Working with My Chemical Romance for their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album was basically the catalyst for EVERYTHING to follow. This guy is responsible for teaching them sound structure, THANK YOU 😅🙏🙏🙏🙏🫶🫶
Aboslutely agree, if you put 80% of the effort into the songwriting and arranging, everything else will fall into place much quicker and more effortlesly
Yes, a good amount of pre-production to streamline a song is so important, should be talked about much more on RUclips. Working on the core of the song: the structure, the key, the tempo, the melody, the lyrics, the arrangement... First get that into a great shape, then do all the production. So many people are producing and mixing bad songs, tweaking plug-ins etc.
@@heartshinemusic I guess that's where having good DAW templates is important? Build a couple boilerplate setups of virtual instruments and basic mix settings, which are "good enough" to leave alone until _after_ the writing is done. I figure persuading us on template usage is easier than selling us on writing with the screen turned off. 😅
I never knew Three Days Grace had collaborators. Looking at their credits I see that is true. Great insight to treat rock like pop. I may try to do that with my own material.
Talk about honesty, what a no BS approach! Trying to apply his ideas, I guess artists like Elvis and Michael Jacksom and many others were "empty vessels" then? Beatles is pop disguised as rock? A hit maker that really hits you in the guts and give you lots to think about. What a great interview, thanks.
I think empty vessels is pointed towards those who don't write songs but also who are rather limited in talent. Non-songwriters like Elvis, MJ, Sinatra, Tina Turner, Aretha etc etc, were masters of interpretation (not to mention talented beyond this world). They took songs to places the writers could only dream of, and that was their art. It would be unfair to write them off as artists just because they're not known as songwriters 👍
I worked in that environment for about two years, pretty close to Howard Benson's place actually and a buddy of mine was his engineer for a while. Anyway... on that level the music business is mostly BUSINESS. A lot of people forget that or never were aware of it. *This interview is spot on.* And those two years were great af! BUT... I decided that I certainly do not want this as a dayjob. Because I actually like music and also making music so much. I worked in lots of the major recording and mixing studios in Los Angeles at that time, early 2000s it was. And if I wouldn't have done it, I would probably think it would be my dream job. Working at NRG or Capitol or Cello or Chalice and whatnot. It was an awesome time, but once it gets a routine more or less, the magic fades.
Insightful comment. Ditto probably the pro-world of any area (e.g. sport). I think you should publish or present vids/podcasts on what you learned. Benson talks about The Monkees as a product. I suspect MANY of our favourite bands are more ''a product'' than any of us would care to admit.
@@acoustically9201 Definitely, the music industry is a business that sells product! There are so many unknown stories of acts that were signed and abandoned, just to reduce competition for the label's top artist. I think of the music marketplace like a grocery store aisle. There is finite space on the shelf for Universal to stock their Drake Puffs and Kendrick Krunch, and for Sony to peddle their Beyonce Berries and J-Lo Juice, and for Warner to market their Diced Cheese for Cutie and Steely Dan Dip. Something has to give.
I watched the video yesterday with excitement. I have to admit that I was not familiar with this man until now. This video has redeemed me. I am a professional live musician (guitar and vocals). I focus too much on things in the studio: How does it come across? Which guitar should I use? Can you do it like this etc....The most important thing is how it feels..that's what matters!!! How do you feel when you're recording? Have fun!
Great interview. Agree 100% on AI and apps like Suno being a tool. People assume everyone just prompts, and releases what it gives you. Some do, yes. But there's a lot of us out here that are using it in much more depth than that.
Great insights in to the past and present. What made this interview special is how he understands art, business and human connection. Wish all aerospace engineers could have a similar impact
Thanks for this great and long interview. I wish Howard would do more RUclips content about his (pre)production workflow, with him actually showing stuff while he's at work. Like, his famous approach to doubling guitar parts with synths, (which he does himself, in the after hours.) Well, that's something I want to know more about in detail. (But maybe, that's like his best guarded secret.)
Facts / harsh truth makes progress. It’s refreshing to hear someone who thinks like me 😁 Except when I say similar things to mixers or artists moaning, I’m told I’m too rough 🤭 I love every word of this one so far 🔥🔥🔥Wise words and tons of wisdom. Thank you for this video. 🤟Love all your podcasts. You need more attention.
