ALBUMS ARE DEAD - My Tips for new bands
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 6 окт 2024
- Me rambling about the current state of the music industry and what to do if you're starting a new band today. Don't get me wrong I will still put out albums simply because I love the format and I still have a passion of putting out music in the album format. What are your thoughts? Discuss! AND SUBSCRIBE SHIT!
★ SUBSCRIBE - goo.gl/5zFZDY
► Facebook - www.olaenglund....
► Instagram - / olaenglund
► Blog - www.olaenglund.com
► Feared - www.fearedband.com
Links -
List of things I use to make my videos:
★ Solar Guitars -
www.solar-guita...
★ SM58 microphone - www.amazon.com/...
★ Beyer M160 microphone - www.amazon.com/...
★ Daddario Cables - www.amazon.com/...
★ Strings - Daddario XL www.amazon.com/...
★ Headphones - BeyerDynamic DT880 Pro
www.amazon.com/...
★ Audio Interface - UAD Apollo 8 -www.amazon.com/...
★ Monitors - Dynaudio LYD8 - www.amazon.com/...
★ Camera - Panasonic Lumix GH5 - www.amazon.com/...
★ Screen - ASUS ROG PG348 - www.amazon.com/...
★ Chair - DX Racer KING - www.amazon.com/...
★ Studio Desk and Chair -
www.studiodesk.net
Me rambling about the current state of the music industry and what to do as a band today. Don't get me wrong I will still put out albums simply because I love the format and I still have a passion of putting out music in the album format. What are your thoughts? Discuss! AND SUBSCRIBE SHIT!
Ola Englund you get that hard drive sorted out?
Great, I like it when yo talk about stuff that is serious to us musicians, like this :)
Love your channel, it led me to buy Haunted album on CD 🤟🏼🎸
Ola Englund can you please do a video on the MXR Flanger Doubler and Dimebags many tunings
I say keep putting out albums , but keep doing everything your doing as well. I agree though you have to do more then just release music.
My advice for all of you out there wanting to release music. First off, make sure that the music you're making is fully reflective of you and your band as musicians and artists, and that it's something you're proud of and have fun playing. If you're releasing music to fit in with a genre or scene stereotype then chances are unless what you're making is an exceptional example of the genre, then people more than likely aren't going to be interested in it.
My second point, and this mirrors Ola's view, don't sign to a label and don't recruit a manager. They provide absolutely zero value and exist only to drain you of your money if you're at my or Ola's level in the industry.
Thirdly, like Ola says, marketing is a big factor. But when you do it, do it from a place of passion and be genuine. Don't use the 'marketing strategies' of big faceless companies or bands who have no direct connection to their fans. Engage, speak to people and share in their enthusiasm for music. Inject your personality into promoting your music. And for the love of all that's good and holy, don't directly message people asking them to check out your band.
Lastly, be patient and have a sense of perspective. You often see bands or artists explode onto the scene that seemingly come out of nowhere. But trust me, every single one of those people has put in literally years and years of work into what they do. Overnight success stories are almost non-existent in the music industry, so be prepared to sink a lot of time and effort into your music.
Couldn't agree more! What I want to stress out even more is online marketing, it is extremely important. I see so many bands fail on this particular field. A good example is Aegaeon, they put out a new album just a couple of months ago and I can guarantee the sales were underwhelmed. It was a missed opportunity because they already got a big following, their fanbase was anxious for a new record after years of waiting, hype could've been built around that and it was the perfect moment! But they didn't utilize any of those things help push the sales to its peak. So many things could've been done and they just missed it.
Is this the real sithu aye
Sithu, I can't forget one day in 2014 when I saw your playthrough of Skye, years after stop playing and even listening everything metal-prog-related. And stopped blaming my Strat as an excuse. Stay true to your music, thanks for engage an oldie to be a teen again.
Or you could pray worldstar plays your video so you can blow up and beat a 50 yr old Beatle record
well said. I agree
I started to think out of the box, but the donuts were inside the box.
life is not easy man...
Lmao
Break the box, now you don't need to think outside the box and donuts are free.
i feel you man.
I like donuts!!!!!! Especially custard filled donuts!!!!
I wouldn't have believed that albums are dead until this summer, I help teach a music related summer camp and the kids were taking a break from playing their instruments and were playing a game of jeopardy one of the questions was "name an artist and one of their albums" half of the kids responded with "what's an album?" It was a really surreal experience
Everyone sounds super sad and depressed because who honestly gets into music as an art form / form of expression to make social media content?
Another option is releasing each song on your album as a single every 2-4 weeks until you've released them all, and then compile them as a final album. That way, you are still fresh in people's minds, but still have a complete album at the end that people can buy as physical copies if they want.
