I can't pick hits!

A E J O T Z · Posted: Sun Oct 23, 2016 6:26 pm Post subject: I can't pick hits!

I just checked download stats on my seven albums on Bandcamp.

There are six albums, one for each year, from '11 to '16 (in progress).
Each of those albums contains what I consider the best tunes from that year.

There is also a collection of "leftovers" that I thought were not so good.

Several albums were downloaded once each, one was downloaded twice and another one three times.

Guess which of the seven albums was downloaded five times, the most of any of the seven albums... The @#$% leftovers!!!

Apparently I don't understand what music people will like.

Many musicians have reported having this problem.

robsol · Posted: Tue Oct 25, 2016 4:54 am Post subject:

Nobody can. Some people may think that they can because they get lucky. Laughing

Antimon · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:09 am Post subject:

I recognise the phenomenon. I guess the rule is: don't publish the leftovers - only publish the good stuff.

PHOBoS · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 6:28 am Post subject:

well, if I had to pick an album without listening I would probably pick that one too.
Expecting it to have a lot of variation and a nice overview of the music you make.

I do recognize it though, sometimes tracks that I personally didn't think where very
good are more popular than the ones I really like.

robsol · Posted: Thu Oct 27, 2016 3:20 pm Post subject:

As a musician it is actually quite difficult to predict what most people like. In want for a better word, your tastes are not "average" because you are invested in music on a different level than a listener is. This is why we have producers in popular music - their job is to make sure you create music that will sell records. At least that's one way of looking at it. A bunch of housewives with better things to do would suffice imo.

These days you could probably do away with producers and use Facebook Likes instead. Very Happy

glow worm · Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 4:53 pm Post subject:

"Honour thy error as a hidden intention."
- Brian Eno

Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Wed Nov 02, 2016 5:46 pm Post subject:

I have an ongoing data sonification research project with a few students, in which you listen to three reference sounds, and then for each of a series of experimental sounds, respond by selecting one of the three reference sounds as the closest.

The first semester that we ran a "sonic survey" with students, I was sure that the timbral data sonification approach was much less distinct than the melodic or harmonic approaches, and that we'd discard timbral in round 2 of the study.

Instead, timbral was the most accurate (for matching to a reference sound) of the three across the student sonic-survey-taking population. Being surprised, I went back & looked at my own sonic survey responses, and I was right in line with my students: I selected matching sounds based on timbre more accurately than melody or harmony, even though I was sure that timbral was the worst.

In conclusion, I have no conscious judgement about what I hear, or for that matter, what the hell is going on. Shocked

robsol · Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 3:52 pm Post subject:

If I understood you right Dale, that sounds incredibly interesting!

Maybe music has not yet had time to enter into our evolution. Very Happy

Acoustic Interloper · Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 6:23 pm Post subject:

A E J O T Z · Posted: Sat Nov 05, 2016 5:50 pm Post subject:

Acoustic Interloper

Q&A: Smule founder Jeff Smith uses music to predict Clinton win.

Cotarvoid · Joined: Jan 29, 2017 Posts: 12 Location: Australia

I guess that is why music is a form of art...

Like, unless you're some commercial pretty face producer like David Guetta (I'm not saying his stuff is bad, It has to be good to make the charts every time, I'm just saying he has teams of analysts deciphering what tastes of music are popular at the time), so unless you're someone like David - you really don't know.

I guess what's left for us, is to continue producing what we love - not try hard to fit in just to please others - and if you love it, someone else out there has also got to love it.

And never disregard the "Leftovers!"

Cfish · Joined: Feb 24, 2016 Posts: 477 Location: Indiana

[quote="Cotarvoid"

I guess what's left for us, is to continue producing what we love - not try hard to fit in just to please others - and if you love it, someone else out there has also got to love it.

And never disregard the "Leftovers!"[/quote]

Creedance clearwater revival did a song called sail away on the B side of a single. It's hard to even find it. A friend of Mines band remade and covered it.
One night at a show in a small club, John Fogerty walked up and says he could not believe someone did something that good with what he considered to be the biggest piece of shit he ever released.

One mans trash can be another mans treasure.