Yah this guy is horrible... Everything that's wrong with the "music industry". At least he's not pretending to be doing art or something, he says it clearly, it's all about quantity and throw everything out there to see what turd sticks to the wall...
It's so funny watching all the armchair musicians and producers come out of the woodwork to talk shit, thinking they know how to do music better than the immensely successful veteran producer. I don't agree with everything Benson says but there's no doubting his skill and experience, and certainly lots of interesting information about the business shared.
@@alexanderchen4129 A totally unknown singer songwriter who's written one decent song and played an open mic once knows how to "do music better than this immensely successful veteran producer". Money is money. Business is business. Music is not money or business no matter how badly you want to conflate them and no matter how much our culture celebrates corporate slop over quality art.
I love how most of a mainstream music producer’s job is to make mediocre or disorganized musicians sound good 😂 I think people get put off and consider the industry shallow but even bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones had experienced producers behind them. It’s the ultimate collaboration!
"man who produced billions of streams worth of throwaway commercial trash in the wake of the death of rock says: farm out your writing to a team from the record company" wow what a surprise.
19:20 if AI starts to overshadow all the “average” artists, won’t they be less likely to excel in the long run? Great interview and insight from a pro.
I ran into some old Elvis vinyl records, and after looking it up on Discogs noticed that he wasn't in any of the songwriting credits, yet he sold over 230 Million records.... @25:24 "Can you convince an artist to co-write?" Elton John is another artist that used co-writers extensively, as did Michael Jackson. Tons of electronica from the 80's was produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman (SAW). Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both wrote songs for others to perform... Most of the top selling artist use co-written songs. Which then also begs the question, why couldn't the songwriters themselves become the artist... It's because there is a magical formula of song, look, age, time and place, uniqueness that all have to line up to hit that .5% chance... The biggest long shot indeed.
All true! I've met many young songwriters that are trying to become artists and end up crushing it as writers, putting their artist project on the back burner. But I think it makes their own music even better, they are no longer chasing the requirements of being a "star" because they've already found their place in the industry. They end up being more honest with their own music because of it.
The singer/songwriter band thing became a thing with The Beatles. Before that, Rock groups, just like Pop singers, recorded songs created by professional songwriters. This is one way that Beatlemania suddenly made Elvis irrelevant. If only his entire career had been like the music of his ‘68 comeback TV special.
Yea but the Beatles harmonies were top notch and were harmonies that the song needed , they were clever and original right from the beginning But they knew what worked and what didn’t for the song. They learned from the hundreds of cover songs they played in Hamburg. I think he’s complaining about artists who throw on harmonies and don’t have a sense on what will be right for the song and are not that good at harmonies…yet. The people he’s complaining about probably got good at it eventually. He’s a bit arrogant but has some interesting takes on things.
Great interview. I listened to it but had to put the actual video in the background because the cuts for every nodding reaction were too irritating to me. I understand the thought behind that. But it's just too much.
27:45 I find that people don't care because they have no idea how professional recordings are actually created, especially now that we hardly buy physical albums with _liner notes._ I've seen so many incidents online, where people-- accustomed to a modern hip-hop paradigm of combined emcee-songwriters and programmer-producers-- cannot conceive of "songwriter" as a viable career, completely separate from "recording artist." They automatically assume that _any_ songwriter whose work is being recorded by others is a "ghostwriter," being defrauded of their rightful fame and fortune. You can observe this in any comment section related to _NBC's Songland._ 🤦
Very interesting. Who was footing the bill? I mean, Howard Benson says, “I was interested in quantity. I wanted to make many albums a year. I would tell the artists, ‘I’m not the arbiter of taste; time will tell if it does well or not.’” But who was paying for this large volume of albums? Who was taking on the entrepreneurial risk? Thank you.
Without knowing the exact deals, the traditional and likely model for most of the projects he does would be for a record label to front the cost for recording and marketing. They would then recoup that advance from sales/streams.