Albums mean more to me than youtube channels.
110% agree with you there :)
I think Ola agrees with you as well. He's just saying these days youtube channels helps.
they have more value, but are not always as lucrative
No he literally said DON'T RELEASE THE ALBUM. YOU ARE WASTING THE ALBUM OF MUSIC IF YOU dont have marketing bla bla... (I forgot the last part :D )
The way it should be
Great speech. The censorship sound is annoying though. Censorship is also dead.
RUclips won't monetize his video if he swears, that's his paycheck bro
Not only does it get demonetized, it won't get recommended to others.
Thank you. Good to know!
Censorship is dead but this isn't censorship this is decency. Censorship is about suppressing ideas, swear words are for humans who haven't grown up yet.
I really liked the “noise” ...it was like a “micro-Seinfeld hit” idk...it made me laugh...NOT aloud tho😾😒😑...
As a music fan, I have no interest in the way musician are prostituting over the internet. I want a good album.
Cool as a human being I'm sure Ola wants to eat that costs money these days.
That is why you need to learn a trade.
LOL
Prostituting lol “for $20 I’ll music all over your chest”
@@StalwartSpartan298 LMFAO
I still love and buy physical albums... I'm just 21. I just hate it when music is released just as singles for the sake of releasing it. Sure that marketing is really important nowadays but I don't even listen to bands that only release singles...
so if the best song you've heard ever was released as a single and you was compelled to listen it more than once you wouldn't be able to? ...not sure you meant what u said so though i'd throw a bit of a rhetoric Q at u
@@Gdude899 no that's not exactly what I meant. (I'm german and my english skills aren't the best) I generally buy CDs/records and listen to them as a whole. Of course I listen to singles that lead up to a whole record. But if the band is continuously releasing "just" singles to get streams online I probaply won't check them out. My philosophy is that I can't possibly listen to and discover all the good shit that's out there. So I don't mind if I'm missing out on "the best song ever". It's like Schrödingers cat...
yeh think I know what u mean just recalled a band that was a "single band" and I don't really like the wait and not getting the full idea, but if a band focuses on quality over quantity which I stand by 100% I don't mind them being a "single band" and again I can recall one and so glad they barely release anything cause it shows they are working hard to perfect one or two songs.
What do you think of "EP bands"??? Mi proyect is a "+20minutes Conceptual EP band" thant plans to release a 4-5 songs EP per year (one was released on May, the remaster will be available on december, and the second EP, will be released next year) upon the main music platforms, is Sci-fi themed, and will be acompained with youtube videos, covers, "Comic-Manga" style concept art to create a universe arround the music... If you wanna check out, you are welcome
Hears single, checks out band. See them live, buy the album. Thats hows ot works yall
I studied media sciences and if I would have to sum up the current media consumption behaviour in a dark way..
it's like a drug you start to get used to.
That's why you need more and more new stuff to get one dopamine kick after the other. An Album used to be something to get excited for, to listen too 1000 times and to get a long lasting kick out of it because the market was not saturated. Now the mindset is like an addict, too unfocused, too jumpy, too damaged to enjoy one thing to it's fullest. The newsfeed on facebook and the 1000 subscriptions are like a conveyor band shoving one kick after another into your brain. Market researchers already noticed a "subscription fatigue". All this happens in a cacophony of screams for attention, where you have to stand out from the ones that want to stand out from the mainstream... (this got darker than I intentioned).
... maybe you feel like that. I don't. Cheers!! and metal \m/ get better soon.
@@Deederrr i think he is describing society's short attention span
What is media studies exactly about?
I think you are right on..
Have a wonderful day..
@Daniel Gunz It`s very versatile and depends on the exact subject and university offering it but at a bachelors degree, it´s basicly a very broad overview about what Media was in an historical aspect, what it is now (like facebook, Instagram, Newspaper in digital form, etc.), how it is used, how it can be used, etc. etc. You can form your semesters to a degree but yes, that's about it.
You're not the only one saying it, Ola.
But you ARE probably the "biggest" one saying it. Music nowadays is a large chunk of marketing that's more important than ever...
Brilliant video! Another thing I would like to point out is that now music is often on the shoulders of single musicians. Those “lone warriors” compose, record, promote everything themselves, in the meantime doing videos, day-jobs, and caring about family. This is why making full-length albums is impractical and exhausting for them. Collaborations push it faster, but still...I am even not talking about making good money by selling music. It’s become charity by fans. Young boys write me all the time asking to give an opinion on their music. They full of time and hope, and even giving a dollar on Bandcamp could encourage them to KEEP WRITING MUSIC, to take this craft several decades further. Which is important, I believe.
well said sir! by the way Im a fan of your videos!
