Fascinating inside scoop on being a full-time Synth YouTuber

Of course I’m not a 100% sure. But it’s my impression.

Maybe. The problem is that YouTube pays scrap for views. The golden age is long gone.
Why do you think that most channels have every video sponsored by completely pointless VPNs and whatnot?

Yes, but there’s a difference between recognising that our society is fucked and doing your best in spite of it and blaming it for all the perceived wrongs in your life.

This is all getting a bit existential now really…

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I think all these YouTubers should all go on strike for a month or two in protest. This way the synth companies will be able to see how much their sales have been affected.

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Kind of surprises me how much of a trigger these kind of videos are here, where people always state how little they care about the synth youtuber thing.
Strong opinions and judgements here for my taste.

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this is what he gets for leaking the model cycles (am i remembering this right?)

I see. I totally agree with that. I just think it’s a matter of keeping a measured discourse. Going to the dentist hurts even though you need it. I just don’t think it’s a good reason to encourage doctors to ignore their patient’s pain. Even though they are privileged to get treated.

I think these arguments shift the conversation too quickly to “some people have it worse, so your problems don’t exist”. Which could be said to anyone who is not currently dying if you abstract the concept to the max. I think it’s more realistic to look at one’s environment and life conditions and try to improve them rather than falling into the trap of relativism. I would bet there is a lot of savings to be made on therapy by reminding yourself why your job rocks, rather than why everyone else’s is worse.

In the case of RMR, he does say that his video is aimed at “other synfluencers” and manufacturers. So I would say, in a way that’s what he is doing: targeting his environment.
Maybe putting it on Youtube is was a strange move, maybe a mistake even, but his audience is stated. I also think some of his arguments sound questionable. But again, I don’t do his job, I don’t know what I’m talking about. And I won’t claim that I have no flaws of my own that people could point out.

At any rate, I am not arguing for giving everyone everything they need automatically. However, I would advocate for taking everyone’s point of view into account, so we can find a better compromise moving forward. Even the point of view of people who seem to be “having it easy” from a distance. Otherwise, I think we get to gaslighting very quickly.

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Do we see artists with +100K of followers making videos on YT whining about not getting paid enough?

No, not really.

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Any musician I know would use a huge platform of 500k subscribers to book gigs. Simple as. This guy is so caught up in the online world he can’t see that a “union” of his YouTube electronic music peers is what we in the real world call a “tour”. I don’t really like his music but you bet I would go check the Synthtuber tour when it comes to my city.

I find it fascinating this cat gets people so worked up with videos on YouTube.

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There’s no money in that either, so dont get any ideas.

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It is oddly fascinating. I think a lot of us can relate to RMR’s feelings — I too have done lots of freelance work and had to learn how to advocate for myself, my rate, etc. Those are important skills to develop and since these things are often handled in private, it’s interesting to be able to watch it play out on social media.

In my little world of creative services, the work that pays well is often the stuff you don’t really want to do, whereas the work you’re really excited about pays very little. When you curate your portfolio to advertise yourself, you put the really cool work up front (so you seem cool and so you hopefully attract more of that kind of work) but behind the scenes you know it’s the boring stuff that really pays the bills. The successful ones know how to strike the right balance.

I don’t think synth companies are going to find sufficient budget to pay these guys what they deserve, but I wonder if that money should come from YouTube or another Patreon-like way of directly supporting them. It’s a tough nut to crack but overall I think these are conversations worth having.

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For that to work they’d have to remove all of their videos so there is literally nothing for anyone to see.

A number of YouTube channels – some with a lot of followers - are duplicating their output (and / or offering exclusive videos etc) on Utreon as a way to combine the advantages of Patreon without some of the perceived disadvantages of either, and with video streaming built in.

It’s honestly really offputting and pretty weird. This place is otherwise pretty civil most of the time, but when YouTube personalities are mentioned the conversation frequently gets toxic and hateful. It’s fine to not like YouTube people, but why spend the energy hating on them?

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I’m still not seeing ‘toxic’ or ‘hateful’. I do see people discussing the subject and giving their opinions. Maybe I missed the toxic/hateful parts?

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Exactly. It really shines a negative light on this forum imo. People get personal and make a lot of wild assumptions. I’m bored by these anti youtuber threads. They are unpleasant. That’s why I leave it now (the thread, not the forum :upside_down_face:)

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These synthfluencers are in the freelance marketing world for expensive toys - it’s rotten to the core and always has been. Complaining about something so obviously rotten that they chose to go into and benefited from heavily is a little weird. That said I hope they can unionize and be fairly compensated that way, but i don’t know how it would work out, depending on what protections they have in their respective countries.

I think someone like Sarah Belle Reid has forged a winning path with educational content that is always interesting, truly has something to offer, and is inherently worth some money (whether that’s user supported or through grants). And there’s new gear when she wants there to be, so it is not like just rehashing completely dusty old stuff/personal interests. Music education for electronic music technologies is actually practical and useful, and honestly needed, unlike the pure consumerism of presenting new products for companies in the synthfluencer world. She gives a taste of the shiny toys, but it’s so secondary to the concepts and her communication abilities. I get that it’s user supported and kind of a different game, but I think someone like RMR and others should see what it’s like to focus earning a living from teaching synthesis/sound concepts and education. It’s very close to what they already do, but requires more deep learning and listening with these instruments, and personability and communication that make one on one instruction viable and appealing

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This particular thread has been better than these kind normally are. But there’s still a general feeling of negativity/ annoyance/ hate in a lot of comments. It’s subtle, but it’s definitely there. Especially earlier in the thread.

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Aren’t these thoughts and feelings valid?

Edit - I, for one, would like to hear them.

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AFAIK one thing that is missing from this thread is that RMR IS making money through his Patreon, and 225 is his highest tier. With that comes 3 hour long teaching sessions and 3 mastered tracks, which doesn’t seem like a bad deal for someone with disposable income. Idk how many people use that service, but it is “sold out,” according to his Patreon.

He also has ~730 other patrons on Patreon, and although I do mostly support his message, it’s hard to get past the fact that he probably already makes an absolute fuckton more money than me through the generosity of others.

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