Very interesting discussion, but give the exact same fantastic song and production to two different artists (singers) - one is very famous, already have a couple of top 10s and have all sorts of people in the background helping him/her. The other one is not known and this is his/her first song release, and he/she has to do all the job with e.g. Distrokid, and don't have all the time needed for the social media thing. So, identical songs, just different singers with the same skills etc, but different situations - who will get the most streams, and how many streams less will the other one get? 😁 Saying that the song is doing the work is nearly half the truth. When me and our singer meet Kaz and Danny at Virgin Music 1988 in LA, (the had a small 1.5 floor house next to Sunset strip by that time), we became aware about how volatile the music career can be and they were very nice and invited us whenever we passed by the office. Did we make it? No, to many internal conflicts in the band, and when I called Danny a couple months later and told him that we have collaboration issues with the singer he just told me, "Well, we don't!". Our singer both had the look and the voice, he was sticking out, so mainly it has always been about being seen then being heard. I don't say that it has to look pretty, but it needs to get others eyes to focus on it for some reason.
My reflection on this great video: Authenticity is where its at. I mostly listen to live music and always up and coming bands. Taylor Swift is using recorded vocals in live performance. I want raw. Mairk does something like a raw vocal ( low level ) but its all made by him. No extras. That's my authenticity connection.
Even if you write a great song, you won’t be paid for streams, because the labels own the streaming services. Ok, so what, you try promo outside of streaming, like physical product, which sells, and most CD manufacturers like discmakers do a great job of printing covers and art et., so that’s taken care of, so what’s next, distribution, you can use discmakers or DistroKid, and they will populate all online sources of music with your stuff, art, music, and all the digital rights and collections. So write a great song and blow off the streaming services. You don’t need them. Only give the, your older stuff you can’t make money on. Never your current stuff. Promote your stuff on your website and 18:09 let your online sales crest and fall before you put it on streaming services to stream for free. That’s how you do it.
Pop/Popular just means music that is secular, and not liturgical. Guess what? Heavy Metal is Pop music. *BAND-MAID* are a group currently delivering amazing Rock music that moves the listener emotionally. I wholeheartedly recommend that everyone here mourning the disappearance of “good music” check them out. They have digested many different musical styles over the past 12 years, so if one song doesn’t hit you hard, likely the next one will.
Great interview with one of the greatest producers of all time, thanks! If you need more brutally honest perspective from Howard Benson check out his interview on From the West Barn Podcast "Rascal Flatts Kicked The S%@t Out Of Me, I'm Never Going Back To Nashville!!" - Howard Benson
I unfortunately believe that AI will eventually win the Super Bowl. In my opinion the thought that AI won't ever win is driven by our ego. Yes AI is trained on the past, but it has and/or will have the capability to crunch so much data on trends, analyze the variables between what is working and what will likely work in the future, it will be able to predict what we as fans want to consume - it will begin to look both backward and forward at a speed that we simply are not capable of. Yes, there will be a period of time beginning (NOW) when the winners will be those with that "secret sauce" of how to get the best out of AI current generation as a tool. I don't see it winning a Performer of the Year award in our life times, but who knows... This was an amazing interview though. Thanks so much for sharing!
Uh, we’re all trained by the past, AI can mix African Pygmie choir with Russian rap and French country and western and offer you five different songs in 45 seconds. Show me a band that can do that. AI is the best musician friend you ever had. She will literally try ANYTHING, no questions and she doesn’t get drunk or forget her guitar cabinet on the sidewalk in front of the Whiskey and get it stolen.
@@progressionspod I also think there would be much more to talk about, his stories.... that would fill a second podcast - I would listen. But please make him do a proper recording of his voice;)
he's apparently the crap master. I guess he has a point about making money by going with quantity, that's his business. The people calling themselves "artists" using his services are maybe the ones to blame though. He doesn't give a flying f, just get the song machine rolling and write 20 more in 2 months, lets go//.
Or maybe in the 80’s before he was on the scene. 80’s hair bands were pop songs disguised as metal. Then grunge came in and undid that for a couple of years . Though punk rock 2nd wave from ‘94 on were basically pop songs with attitude, Green Day, blink 182. There were all sing -song like with nasal melodic vocals. So he didn’t invent that
There is no one guy that can kill rock or any genre. That’s silly. Peoples taste change because of multiple factors one huge factor is marketing and where the money goes that means your favorite fast food restaurant or soda can play a part in determining what lives and what dies. Cause you could look at this another way, he kept rock going a little bit longer by introducing young kids to some essence of rock. It seems like marketing companies use genres the way farmers use land. Some soil can take more crops. Some can’t regardless they all need to be cycled.