Wow, glad to know my comment has been seen)) Thank you so much!
Nice comment! Nice to see you here friend!
of course! I can still hear your voice in my head, "Hi Frriendss..its Andriy Vasylenko.." :-)))))
I rarely comment on RUclips, but Andriy's response is insightful. It seems that a lot of listeners misconstrue this "one-man-band" configuration as ego when the reality is that it is incredibly difficult to not only convince 2-4 other people to commit long-term to a musical project to begin with, it is almost impossible to financially sustain a growing band in the streaming era. Becoming a "lone warrior" is usually a last resort and requires an insane amount of time and musical ability. It is a required adaptation in this time in order to survive for many.
I think this is unfortunate because there is something to be gained through collaboration and just having the support a band can provide. But it can also be an incredible source of efficiency (both financially and musically), especially if the artist has a strong vision. If you have a love of learning, this path will never get boring.
The sacrifices are many and it's not easy (as Andriy mentioned), but if you're an artist then there is no choice. You have to do it. That's the thing most people don't seem to get, you create because you have to. There was never a choice.
Olá Ola, you said it all. No jokes today. I’m depressed.
I've been saying this for soooo long! So happy to see you share the same thoughts
Andrew Baena I subbed to you from the over now cover. So, he's exactly right. That was a smart cover to do because any metal head that listens to post will hear that song and know it would transition great to metal and go search for it. Just like I did
Me too but people I play with don't get it. Thank satan I'm the boss there :)
Same here, and every band I'm in shits on me for suggesting singles instead of albums.
This is true. I'm an entertainment attorney. Labels have been trying to push people into overall deals for precisely this reason.
They recognize that revenue streams are far more diverse than just album sales now.
It makes more sense to release singles on Spotify/Apple Music etc and ex post lumping them into a collection you want to call an album.
The old days where people sat around waiting for their favorite band to release a new album are long gone.
One note though, definitely eventually re-bundle your singles as an album though. Search algorithms and payouts are slightly better on them ultimately because that part of the business hasn't entirely caught up with how people consume music now.
By far, the most straight up and direct way of describing the current state of the music industry. Ola basically said it best. It's all about marketing, presentation and streaming. The market is over saturated and people are burning cash to make an album with little to no return.
Most musicians I notice are not releasing anything beyond 4 tracks due to cost. Singles and EPs are the norm now. Amazing how things have changed.. Sigh
Being harsh and all, but you only speak the truth. I´ve never thought of it that way of being constanly uploading videos and being on people´s faces all the time, but looking at it that way, that´s how I hooked up on your channel and music, you were ALWAYS on my RUclips homepage. Smart marketing and tips for upcoming musicians. Thank you Ola.
👍🏾
Having heard your views in the past on the state of the music into totally agree. I am 49 and back when I was younger it was all about the record deal. Now it doesn't matter. Excellent video.
Haha I read your comment wrong - I thought it said "I'm 49 and black" and I was thinking "How is this relevant to the rest of your comnent?" 😃
Great stuff Ola. As strictly a consumer of music I like listening to a whole album... I like to think a complete album tells a story (with some bands, some bands no) but can totally see your viewpoint as an artist. Makes complete sense.
The current state of the music industry has basically removed any motivation on my part to pursue the dream of becoming a professional musician. It was already pretty unlikely before, but now it's damn near impossible. Even if I did make it, being a professional musician nowadays is not really a sustainable career path, especially in metal. I'll always be a musician, I'll always play guitar, I'll always record music and maybe one day I'll release some of it. But I can't see myself being able to work 24/7 like Ola has to, especially due to having a full time (sometimes more) job already just to not starve and lose my shelter. Making music takes so much time, but that isn't enough anymore, Ola is a prime example by diversifying and starting a guitar brand. The Periphery guys all have signature products they presumably take a cut of, Misha also has his own pedal company. Chappers started a guitar brand. Josh Middleton does Kemper packs. The list goes on. There is almost no metal bands now that make money purely from tour and sales.
yeah, that sucks. Starting brand is not smth all musicians can do by default. The one needs to know a lot about business in general. Josh Middleton is the closest to what musicians might do.
That's pretty insulting. Thanks.
Same man honestly. I saw it going this way when I was 17/18 (10+ years ago) got to 20 and packed myself off to uni for something else.
The irony is I still havent had steady work in that either lol.
Might as well have been a metal muso lol
Don't mind me, just a lone guy without a badge passing through...
Hey Ola, sorry I'm broke!
The Music industry died and was resurrected as the Clothing industry.
