Sound designer Venus Theory discusses AI music generation, industry impact, revenue streams, and creative freedom. They explore the value of time in creative work and balancing multiple projects while navigating networking opportunities. The podcast delves into monetization strategies for YouTube creators and the challenges of managing music schedules and YouTube success.
Balancing multiple projects can lead to overwhelming workloads resembling multiple jobs in one.
Trade shows like NAMM are losing significance, with events like Superbooth becoming major platforms for product announcements and networking opportunities.
AI tools are revolutionizing music creation by aiding in idea generation, sound sampling, and collaboration, expanding accessibility in the music-making process.
Deep dives
Challenges of Managing Multiple Creative Projects
Working on multiple projects concurrently can be overwhelming, as described in the podcast episode. The speaker discussed the intensity of filming and editing three videos simultaneously, along with completing sound design and scoring tasks. Despite aiming to focus only on essential work, the speaker found all tasks intriguing, leading to a workload resembling three different jobs compressed into one, resulting in a continuous stream of work.
Evolution of Trade Shows and Networking in the Music Industry
The podcast delved into the evolution of trade shows like NAMM and their decreasing significance in product announcements, shifting towards events like Superbooth for major reveals. The speaker expressed disillusionment with NAMM's diminishing impact and highlighted the focus on networking opportunities at such events. While acknowledging the potential value in personal interactions, there was skepticism regarding the cost-effectiveness of trade show booths for product exposure.
Implications of AI and Music Creation
The podcast explored the impact of AI tools on music creation, emphasizing their potential for idea generation and expanding accessibility in music production. Detailed discussions included AI's role in sound sampling, stem separation, and up-sampling audio. The conversation extended to licensing AI models for music creation, offering opportunities for novel sound exploration and collaboration in the music-making process.
The Importance of Consistent Creation and Release
Consistently creating and releasing content without fear is highlighted as crucial for artists. By treating everything as demos and maintaining an amateur approach, creators can produce work that resonates with a broader audience. This approach emphasizes the significance of focusing on the act of creating rather than overthinking the outcome or striving for perfection.
Diversifying Income Streams and Prioritizing Creative Freedom
The discussion touches on diversifying income sources, with Patreon, sound design, and YouTube being key revenue streams. The speaker emphasizes the importance of releasing original music under their own name, highlighting the benefits of building a personal brand over time. Furthermore, engaging in commissioned works that offer creative freedom is preferred over industry-standard projects, allowing for more enjoyable and rewarding artistic endeavors.
Sound designer / musician / content creator person, mostly known for my work in sound design (partial list on my website) and my youtube channel where I mostly focus these days on the philosophical and psychological aspects of creativity/artistry. Most of my music work focuses on composition and commissioned music/sound work for things like trailer production houses, music for apps, some media composition stuff, as well as a ton of demo tracks for products and software (the demo song that comes with cubase and stuff like that). 29 years old, from the VERY rural midwest (town of like 800 people), and currently located outside Nashville, TN. Wife, two dogs, some recently acquired cowboy boots, an obscene amount of coffee paraphernalia, and a glorious selection of local bourbon and whiskey.
GARDNSOUND (aka. No Effort, and Whitey McWhiterson) is a literal jack-of-all-trades from Atlanta, GA. He’s held positions as a Chef, Accountant, Prop Builder, Studio Builder, and SQL Admin in addition to his life-long passion for writing electronic music. GARDNSOUND writes a variety of music, most recently focused on ambient, textural, modular driven composition - which can be found on all major streaming platforms. GARDNSOUND also moonlights as the lofi artist “No Effort”, as well as the hip hop artist known as “Whitey McWhiterson”. In addition to popular music venues, Gardner has performed as an orchestral musician in various concert halls across the United States and Europe. As GARDNSOUND he has released a total of 6 studio albums, with at least 2 more to be released this year. He has been credited as a studio musician, recording engineer, performer, remix artist, or composer on over 27 albums and releases to date outside of his own work.