Thanks for all the pontification. It really comes down to connections in the business. You can mix and master like a monkey and write/record the greatest/stupidest songs. You need connections to go big (and Payola). Turn the switch on/off. That's how it 'works'.
What a completely off-putting, cynical worldview this guy has. You can't deny his success, but you also don't have to think like he does to have that level of success. If you don't believe me, just listen to how other highly successful producers talk about making art. He's basically just an unabashed capitalist, and that's not why most people I know make music.
So basically if your not making money streaming you suck? Evidently I suck then… 12 albums on Spotify, 7 monthly listeners, been pouring my heart and soul out on my music for years. And apparently I suck? If someone would just give me a chance, maybe there would be a new musical revolution instead of the cr*p Howard Benson releases!! I have been making music since 1987!!
When's the last time you worked with a producer or got a genuine critique, and what did you do with that advice? Either way, marketing is necessary. That happens on social media these days. I'm a nobody offering free consultations, if you want. 😸
![Blox Fruits Dragon Rework Update [Full Stream]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/EqDAp8udhm0/mqdefault.jpg)
I've had the pleasure of working with Howard locked in the studio for weeks and I can tell you, he's a legend.
you sold your soul to the devil.
If music has verses and choruses, it's pop. Rock n roll has been a form of pop music from day one.
Genre labels are more marketing terms than hills to "unalive" on. 😸
Working with My Chemical Romance for their Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge album was basically the catalyst for EVERYTHING to follow. This guy is responsible for teaching them sound structure, THANK YOU 😅🙏🙏🙏🙏🫶🫶
Aboslutely agree, if you put 80% of the effort into the songwriting and arranging, everything else will fall into place much quicker and more effortlesly
Always! A great song is always a great everything else.
Marketing is even more important than good music these days.
Yes, a good amount of pre-production to streamline a song is so important, should be talked about much more on RUclips. Working on the core of the song: the structure, the key, the tempo, the melody, the lyrics, the arrangement... First get that into a great shape, then do all the production. So many people are producing and mixing bad songs, tweaking plug-ins etc.
@@heartshinemusic I guess that's where having good DAW templates is important? Build a couple boilerplate setups of virtual instruments and basic mix settings, which are "good enough" to leave alone until _after_ the writing is done.
I figure persuading us on template usage is easier than selling us on writing with the screen turned off. 😅
such a great interview, was a pleasure to listen! wish it was 3x longer haha.
Glad you dug it! Thanks for watching
Incredible! Howard's a real one. So many gems in this!!! Great conversation! 🔥
this was a fantastic interview with great advice.
Glad you dug it!
P.O.D's best albums were always with Howard Benson. Love this guy!!!!!
I never knew Three Days Grace had collaborators. Looking at their credits I see that is true. Great insight to treat rock like pop. I may try to do that with my own material.
I think this is THE answer for older rockers. What's lacking in the albums from older artists & bands? Songs. Great songs. It's all so lackluster.
This has to be the best interview. I’ve listened to in a long time brutal. 😆
Talk about honesty, what a no BS approach! Trying to apply his ideas, I guess artists like Elvis and Michael Jacksom and many others were "empty vessels" then? Beatles is pop disguised as rock? A hit maker that really hits you in the guts and give you lots to think about. What a great interview, thanks.
I think empty vessels is pointed towards those who don't write songs but also who are rather limited in talent. Non-songwriters like Elvis, MJ, Sinatra, Tina Turner, Aretha etc etc, were masters of interpretation (not to mention talented beyond this world). They took songs to places the writers could only dream of, and that was their art. It would be unfair to write them off as artists just because they're not known as songwriters 👍
What an insight! Great interview, great questions and cool vibe. Thanks, that was awesome watching!
as both a professional gambler and musician, i love the way Benson explains how statistics and variance impact success in music
Every musician should see this video. Such a must-see for any guy in the music business. Congrats.