-
Bands no longer sell music, and give away free shirts at shows;
they now give away free music, and if people like a band's music, they'll buy the shirts.
When in the world did bands give away free shirts?? Maybe I'm too young...but that shit is expensive!
Bill boards ads, TV ads, and Radio ads are more expensive than shirts. Hand out some free shirts and you get free advertisement every time they wear your logo.
@@TylerNOS386277 true, but those are even more dead than full music albums! It also depends on how good a design one has made. I custom made my T-shirts, and the time and demand of them proved to me that I should sell them and give my digital music away for free. Sure, you get advertising anywhere that person walks, but it's a lot cheaper to buy bumper stickers and stick em up everywhere, plus it's fun ;)
I just don't think it's worth it to give away crappy band t-shirts
I think I rather buy a shirt to support the band than buy their music and support getting the band exploited by their label.
Stop trying to sound edgie please. That makes no sense.
I prefer giving people free music and let them choose if they wanna buy a shirt to support me than giving them free shirts and charging them for the music.
Yea your wife was right. Drunk Ola is aggro Ola.
I believe she said he was arrogant - not aggressive.
@@coobanez777 sorry im late but when did she say that?
I agree with what you said, nowadays albums are the least reliable source of income and exposure for a band: people don't buy albums or go to concerts anymore.
At the same time I may be dumb, nostalgic or stupid but I'll probably stick to doing albums simply because I get the most fun doing it.
At the end of the day If you're having fun, just do it.
Same here man, personally I love the format and I will keep on making albums for now.
Tons of people still go to shows.
And the album format will never die. It's certainly less popular, but that's because mainstream human beings don't actually listen to music often. Complete artistic works tend to follow narrative structure, and in the same way that full length films will always be around, there will always be people who understand and appreciate the value of long-form, even if it's not popular.
I'm not speaking of the medium/big bands but the underground ones that charges 5/10 € per show.
There used to be times where the only way to listen to those bands was going to a concert and, if you liked what you heard, buying an album.
Nowadays in 5 seconds you can judge if a band is for you or not, so it's not convenient to put lots of work for an album when the same goal can be reached with a video or just one song.
Again though, what's the overarching goal? To have fans for the sake of fans, or to write music because you love music? Every great band I like has done the latter (including, if I'm not mistaken, Ola, Periphery, etc -- Misha and/or Mark said in an interview "How do you make it in music? Well honestly you don't go into it to 'make it'").
Nobody went to bands' early shows. Steven Wilson still calls it "paying your dues". He mentions having played live for 4 or 5 people the first few shows. Opeth's first show was a ridiculous embarrassment and they played for about 4-5 years without touring in the US or having most people know their name. Metal has never been lucrative initially -- the bands that are still doing it are playing the long-term game.
I still see crowds of 20-25 people at random mid-week metal shows here in this relatively small, non-metal west-coast town in Canada.
The problem is the pendulum (as it always does) swung too far -- before it was hard to get noticed due to lack of exposure. Now everyone and their grandma has access to music making equipment and the internet is utterly oversaturated with mediocre music. I still think though, as before, the "cream rises" -- bands that are truly putting their all into for the long haul will get noticed.
The goal is always and should always be to write music because you love music.
However to play your music live and touring you need money: you need to pay for bus/van and fuel , you need to eat and you need to sleep, you need money to record you music in case you're not able to do it by yourself, you need money to print CD's and merch in general.
Since you mention Misha and Ola, I've hard time believing that they both make a living just with their respective bands.
Misha recently said that basically the entire PIII Euro-tour was a loss of money and they'll need to plan carefully how touring for the next album: you don't want to tour for 9 months and find at the end that you lost money.
Ola and The Haunted don't tour as much as other bands, probably because they plan carefully which dates to do and which not.
That's why Ola has Solar Guitars and YT and Misha has Horizon Devices,GGD and his signature stuff: it's their way to make what they love and also make a living out of it.
In an oversaturated market, that's the only think you can try to do in order to make a living out of it.
To sum up: if you do music, do what you love and inspires you the most because even if you don't make any money, at least you are having fun which imho is the most important thing.
If you absolutely want to put out an album because it's your dream and the album will be like your "baby" and you don't really care about the results, or selling or not...just go for it, but if you have a band that you want to promote, have gigs ...I completly agree with you, I don't think spending time and money recording an album will help at all nowadays so you better invest your time on the social media providing a few good songs and quality contents and maybe you'll find success
When you release your art to the public it becomes entertainment and no longer just art.
Chaotic Beauty: Exactly, It's certainly a dream of mine to release a concept double album - vinyl - gatefold. Do I expect to make money from it? Never.
