HOW TO GET BETTER AT MAKING MUSIC
BAD MUSIC MADE FAST IS STILL BAD MUSIC
Efficiency is an extremely important aspect in almost every industry there is. For example, McDonalds wouldn’t be a profitable, multi-billion dollar business if it wasn’t remarkably efficient. An understanding of one’s supply chain (from farmer to Big Mac in your hand in McDonalds) can help reveal problems in the system. Once these problems are fixed, they can make a business more efficient and profitable. The same should apply to an artist creating his or her own music.
One aspect of creating music that I don’t really see talked about is this idea of efficiency. We always hear about our favorite artists spending years on their music to make it perfect. Many of my artist friends can concur, even stating that their songs “dropping next Friday” have taken months to finish. One idea that many artists believe in is that artistry and efficiency cannot exist together without sacrificing in one or the other. I, however, am a strong believer that the time spent on making a song doesn’t translate to how good it is.
*Of course a song made in 15 minutes probably won’t sound as clean and polished as a song made in a month but please keep reading as I explain my theory lol
Let me give an example.
It’s January 1st and you want to set a New Year’s Resolution for yourself: release an album by the end of the year. You’re filled with enthusiasm and you start writing, recording, and producing a ton of music. A few months go by and your drive and enthusiasm are basically gone. You’ve burnt yourself out over the past few weeks with this “rise and grind” mentality and now you’re struggling to find inspiration. A few more months go by and you are inspired again! You delete some old ideas but bring in a plethora of new and exciting ones that keep you motivated. The year finally ends and you’ve completed your goal of releasing an album!
vs.
Andrew Huang and Rob Scallon decide to make an album in one day. They rent a studio and write, record, produce, mix, and master a full album in the span of 12 hours.
Which one is better?
In terms of artistry, it’s going to be subjective. In terms of efficiency, Andrew and Rob win by a landslide. Efficiency is one of the only things you can control as a creative. You can’t force someone to like your music since music is ultimately subjective. I’m not saying that efficiency should be prioritized over artistry but there is a cost of spending an absurd amount of hours on a song or album where the efforts won’t be noticed - especially when that time could have been spent making more music or creating a marketing plan.
Who's to blame?
The amount of new artists creating and sharing new music every day has changed the music industry and how audiences consume music. What was once an industry focused on quality over quantity has shifted dramatically to be “CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT” focused. Let’s take the beat-leasing scene of hip-hop for example. Many beatmakers would rather spend 6 hours making 6 decent beats than spend 6 hours making one beat. Main reason is that the beat-leasing scene success is based on staying ahead of trends and outputting consistent quality beats. In addition, there is a limit on leases for each beat you release. If someone buys an exclusive license for one beat you spent 6 hours on, that’s all the money you are going to see for a while. Now imagine if you spent that same time making twice as many beats. See the pattern?
Not all music should be efficient but it’s important to understand which aspects of the creation process could be done faster
Here are some questions to ask yourself next time you’re working on a song:
1) What is the purpose of the song?
for example, sync licensing, artist project, beat making, children’s cartoon, fiverr, etc.
2) Will extra time spent on this song make a noticeable difference?
for example, retuning your hihats down or up 10 cents wont make a difference