I worked in that environment for about two years, pretty close to Howard Benson's place actually and a buddy of mine was his engineer for a while. Anyway... on that level the music business is mostly BUSINESS. A lot of people forget that or never were aware of it. *This interview is spot on.* And those two years were great af! BUT... I decided that I certainly do not want this as a dayjob. Because I actually like music and also making music so much. I worked in lots of the major recording and mixing studios in Los Angeles at that time, early 2000s it was. And if I wouldn't have done it, I would probably think it would be my dream job. Working at NRG or Capitol or Cello or Chalice and whatnot. It was an awesome time, but once it gets a routine more or less, the magic fades.
Insightful comment. Ditto probably the pro-world of any area (e.g. sport). I think you should publish or present vids/podcasts on what you learned. Benson talks about The Monkees as a product. I suspect MANY of our favourite bands are more ''a product'' than any of us would care to admit.
@@acoustically9201 Definitely, the music industry is a business that sells product!
There are so many unknown stories of acts that were signed and abandoned, just to reduce competition for the label's top artist.
I think of the music marketplace like a grocery store aisle. There is finite space on the shelf for Universal to stock their Drake Puffs and Kendrick Krunch, and for Sony to peddle their Beyonce Berries and J-Lo Juice, and for Warner to market their Diced Cheese for Cutie and Steely Dan Dip. Something has to give.
Amaaaaazing interview!! Very inspiring! 👏
The music industry is fueled by HITS!
Great video.
These interviews are pure gold! Thanks for doing this! Cheers
I watched the video yesterday with excitement. I have to admit that I was not familiar with this man until now. This video has redeemed me. I am a professional live musician (guitar and vocals). I focus too much on things in the studio: How does it come across? Which guitar should I use? Can you do it like this etc....The most important thing is how it feels..that's what matters!!! How do you feel when you're recording? Have fun!
So much great content in this, absolutely excellent interview!
Great interview.
Agree 100% on AI and apps like Suno being a tool. People assume everyone just prompts, and releases what it gives you. Some do, yes. But there's a lot of us out here that are using it in much more depth than that.
Great insights in to the past and present. What made this interview special is how he understands art, business and human connection. Wish all aerospace engineers could have a similar impact
Hey man, loved the interview. Howard is a legend. Looking forward to next one. Btw, Beinhorn would be great.
Thanks! And Beinhorn would be epic!
I really enjoyed this interview. Thanks to Howard for sharing his wisdom with everyone.
Ive watched a lot of producer interviews and this is by far the best, so many key takeways.
Thanks for this great and long interview. I wish Howard would do more RUclips content about his (pre)production workflow, with him actually showing stuff while he's at work. Like, his famous approach to doubling guitar parts with synths, (which he does himself, in the after hours.) Well, that's something I want to know more about in detail. (But maybe, that's like his best guarded secret.)
Thanks for watching! He's definitely got a plethora of stuff to share. Hopefully some more pods or channels can pull some more out of him.
Really nice interview! Really enjoyed hearing his perspective!
Great interview, thanks
Great interview.
Facts / harsh truth makes progress. It’s refreshing to hear someone who thinks like me 😁 Except when I say similar things to mixers or artists moaning, I’m told I’m too rough 🤭 I love every word of this one so far 🔥🔥🔥Wise words and tons of wisdom. Thank you for this video. 🤟Love all your podcasts. You need more attention.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy the rest! There’s definitely plenty of great bits in this one. Howard shared a ton!
Well, you can take a year to create The Dark Side of the Moon, or take 6 weeks to make a butt-rock album.
You pick.
Yah this guy is horrible... Everything that's wrong with the "music industry". At least he's not pretending to be doing art or something, he says it clearly, it's all about quantity and throw everything out there to see what turd sticks to the wall...
The world is big enough for both. 😊
100%. This guy doesn't have a single producing credit I would actually choose to listen to. All trash.
It's so funny watching all the armchair musicians and producers come out of the woodwork to talk shit, thinking they know how to do music better than the immensely successful veteran producer. I don't agree with everything Benson says but there's no doubting his skill and experience, and certainly lots of interesting information about the business shared.