Agree completely. Local band doesnt have an actual album, just an EP but they play shows all year round and promote nonstop on fb, not on a label. Just got picked up for a show with the faceless and has done shows with cryptopsy.
Wont be long before they blow up
What is the band called?
ThePlanemadness Epitasis
The 1st album I ever listened to from start to finish was Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath. That was how it was recommended to me and I want disappointed. Started buying Sabbath albums left and right and listening to em all the same way. And this was in 2010, there was plenty of RUclips around. Albums didn't die, music did.
Dat shirt tho
This is a really tough subject for a lot of amateur and intermediate level musicians. Especially those who are sitting on a lot of music, and not quite sure what the right format to bring it to the world is. I think your advice and insight on this subject is definitely needed for a lot of people. The landscape has changed drastically for new and old artists alike, however all hope should not be lost. Communities like this one are a great way for like minded individuals to gather together over common interest, and have a better shot at sharing their craft with those who might be interested. But you did make a powerful point. Don't go waving your CD in peoples faces. I needed to hear a lot of what you said in this video and I hope others can gain similar insight also.
This is why personnaly I do not even think about living of my music, and I am preparing an album; what matters most, is what it brings to the musicians: experience in recording and all the process of making and writting an album.
People sees music as a nugget box and as you say, the attention span is very, very narrow. That's kind of pathetic.
My two cents after 20 y of music ? Do it for yourself and your band. Grow through your music. If it works ? great. If it does not ? The experience you gained through this stage is the most valuable thing you can get imo, so it does not matter.
IhazHedont very well-said
100% agree. I'm trying to write stuff (and find a band to play it with), but I never EVER thought about making a living out of it, it's simply stupid.
couldn't agree more
Totaly agree,My number one rule; make music for yourself,not for someone else :)
I totally dig where you are coming from, Ola. You honestly are today's inspiration of Metal music, and even with the Industry, because I know releasing music is tough, and you gotta work hard to even protect your music from theft and copyright, ect...
You are a great guy, dude, and I'm not just randomly saying that, Ola. You truly have almost changed somewhat part of my life. I truly just thank you very much for all the great things you do, dude. Music needs more people like you today!! \m/
As a musician today you have to be everything else as well: Promoter, producer, advertiser, salesman, booking agent, manager, social media expert… it's insane! The way Ola discredits the album as a means to introduce your music into the world though is quite disheartening and also not completely true in my opinion. But the tendency is very real and has to be considered. I think as as a band the challenge is to honestly assess where you're at and prioritize where to invest effort in order to take you where you want to go. To me releasing an album in a way that you envisioned it is and always will be an honest and right thing to do. I was socialized musically understanding that the album is the highest form of audible art in my time. That will probably never change for me. And i don't fully understand the mechanism by which the young kids consume music nowadays, i suppose it's some algorhythmical sinister corporate trickery! I consider all efforts that spawned later (Videos, video channels…) as means to tease you into buying an album after all, or buying gear and generating add-revenue in the more recent cases.
i just started to listening to albums again instead of playlists. I love it because you find more new songs and you dont get bored as fast.
I don't know man, some albums you forget in a week, some stick with you months, years or decades. I've been listening to Moonsorrow's Varjoina kuljemme kuolleiden maassa and Verisäkeet for months now without growing tired of them and I could not imagine those songs being released as singles. I would say if you want to make an album, don't let it be just a collage of some songs you have laying around. Make a coherent theme album and make sure you actually have something profound to say and to offer with this piece of art you are putting out. Albums are not dead, there still is a place for them, but perhaps for most bands these days an album isn't the format that is going to help them the most to advance in their career.
This is why we are trying to diversify ourselves as much as possible. Just releasing an album doesn't cut it anymore.
Not sure "thinking out of the box" means adhere completely to the "marketing is everything" way of thinking. I mean, this works for pop stars, but in metal people are actually still interested in Music. Visual and music-related are still considered as "secondary" (which is not the case for, say, Nicki Minaj). Moreover, Metal is one of the few genres where people buys music, pay for it through different means, including by buying physical copies of albums. I think that there are plenty of really talented artists (mainly guitar players) who, instead of focusing on music, they just focus all their efforts on RUclips contents and never put out an album. I mean, the primary goal of an artist should be to make music, the rest should be a way to get exposure for the music, not the main objective. I mean, I would fucking buy one of their albums. I'm not gonna name them, though ahah. And I don't think it is a matter of "level" as Ola was saying, because their "level" is high enough to get the right exposure for an album.
I don't usually watch the same short video twice in a row. I'll probably return to this one even more. Thanks dude.
