No I will continue to use the tools I love and am an ‘expert’ on.
Also I am tired of making technical tutorial videos after 3 years of doing Logic videos. I am now the 2nd biggest channel on Youtube on Logic Pro tutorials, and still I make less than 1/10th minimal wage from Youtube. So that is why I am looking to find more broader video styles and topics. While remaining true to my own passion and what I like to do of course.
Right now I feel that music theory and knowledge of composition, are the broadest topics since it does not exclude any style of music.
To be honest, I think YouTube is not, and has never been, a really good place for “educators”. There are only a handful music channels that focuses on education that get 100K+ views per video. I would be far better of in my business if I quit YouTube, and just focused my productive hours on courses. But the “problem” is that I enjoy the free/creative aspect of YouTube more, and getting the opportunity to reach way more people than a course ever will. It’s a tricky problem, but I have got some ideas from all the amazing comments I got on the video (and here).
Definitely! I totally agree with that. Most of us end up skewing the education we do with other elements. For me that looks like humour, entertainment and publication (kontakt instruments or things I endorse). I may title my videos as “how to” and I give an awful lot of information out that will help… but actually the clincher is that most of the time I’m taking you through a process. That is the most important element in my videos right now, simply because that’s what works… not to get views, but to build community, friendship. That to me is the important thing. I want to bring valuable content to those who want to be there. I think that’s why my channel is growing. I try to bring value with the products I create too by keeping them cheap.
For me, This is why I always ask my viewers to comment and leave feedback. Because if they’re upset about something then I want to know so I can find a way to help.
I got one great idea from a comment, that I believe could work for you Geoff!
Which was to compose a piece of music, and then in that video, use and show the tools (sounds) you created as products. I believe selling products will always be much muuuuuch better way to monitize than the crazy low amounts ads can gain.
Yep, very good technique to sell. I do this in every one of my videos. Right now I won’t make much from those sorts of purchases. As I said, I sell them at an affordable price so my goal is simply for those products to just make enough to cover the time I put in to them. That’s why my violin swells stuff are only £30 and my others are £10 or less. I want to add value and keep the accessibility and originality factors at the same level. Originality is often the hardest part of composing so that’s one thing I factor into the sounds I make.
I’m hoping that in the future I’m able to continue doing this while getting monetised from affiliates that I personally believe in… this means NOT doing review videos where product designers get free publicity for the price of a purchase you might not have bought in the first place.
I do believe in Waves products though and use them a lot, so I may soon become an affiliate to help others get a few in at a discounted price. Especially the Renaissance stuff.
I don’t watch composition or music instruction videos personally. The videos I do watch on YT are artists I am wanting to know about or for topics or tools that I am learning. ie. how to do something in Adobe Premier, how to fix my dishwasher, etc. I typically don’t have loyalty to any channels as I just need information quickly and I’m not interested in “hanging out” on YT or bored scrolling for something to watch .
The videos I do watch are informative, straightforward, aren’t too chatty, well produced and have a specific piece of information I need to learn. So, my advice would be to find your niche audience (new media composers?) and present topics in a “to the point” way that would be interesting and helpful for them. A bit of humour and positivity is helpful too but not required. Perhaps have some “wide audience” topics as well as specific topics with more detail. T
Topics that might be of interest to new media (film) composers:
how to market yourself as a unique media composer (brand, website, etc)
hardware tools needed to be a media composer
software tools needed to be a media composer
libraries suited for composers starting off
where to market yourself as a media composer
what should a demo reel look like
how to describe and market your own music
do I need a music education?
musical techniques (counterpoint for dummies, orchestration colours, various forms, importance of the use of rhythm)
mixing techniques (basic and advanced)
the importance of establishing relationships (real and virtual)
I’m in the same boat in trying to refine my brand and build subscribers and more views. It is not easy and sometimes discouraging when you see a poor quality video of something dumb getting hundreds of thousands of hits! But I keep refining and providing the highest quality content with the idea one day it will pay off. Heck, I would be happy getting 700-800 views per video that you are now getting.
Thank you Brandon,
I see we are on the complete opposite scale on how we use YouTube. As I consume literally 90% of my “media consumption” on YouTube. Meaning I literally never watch TV etc.
I literally watch (or listen to) YouTube videos 3-4 hours per day. Even just leaving a video on like a podcast in the background, haha.
I actually made a video following this, where I shared my new “YouTube Masterplan” for 10-100x results. I base my plan on the many great comments full of ideas I got on that video. Perhaps you can get some tips from the lessons I learned?
I will certainly do so Fredrik. In fact I would love to make live streaming of composing and producing live as well.
But not until I have invested in the hardware live streaming device (I always got issues with software streaming on the same computer I produce with because it is so CPU intensive to stream full HD camera + retina monitor + graphic overlays).
Composing is very niche and I’m sure it is hard to find new angles for content.
I am starting on my journey and got into your videos from the angle of a rock musician trying to work out how to orchestrate better for tunes that could sell on Pond5 et al. Excerpts from your courses on YouTube earned my subscription to your channel and I ended up subscribing to SkillShare as it was a cheaper option than buying your full courses on Udemy!
Have you tried approaching plugin manufacturers for discount codes on products? It could be another hook to entice viewers/subscribers. So many channels get more views from reviewing cheap(er) and free stuff - it could get “bums on seats”, and those who dive deeper will find your educational stuff.
It sure is, and I have come to realize that tutorials/education is both harder than entertainment, and also since I already focus on education with my courses I need to make YouTube become more of a creative outlet for my music and artistic journey.
First off, focusing on trending topics within your niche can really attract attention. Also, engaging with your community through comments and social media can build a loyal viewer base. Don’t forget the power of catchy thumbnails and titles; they really make your videos stand out in a sea of content. Now, for polishing those videos, I’ve been using movavi.com. It’s super intuitive and offers a bunch of cool editing features that can take your videos to the next level.