@@alexanderchen4129 A totally unknown singer songwriter who's written one decent song and played an open mic once knows how to "do music better than this immensely successful veteran producer". Money is money. Business is business. Music is not money or business no matter how badly you want to conflate them and no matter how much our culture celebrates corporate slop over quality art.
I love how most of a mainstream music producer’s job is to make mediocre or disorganized musicians sound good 😂 I think people get put off and consider the industry shallow but even bands like the Beatles and Rolling Stones had experienced producers behind them. It’s the ultimate collaboration!
Great collaborations are so much more than 2x better. It's always 10x and beyond
This is a truly great interview
Thanks!
Fantastic interview. Such good stuff.
This is absolutely brilliant and very insightful. Thank you. :)
The JST Howard Benson vocals plug in I'd really cool
🔥 Another good one
YT steered me to this video. Awesome interview. I sub'd. Looking fwd to more.
"man who produced billions of streams worth of throwaway commercial trash in the wake of the death of rock says: farm out your writing to a team from the record company" wow what a surprise.
19:20 if AI starts to overshadow all the “average” artists, won’t they be less likely to excel in the long run?
Great interview and insight from a pro.
I ran into some old Elvis vinyl records, and after looking it up on Discogs noticed that he wasn't in any of the songwriting credits, yet he sold over 230 Million records.... @25:24 "Can you convince an artist to co-write?" Elton John is another artist that used co-writers extensively, as did Michael Jackson. Tons of electronica from the 80's was produced by Stock, Aitken & Waterman (SAW). Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson both wrote songs for others to perform... Most of the top selling artist use co-written songs. Which then also begs the question, why couldn't the songwriters themselves become the artist... It's because there is a magical formula of song, look, age, time and place, uniqueness that all have to line up to hit that .5% chance... The biggest long shot indeed.
All true! I've met many young songwriters that are trying to become artists and end up crushing it as writers, putting their artist project on the back burner. But I think it makes their own music even better, they are no longer chasing the requirements of being a "star" because they've already found their place in the industry. They end up being more honest with their own music because of it.
The singer/songwriter band thing became a thing with The Beatles. Before that, Rock groups, just like Pop singers, recorded songs created by professional songwriters. This is one way that Beatlemania suddenly made Elvis irrelevant. If only his entire career had been like the music of his ‘68 comeback TV special.
The Beatles harmonies were all over the place.........and that's what made them cool.
Yea but the Beatles harmonies were top notch and were harmonies that the song needed , they were clever and original right from the beginning But they knew what worked and what didn’t for the song. They learned from the hundreds of cover songs they played in Hamburg. I think he’s complaining about artists who throw on harmonies and don’t have a sense on what will be right for the song and are not that good at harmonies…yet. The people he’s complaining about probably got good at it eventually. He’s a bit arrogant but has some interesting takes on things.
Thanks for a great video..😊
This one had so much good stuff in it
Thanks for watching!
Great interview. I listened to it but had to put the actual video in the background because the cuts for every nodding reaction were too irritating to me. I understand the thought behind that. But it's just too much.
What song is a good example of his vocal harmony?
27:45 I find that people don't care because they have no idea how professional recordings are actually created, especially now that we hardly buy physical albums with _liner notes._
I've seen so many incidents online, where people-- accustomed to a modern hip-hop paradigm of combined emcee-songwriters and programmer-producers-- cannot conceive of "songwriter" as a viable career, completely separate from "recording artist."
They automatically assume that _any_ songwriter whose work is being recorded by others is a "ghostwriter," being defrauded of their rightful fame and fortune.
You can observe this in any comment section related to _NBC's Songland._ 🤦
10:09 you got to feel things . Does it make you feel anything?
Very interesting. Who was footing the bill?
I mean, Howard Benson says, “I was interested in quantity. I wanted to make many albums a year. I would tell the artists, ‘I’m not the arbiter of taste; time will tell if it does well or not.’”
But who was paying for this large volume of albums? Who was taking on the entrepreneurial risk?
Thank you.
Without knowing the exact deals, the traditional and likely model for most of the projects he does would be for a record label to front the cost for recording and marketing. They would then recoup that advance from sales/streams.
Btw which P.O.D. song(s) got the ball rolling? Was it primarily "Southtown"?