That was a great speech. That crowd was boring LOL
I’m a professional on Marketing. Right now working on Accounting for pay my classes as always and studying hard to finish my bachelor this year, and you say all the truth about work on a album without exposing the band before. We’re on a high competitive level on any aspects of our lifes at this times. Life is hard right now for our generation, we have to stay focus. Respects to you 🤜🤛🤘❤️.
I dont agree, maybe in the beginning of a career this is true, but once you have a solid fan base, these people want albums!
Great point bro we starting a band and this info came just in time you just got a new subs.... Hello from the skabros in guadalajara much love to you!
I listen only full albums. And it's always annoying to me how short good albums are. Make them longer guys. And make them dope.
I love albums. I especially love albums where the intention and concept flows from one song to the next in a progressive format, (ala Dream Theatre and Devin Townsend, instrumental albums, etc) because the album itself wants to take you on a journey.
Most music fans still listen to albums. Casual fans never really listened to records, they just went on the radio or something like that and they'll still do the same thing today clicking around on Spotify or whatever. But for, it still makes sense for some artists to release their material in bursts, I don't think its going to go away.
You’re always going to hear advice about the “right” way to market your art. But there isn’t a right way. The tools we have today to distribute music don’t care if you release one song, five songs, or a triple album. It’s easy to get a single song on iTunes and see how it performs before you put the energy into an entire album. It’s also easy to put out an album without worrying about the costs of distributing a dozen songs. So just do whatever works for you for each project because there is always someone who hasn’t heard your music :)
Basically you're a RUclipsr, not a musician. We do albums because that's what we want to do. Our priority is our music, not how many views we'll get for every burp.
Can’t the two go together? Does that make sense?
Well then, you can play in your basement if your priority is your music and not people hearing it. Then you can be a real musician! All you need is a day job.
I actually play in festivals and... sell albums.
Don't get me wrong, I think the RUclips thing is cool, I'm here commenting on this video because I'm subscribed to his channel after all.
But claiming albums are dead and the way to go is RUclips because that's what HE did is silly.
Yeah it's difficult to make a name because there are so many bands out there. But you know what's even more crowded? Yeah you guessed it, RUclips...
@@scaryjerryofmerrykerriemay2727 Yeah that was actually my point. You can do both. That's not what he was saying though.
I agree with your views. The industry has totally changed. Big names even has to tour nonstop to make ends meet. And when the touring stops, so does the moneyflow. I think its best to have a "normal" job that pays the bills, and then do as much music as possible on the side. Not really the rockstar lifestyle, but alot less stressful.. :)
Need to evolve with the times.
Ola, just seeing this for the first time and you couldn’t be anymore right. Thank you for sharing this with the Internet!
Here is my 2 cents on the issue..You might as well start making music to please yourself,first and foremost.Then,if you feel you become really good at it,maybe it's time to share sth with the outside world.The mistake most people make is,releasing stuff too early,way too early,where their music is far from being considered even okey.They all rush to fame and glory,making it even harder for everyone else to be heard and seen. There is not any filtering of music,so the potentially ''golden'' stuff is buried under mountains of garbage and frighteningly bad music.
IT'S 2021 AND..... OLA WAS RIGHT ALL THIS TIME!!!! PEOPLE ARE ALL OVER RUclips NOW. THANKS OLA! :)
Another good example of this is to take a look at the video game industry, especially on the Steam platform and mobile gaming. It has never been easier to get involved in and be creating video games, but that also means that there are even more people crowding the field than ever before. Actually getting noticed, let alone making lots of sales that can fund further development and growth, has become even more difficult and requires finding ways to stand out from the rest of the crowd. And with living in the Information Age, there is so much going on to pay attention to at any given moment via so many different avenues, and without access to massive marketing machines that can provide blanket coverage across so much means that it's easy to get overlooked and be otherwise forgotten.
Overlooked maybe, but never forgetten in this age where everything is saved, it might take data monkeys in towers 5 miles high in the year 3000 painstakingly sifting through trillabytes of data, but the hunt will be one for those gems! And in the year 5 million, all and every music will have been exhausted and the challenge will be finding good music, not creating it. jk theres always room for another note in time so it could go onto infinity, but maybe a maximum is reached where the length of time to listen to a song is so great that practically no new music can be created, and like the universe expanding into nothingsness, so is the fate of the musical universe, unless we can go faster than light! or we can listen faster than sound! then theres hope, I believe it.
It's literally how I got in my current band, through RUclips. I love albums but I agree, singles is where the momentum is at!
Its absolutely true and people have to hear this. I released a full album, made a few sales here and there and got stream revenue. Next thing you know,another band releases their music and you’re already forgotten in a few months. Its harsh but its the truth.
