Benn Jordan...... Word is Bond or a Crash Course in Synthfluencing

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That’s definitely emoji funny. Not LOL funny, but emoji funny, and enriching. Thank you.

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completely agree
I find it disappointing to be honest

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Keep in mind also that this is another way of describing ‘things people want to click on’ - which is what the amorphous algorithm is geared toward.

It’s a bit like putting out a blockbuster Hollywood hit, making lots of money, and then complaining that you can’t make arthouse cinema. Nobody is stopping you from making content that doesn’t appeal to the lowest common denominator - but nobody owes you a living for doing it.

There are lots of good (psychological) reasons that thumbnails with humans in them, expressing emotion, that have bright colours and attention-grabbing text get lots of views.

Even if us cynical middle aged Elektronauts find them off-putting they still work - we’re also not always the core demographic for this content even if sometimes it feels like we should be. And I’m still drawn to this content even if I don’t like it. I mean look at us all, sitting around talking about it. Engagement = $$$.

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These are the only kind of algorithms I want to hear about from synthtube

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I think we’re all missing the most important reason why he sucks.

He pronounced MK2 Make 2.

I don’t know where this motherfucker lives, but he best be ready to see some pitchforks out his window.

I think this is the sort of shit we can all unite against.

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100% this.
Mostly I just see them as a great way to glean more info on something I don’t own but am interested in.
When the fun stops, stop. Go back to work or turn your setup on and make some beats.

I do find this new wave of ‘meta-youtube set-the-record-straight’ stuff dull and ‘not for me’. Reminds me of when pop stars release their second album and it’s all about the hard life of being a pop star (Lily Allen comes to mind).
Hey ho, they need to have a good connection with their comments section, and that must be a fairly hard gig to deal with. Most ‘synthfluencers’ seem like really likeable, shy, muso nerds, and I can completely relate to that, so having to dredge youtube comments sections must really get to them after a while (Hainbach’s hate loops vids are both eye-opening and fantastic).

The way I see it, they are compelled to make these videos, they are normally pretty clear with what they are doing, and it’s super easy to just skip that video and move on.

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Wasn’t this what Pink Floyd did with “Wish You Were Here” (not their second album I know, but…) :laughing:

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Haha, and what ever happened to them?! :nerd_face:

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In high school lit class, we had to read On Writing by Stephen King, a nonfiction about the craft of writing. It was generally insufferable, but the one line that I really liked was something like this. “Eventually every writer writes a book about writing. They just have to get it out of their system.”

I think it’s the same with musicians. They write a song about the music industry or being on the road. Similarly, YouTubers make videos about the algorithm. It’s all just part of the game

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Just subscribe to my channel: I get $0 from youtube each month. Problem solved!

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If I had found this thread (or the other dozens of threads full of ‘nauts shitting on YouTube people) when I first discovered this forum, I probably wouldn’t have joined. So many otherwise polite people become absolutely vicious the moment YouTube is mentioned.

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I’ve skipped most of the thread after it dove straight into bashing only a few posts in. I found the video good. I’m not a Youtuber, so it was interesting to see how people like Benn are contacted, what they are offered and what kind of scams there are. He’s not at all complaining about Youtube or that he doesn’t get payed blablabla.

He makes clear that he’s confronted with accusations of being a “paid shill”. It’s an effort to make transparent what he does and doesn’t and what kind of ecosystem he’s navigating as a synthtuber. Shines a light on several influencers who are sponsored by stuff like the VPN clients or Blue Apron. He also explained that Distrokid is pretty much a way for Spotify to make extra money from artists by making it hard to submit music, then buying the platform that was setup to make it easier. That’s a different approach than say Bobeats, who doesn’t seem to be bothered by telling us how great of a service Distrokid ist.