Very interesting discussion, but give the exact same fantastic song and production to two different artists (singers) - one is very famous, already have a couple of top 10s and have all sorts of people in the background helping him/her. The other one is not known and this is his/her first song release, and he/she has to do all the job with e.g. Distrokid, and don't have all the time needed for the social media thing. So, identical songs, just different singers with the same skills etc, but different situations - who will get the most streams, and how many streams less will the other one get? 😁
Saying that the song is doing the work is nearly half the truth. When me and our singer meet Kaz and Danny at Virgin Music 1988 in LA, (the had a small 1.5 floor house next to Sunset strip by that time), we became aware about how volatile the music career can be and they were very nice and invited us whenever we passed by the office. Did we make it? No, to many internal conflicts in the band, and when I called Danny a couple months later and told him that we have collaboration issues with the singer he just told me, "Well, we don't!". Our singer both had the look and the voice, he was sticking out, so mainly it has always been about being seen then being heard. I don't say that it has to look pretty, but it needs to get others eyes to focus on it for some reason.
My reflection on this great video: Authenticity is where its at. I mostly listen to live music and always up and coming bands. Taylor Swift is using recorded vocals in live performance. I want raw. Mairk does something like a raw vocal ( low level ) but its all made by him. No extras. That's my authenticity connection.
Great video thanks 💯
🙌 🙌 🙌
Thanks!
Any chance we could put out some rock disguised as rock?
😂
This is a really good interview.
Thanks for watching!
The example of the RUclips guy opened my eyes. One thing is being an artist and the other an “influencer”. A&R will come back...
A&R definitely needs to get off the data train and back on the music train.
@ It’s been off for 20 years... “listen” the result
Even if you write a great song, you won’t be paid for streams, because the labels own the streaming services. Ok, so what, you try promo outside of streaming, like physical product, which sells, and most CD manufacturers like discmakers do a great job of printing covers and art et., so that’s taken care of, so what’s next, distribution, you can use discmakers or DistroKid, and they will populate all online sources of music with your stuff, art, music, and all the digital rights and collections.
So write a great song and blow off the streaming services. You don’t need them.
Only give the, your older stuff you can’t make money on. Never your current stuff. Promote your stuff on your website and 18:09 let your online sales crest and fall before you put it on streaming services to stream for free. That’s how you do it.
This man speaks the absolute truth.
Beating hearts baby was a banger.
This is Amazing!!!!
Glad you dug it!
This is Music Business Degree in 1 Hour ... lol.. Thanks...
8 Bit Nintendo RBI Baseball! Howard gives ya the big bat with which to swing. 😁
RUclips needs way more comments referencing old school Nintendo. You got anything for Excitebike?
This guy sounds like the cable guy 😂
Authenticity and commercialism ? Hummm..... interesting combo.
Pop/Popular just means music that is secular, and not liturgical. Guess what? Heavy Metal is Pop music.
*BAND-MAID* are a group currently delivering amazing Rock music that moves the listener emotionally. I wholeheartedly recommend that everyone here mourning the disappearance of “good music” check them out. They have digested many different musical styles over the past 12 years, so if one song doesn’t hit you hard, likely the next one will.
Who is he? I only heard MCR and they had a good sound and some great songs, but ... he's got a speech error! :O
13:54 hmm
Truth hurts but liberates also.Lyrics melody and torchestration are the main substance the rest is..
Great interview with one of the greatest producers of all time, thanks! If you need more brutally honest perspective from Howard Benson check out his interview on From the West Barn Podcast "Rascal Flatts Kicked The S%@t Out Of Me, I'm Never Going Back To Nashville!!" - Howard Benson
haha. That's a great quote!
I unfortunately believe that AI will eventually win the Super Bowl. In my opinion the thought that AI won't ever win is driven by our ego. Yes AI is trained on the past, but it has and/or will have the capability to crunch so much data on trends, analyze the variables between what is working and what will likely work in the future, it will be able to predict what we as fans want to consume - it will begin to look both backward and forward at a speed that we simply are not capable of. Yes, there will be a period of time beginning (NOW) when the winners will be those with that "secret sauce" of how to get the best out of AI current generation as a tool. I don't see it winning a Performer of the Year award in our life times, but who knows...