Derryl Vi I saw you on Shredders of Metal, keep doing what you do man! You have great material! Keep sharing it to the world!
Aaron thank you so much for the kind words and for checking our music 🤘☺️👍
Makes a lot of sense. Good insight for up and coming musicians Ola
I don’t like singles. I still prefer 10 or so cohesive songs at once. I never listen to playlists or shuffle. Having said that the news all the time concept is great. Maybe rather than singles...bands should look into changing the “album cycle”. Two years is too long these days. Btbam has done a couple split albums that released 6 months apart...that is a great idea as well.
No, 2 years is the minimum time to wait between albums! I guess if u just listen to a few bands u are too anxious to wait for new material. But I listen to hundreds of different bands!! (I stopped counting at 400...) And I used to buy ALL the albums from ALL the bands I was a fan of, but that stopped already like about 10 years ago 'cos I simply couldn't keep up with the amount of albums being released vs my available money! So, nowadays I have a lot of bands whose last few albums I'm missing - in some cases even the last 4 albums!! And I'd rather wait 2-5 years for the band to make an 4/5 album than them churning out endless piles of 3/5 albums every 1-2 years.
I've seen it myself, I can't spend the time needed to discover an album anymore, especially now that I've stopped smoking... But I still love concept albums like Agressor's Towards Beyond, and I think those who had the vision to make one, even if released in chunks, will stand the test of time.
Casual F-bombs sit deep within my heart
Phillip Russell I see you bro
What's up my Dingdong..
@@BretCahill how do u have that flair
cypekpl cat what are you asking about
@@BretCahill you have a green circle thing next to your name
dude ola is the man, by far my fav musician now days
There is plenty of bands only doing albums and they kill it.. just coz you can't you think its dead..
Advice is advice
Doesn't mean its good/correct
true
Dude, you made a lot of sense in this video! And that also Rings true not just for trying to sell an album of Music, it relates to all things a company may be trying to Market! Don't do one huge bulk release, space all your items out over the course of many months or years so that you could constantly be marketing something new, but it's all old stuff in the grand scheme of the company's product line..... Thanks for the advice!
If you really are a musician, you'll want to put your album out regardless of anything...it's stronger than you!
I understand what you mean but what would become of music without the album format/concept? It would absolutely kill the artist's voice! What about the journey of making an album, it's like you're saying to people to stop having babies! lol Abort, abort! No! Just do it for your own sake! For music itself. Damn it not.
Man, we 1000000% F agree. We together have a voice that will be listened too.
Ola has a great point. Because I, ask myself, when was the last time I purchased an album CD?
Technology helped us move forward and get advanced easily, but at this topic that Ola is talking, it killed the excitement of going to the record stores to purchase the album.
Because again, you can just get it streamed almost everywhere.
Your channel is still better than the other 49 metal channels out there. We love you brotha
Excellent points Ola. Not just sound music advice. This is for entrepreneurs everywhere. Thanks!
music and nuka- cola, my 10 to this man
Ola - I agree with everything you said. I hate that it’s that way with marketing. I think your videos on development of killer riffs and multitrack recording are awesome. There’s a lot of old timers like me who still listen to the same music they did in the 80’s. Even though I’m not on stage anymore, metal is in my blood and I still feel like when I was 15 when I hear a good riff. Most loyal fans ever. Keep doing what you’re doing, pay the bills. You are appreciated.
You have changed my mind by this film. Seriously. I always thought about releasing the album, now I have open mind for different solutions. Interesting topic.
honestly that's just what I needed to hear, its such a basic way to promote yourself but its so effective. I was stressing about an album i released which obviously got no attention so I took it down for later use. I'm gonna try this technique and see what comes of it in the next year or so. Thank you!
Thank You Ola, you're awesome brother. Congrats again on your new home..
I don't know how ,but I love you even more now man!
Hi Ola. I've listened to you since day one and I'm grateful for your home recording videos! You really know how to teach and entertain. In regards to this video I think that as long as you have something that you enjoy it will work out, album or single.
This is a huge eye-opener. Thanks Ola!
I still like albums. My music collection has always been albums, and there are 2 ways that I support artists - buying their music in lossless or CD format & seeing them live / buying some merchandise at a gig.
I agree marketing is everything to get people interested but if you want my money, make a quality album or play a gig in my area.
Thank You, Ola! Again and Again!
I agree with everything Ola said except the statement that albums are dead. Although I haven't had the success that Ola has had, I've still noticed that album releases get way more attention than single and even EP releases. Especially when it comes to metal, I think albums are still king. Having said that I think even he agrees with that despite the title of the video. I think he's essentially saying that you can't just release an album, you have to market and promote it properly. Which includes RUclips videos and releasing singles prior to an album release.
