can I have a minute of your time? Yes fan interactions can be tricky, and approaching someone that you know is popular can be tricky. Same thing in high school. Just be nice, be genuine and show your love of the music but not the money or the fame. Show someone your passion and dedication to your craft with a good attitude and the rest kind of naturally follows along.
I think I heard deadmau5 (oof) saying once that he would much rather someone hand him a physical flash drive with their music and information and have a real conversation with them then have them email him a link or message him on Instagram with a SoundCloud sound... it's just not as meaningful a connection.
P S. Also try to listen to people's advice. some people just like to make music casually on this platform, and you have to recognize that. Sometimes people are just sharing their music because they love music :3
I feel like people should post their tracks on THEIR wall, not other walls. Anyone who follows them will see it.
Users on this site should be encouraged to recommend people they follow to other users (ex. user A recommends user B to user C, user C listens to user B's tracks, follows them, etc.)
It's much less invasive and removes the need to spam tracks on several random walls in an attempt to get exposure.
Or just have them bring back spotlight lmao
Not only that, there are dedicated threads on /this very Chitchat board/, for example https://www.audiotool.com/board/chitchat/share_your_music
One less reason to spam your (sorry guys) mid trap tracks on other's walls.
i think some people tend to forget the whole concept of "building a rep" when it comes to community interaction
people objectively will never care about what you have to offer until you give them a reason to
some kids here just think they can get clout here for free and it's annoying
spam ain't it chief
this post explains getting around this community better than most
https://www.audiotool.com/board/promoting/how_to_rightly_get_your
having audiotool “rep” or “clout” is the actual dumbest most braindead take i’ve ever heard.
i don't think you know how basic socializing works if you think that's braindead
mind you this is more of a community of artists than a platform
but im not here to change minds, i gave my fair take
clout and reputation are entirely different things lol
In general clout is for people who want "fame" vs reputation is knowledge of a individuals skills.
People who seek clout spam the shit out of walls begging for attention
Reputation is built off being a well known artist. Ie kurp naswalt etc.
Do you see people talking about idiots that spam everyone's wall simply to get people to like it instead of improving or asking for help in a positive manner? xd
However they're two of the same coin
You can gain a reputation for being a clout hungry dogshit producer
Or gain clout for being the best lol