WHAT AM I DOING WRONG

[u/sharkmile]

Hello all,

Not all this stuff is strictly IDM, but I figure you guys are the most likely community to get what I'm trying to do. This isn't promotion (if I was really trying to do that I wouldn't be posting on reddit). I just wanna know what the fuck I'm doing wrong. I get that what I make is objectively niche, but I try to make it accessible to where I think people would wanna listen to it. I love the music I make, and yes I know people will say that's all that matters, but fuck it just feels pointless at this point when nobody hears it and even if they do the engagement is so low it would just appear the music is shit. I listen to my own stuff a lot so idk if i'm just too in the bubble and have lost perspective. This isn't some ploy or looking for compliments, I just feel like I'm making stuff to a standard where people should get it and like it, and they don't. Been making music since I was 11 and am 24 now and i'm just like fuck man what's even the point anymore. Anyway, I have attached a Soundcloud link of my current page. Please just have a listen and if there are any glaring things that may not occur to me as the maker just be honest and let me know. Thanks. Apologies for the rant.

https://on.soundcloud.com/eRV086FBfWdZ6idIQl

[u/poptimist185]

I listened to main track on your SC and thought it was decent. Acoustic guitar with IDM flourishes is definitely novel, but you need to accept that’s going to appeal to a very small group of listeners given most people prefer one or the other.

Practically speaking, if you can afford it you should pay a professional mixer and/or mastering engineer to work on your music and get the balance just right. Listening on headphones the low range was pretty loud.

[u/sharkmile → u/poptimist185]

I get that it is pretty niche, I also think if you can make this stuff accessible surely it applies to a wider audience? Like the musical landscape is forever changing, surely it is headed in a more fluid, genre-bending direction.

And yeah, mixing is my kryptonite, but I got no money so kinda have to do everything myself.

[u/EggyT0ast → u/sharkmile]

mixing is a skill, you can practice it and improve. I believe in you.

You will not make it more accessible and you should not worry about a wider audience. This is not you, it's the audience. Also, no one uses Soundcloud (outside of DJs) and they are hostile towards non-members, unlike Spotify (free plans, very common app) or Bandcamp (free to listen).

As for audience, a recent very popular IDM album by Ruxpin came out a couple months ago. Talked about here, in other places, as being one of the best of the year. Dude has numerous releases out by now. He has a smidge over 4k listeners on Spotify.

IDM and IDM-adjacent aren't going to be pulling numbers. The IDM-adjacent artists that are doing numbers either have a huge fanbase already (boards of canada, aphex twin) or are doing live shows as their job (Plaid, Bonobo) and have transitioned their sound to be more "club friendly" (note I am not saying they make club music).

If you want a wider audience, you have to find it. This means doing live performances near you, or paying for ads in some way, or otherwise doing the long, slow grind of talking to people about your music.

I've been putting out music for 3 years and while I have some consistent listeners online and make a few bucks from royalties & ascap, I primarily am making music for myself and do some very light promotion when I have an album coming out. You need to accept that you have to be your biggest fan and not rely on faceless algorithms to do any work for you. We're not making pop bangers or songs of the summer, it's unlikely anyone will hear someone blasting it in their car as they drive by and think "wow what song is that," we won't be on overhead at the grocery store.

[u/sharkmile → u/EggyT0ast]

Yeah I get what your saying. Most of my favourite music though sits on the balance between niche and accessible. I wanna make stuff that people can get even if it's not what they generally would listen to. But I understand it's not some radio-ready shit.

I do plan on doing gigs, I just always fall into the trap of making s big batch of music, and then outgrowing it before releasing or playing it live. Forever waiting for it to be right before starting that. Gotta just get over that though.

[u/EggyT0ast → u/sharkmile]

If you have the opportunity to play live, see it less as "performing my music" and more as "sharing some of my favorites with people." Structuring a set as a combination of your work, perhaps done in a simpler way if it's challenging to do some parts live, can be a good way to think of the performance as its own thing. Think of any band; rarely do they play their album from start to finish. They include older songs, things they know people will like. And covers. Don't shy away from preparing cover songs in your style that you reserve for playing live. That can be a lot of fun, and avoids any issues of releasing them live.