If he ends that video by mentioning how Patreon makes him less dependent on various shady ways to make a living from Youtube, that’s fair imo. His channel is quite varied in content and making us lust for gear is only a small part of it. Even his more ad-like videos for Polyend’s products or Euruburo are artistic projects with original music and filming that sure took a lot of time and effort. He also started his Tracker Mini video by making clear how deeply involved he was with the making of it and that he has made friends there, so of course it’s subjective. Seems a bit unfair to attack the guy just because he’s making a video about anything but synths, which he has done before.

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Benn bumping “Something to Talk About” every time he posts a meta video that is specifically targeted towards exactly two audiences, people who love him and people who hate him. but as they say, hate and love are two sides of the same emotion.

when it comes to artists who push their visibility online, Benn seems to be in the group whos net output is overall positive. cant say the same for nearly every other person pushing their image online. maybe its because hes actually established in the world all the other influencers wish they were in

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I think a frank discussion of how hungry marketing firms are and how quickly would-be YouTubers can get subverted into being marketing for hire is interesting. Being a YouTuber of any sort seems pretty hellish and dystopian to me - unless it truly is only a hobby.

Could Benn be more self-deprecating? Sure. But doing that well takes years of practice and the mindset that lends one to do that conflicts with the confidence required to put things out there.

The synth personality space isn’t that large, and we already have one Nick Batt, one Loopop, and one Florian. It would be foolish to copy their styles, so he does some other style. At least the bulk of his content isn’t hawking gear he doesn’t like much and you’ll never see again in his videos.

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Precisely. I’ve started trying to pay attention to what sticks around for the long haul in videos and what doesn’t. Seems like a better barometer for quality/usability than a glowing review conveniently leaving out crucial details.

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Indeed, and is something leaves someone’s setup I wish they’d say why - especially if it has been there for some time. Not all of them do (I assume to not piss off their economic overlords, but that’s a shame).

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Yeah, it’s an easy (and popular!) argument to make, that famous YouTubers are shills. But the Free Lunch Theorem applies here. You don’t have to pay to try the gear, same you don’t have to pay to watch the content. But the video maker has an expectation to be paid for their time. So, your “payment” is sitting through an advertisement.

This is why I’ve stopped watching these synthfluencers for entertainment. Eventually, them flogging the gear or a sample distributor or distribution platform or plugin just sounded like nails on a chalkboard. I don’t begrudge them wanting to get paid, I just don’t want to hear it unless it’s something I may actually potentially buy.

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This is so true and annoying. These synth youtubers really seem to think we care about their little YT world where they all hang out at Superbooth and chat to each other in a private discord about the algorithim. These guys are not celebrities to me, they are dudes with cameras who tell us about gear they acquired and demo it. That’s it.

There is always the “Im going full time with youtube!!” post and then a year or so later they make another video telling you how they got a real job again. I really don’t care about those things personally. The best content from these guys is always their intial stuff where they genuinley wanted to be teachers and demonstrate a piece of gear they bought. It slowly morphs into some guy who has for years demoed gear, then makes embargo video releases and then suddenly starts teling you the trials and tribulations of his career while releasing the obligatory “Stop buying stuff” video and then the “manufacturers are not valuing synthtubers” rant, which then is followed by more day of release videos - but hey don’t buy gear guys.

Anyway, I didnt watch this video because I really don’t care anymore about these guys. The best youtube content to me is producers making tracks and talking about their techniques. And typically there is not much gear pushing in there since you can make top tier releases in your DAW with the stock plugins and some select 3rd party struff but consumers don’t want to see that, its not as sexy as some guy raving about “THIS PLUGIN IS A CHEAT CODE!!”

But just opening the YT home page, there is no doubt that in every vertical there is a push for these people to make the obligatory “How I earn my income” video.

“alogorithim overlords” was well stated.

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That was a long video that said almost nothing and felt more like a Patreon pitch. Over promising and under delivering. What bridges did he burn with this? Only with me and those who thought it was pretty lame. Still better than sunnyV2, though. Anything is better than sunny V2. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VgPDhTypO70&pp=ygUbc3Vubnl2MiBydWluZWQgdmlkZW8gZXNzYXlz