This was an amazing interview though. Thanks so much for sharing!
A Billion Streams? What’s that,like 20 albums?
world class producer economy class person, people just have to choose which is important to them,,,
9:53 😂
When capitalism meets art, fantastic
As the Rolling Stones said, it’s the singer, not the song…
I cant see how taylor swifts lyrics connect with anyone. She is 30 something and writes from a teenage perspective and pretty generic at that.
And yet… they connect. 🤷
Uh, we’re all trained by the past, AI can mix African Pygmie choir with Russian rap and French country and western and offer you five different songs in 45 seconds. Show me a band that can do that. AI is the best musician friend you ever had. She will literally try ANYTHING, no questions and she doesn’t get drunk or forget her guitar cabinet on the sidewalk in front of the Whiskey and get it stolen.
😸
He is not stupid.
Truth
@@progressionspod I also think there would be much more to talk about, his stories.... that would fill a second podcast - I would listen. But please make him do a proper recording of his voice;)
Haha. Yeah, I’m no longer allowing guests to use Bluetooth earbuds after a couple rough ones this year. Thanks for dealing with it on this one!
If crap sells sell crap.
he's apparently the crap master. I guess he has a point about making money by going with quantity, that's his business. The people calling themselves "artists" using his services are maybe the ones to blame though. He doesn't give a flying f, just get the song machine rolling and write 20 more in 2 months, lets go//.
Here's a statistic: zero musical integrity!!
OK, so basically, this would be the guy who killed rock by starting a pop factory with guitars back in the early 2000s. Correct?
cry harder
Or maybe in the 80’s before he was on the scene. 80’s hair bands were pop songs disguised as metal. Then grunge came in and undid that for a couple of years . Though punk rock 2nd wave from ‘94 on were basically pop songs with attitude, Green Day, blink 182. There were all sing -song like with nasal melodic vocals. So he didn’t invent that
There is no one guy that can kill rock or any genre. That’s silly. Peoples taste change because of multiple factors one huge factor is marketing and where the money goes that means your favorite fast food restaurant or soda can play a part in determining what lives and what dies. Cause you could look at this another way, he kept rock going a little bit longer by introducing young kids to some essence of rock. It seems like marketing companies use genres the way farmers use land. Some soil can take more crops. Some can’t regardless they all need to be cycled.
Ur mad
"Killed Rock" by creating countless hugely successful rock records. Just out of curiosity, did you do more for rock by being sat on your arse?
I'm not really a fan of the bands he's produced. His story and philosophy in the studio are undeniably instructive.
Ah. So this knob is to blame for the mediocrity of mainstream rock.
Thanks for all the pontification. It really comes down to connections in the business. You can mix and master like a monkey and write/record the greatest/stupidest songs. You need connections to go big (and Payola). Turn the switch on/off. That's how it 'works'.
Some of the most valuable advice for every musician and artist.
What a completely off-putting, cynical worldview this guy has. You can't deny his success, but you also don't have to think like he does to have that level of success. If you don't believe me, just listen to how other highly successful producers talk about making art. He's basically just an unabashed capitalist, and that's not why most people I know make music.
just say jewish hahahahahahah
The “butt rock” sound - Daughtry & 3 Days Grace. The guy is talented, but I hate the sound of those bands.
absolutely not true about ai music
Rich Men North of Richmond...
So basically if your not making money streaming you suck? Evidently I suck then… 12 albums on Spotify, 7 monthly listeners, been pouring my heart and soul out on my music for years. And apparently I suck? If someone would just give me a chance, maybe there would be a new musical revolution instead of the cr*p Howard Benson releases!! I have been making music since 1987!!
When's the last time you worked with a producer or got a genuine critique, and what did you do with that advice?
Either way, marketing is necessary. That happens on social media these days. I'm a nobody offering free consultations, if you want. 😸
@ I’ll never work with anyone except my wife!! She makes the rules LOL
One of the greats.. produced historical bands like rhcp system of a down nirvana linkin park qotsa deft.... ah no 😂
"The A.I. is not gonna tour"... wait till he sees Hatsune Miku!
ruclips.net/video/b6VhAvtekeU/видео.html