Yes, totally agree with this way of thinking. Also if you’re working full time and trying to write and record an album’s worth of music it will be a slow process so putting out the odd batch of three or four songs makes sense to me. You can keep the same mix settings in your DAW so that retrospectively you can bundle your songs into an album and they’re not sounding detached from each other.
So much truth in this session Ola. Truth hurts sometimes, but everything now days is about branding. It’s something not only bands need to hear, but pretty much everyone in the entertainment industry.
I play ROCK not Metal anymore but i do like to check your channel out from time to time. I think writing and recording an album (solo OR band) is EXTREMELY important. Putting one song at a time out in Lyric or Full Video format seems to be VERY effective. If a band doesnt have material they wont be able to book shows. Double edged sword but i get the jist of your points Ola.
Having a band again after lots of time off, this is incredibly helpful.
We're all super committed to the music now, but you're right when you say it's much more difficult now. ;D
Great advice as always Ola, gonna share this with my dense band mates.
Yup, that's the sad truth. But still, if you wanna do it just start and don't stop if you are enjoying it. Thanks for the upload Ola, I wanted to be there but couldn't make it so this video means a lot. Hope there are gonna be more parts released from the Thomann session.
Well I'm just talking about the business side of things of course. Driven by passion is another thing and that's why I'm still doing albums lol
Ola Englund No, I agree totally with it. I was just saying that (or trying to say xD) there are people who will not care or can't push themselves to marketing due to various reasons. For them it's still fine to do what they like with the trade off that they will not have a following and / or exposure that is required today to make it in anyway.
I can’t wait to form a band with people who share the same artistic vision as me
Thanks for sharing! Love the truthfulness about this video. I used to play in a band. way back the business model is give the song and make it downloadable for free. then get back the money on Ticket Sales on a LIVE Concert. but now since we're connected than ever and any consumer are more educated. they want someone who's sticks their neck out there and make free constant content to entertain them.
Very interesting Ola, it would be great a video going deeper in this
Thanks for the advice. It's really good to know that. Plus one for the Nuka Cola t-shirt!
I agree with everything he says here. I've heard this from many people for years now. Rock and metal is not my primary genre currently in my life but this is probably the first time I hear these models being talked about for bands. I feel like a lot of bands are still stuck in the album format versus doing singles or a lot of videos.
Very true. Commercial content marketing strategies certainly apply to underground music, which is slightly sick.
Great insights, Ola. Thanks for sharing your perspective!
I use Apple Music and social media to discover bands. I also stream when I’m in the car. When I find music I love I will buy the physical format for my collection. I listen to physical formats when I’m home. I also noticed everyone is starting to release EPs just as you said to keep peoples attention. I’ve also seen other bands release albums in two parts to stretch it out. Honestly appreciate that. It gives you music to look forward to when you want to hear the “sequel”.
Would have to agree. I released an album and didn't get much joy. Couldn't keep a constant stream of news going to keep people interested. Met Ola in England a couple of years back and out of it started a pretty consistent RUclips channel about a year and a half ago. It's been growing steadily and for me been more effective to get people to see me as I can put something out at least once a week. Sound advice on the whole. I do still like the album format, but would agree the singles route leading into an e.p. seems to work better these days. Once there's demand for more then it's worth doing an album.
The album will never go away... how they are being released is changing. Hopesfall just put out a new album and they did quite a few individual song releases before they dropped the full album.
Hell yeah dude I love this shit
All I’m going to do is post a new music video every Friday with a blog video about the song topic and let whoever comes, come.
If you don’t know how to do your marketing, you’re not going anywhere.
I’m planning on getting like 4 or 5 albums out a year and posting regularly to build traffic and audience
While it may be harsh the honesty is much appreciated
I've got enough songs now to do either an "album", or take the best ones and make an "ep", but now I don't think I'll do it that way. I think I'll take your advice and just release one song at a time as a video, like one a month. Thank you for your insight. You're right. I now realize that albums are dead.
very big point Ola... great advise! "all about marketing"... got it! thanks. Cheers & God bless
Man, I've followed your channel for a while, and your content just keeps getting better and better!
Keep it up, Super Swede!
Yes, Ola has the point. Nowadays, making an album can be a waste of time for musicians. Having a strategic marketing plan is far more important than that, where the market is saturated. But the fact that no one really questions this same old production model & procedures since the advent of the Internet.
I appreciate the advice and the brutal honesty with which you deliver the message Ola :)
This is makes a lot of sense and is extremely helpful, thanks a lot Ola!
Thank you for this Ola. I really needed this