how does one become a successful artist with in the AP? I just joined earlier today and uploaded an ambient tune. A couple weeks ago I was browsing other artists and found popular artists and others that were not.

do you guys have any tips for a new guy like me? or does this just take time?

Make good music, be active in the community, review other peoples songs.

At 1/17/13 02:24 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote: Make good music, be active in the community, review other peoples songs.

Be different from everybody else. Be unique.

At 1/17/13 03:00 PM, JayenareMusic wrote:

At 1/17/13 02:24 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote: Make good music, be active in the community, review other peoples songs.

Be different from everybody else. Be unique.

Is that even possible nowadays?

At 1/17/13 02:20 PM, Rhoder wrote: how does one become a successful artist with in the AP? I just joined earlier today and uploaded an ambient tune. A couple weeks ago I was browsing other artists and found popular artists and others that were not.

do you guys have any tips for a new guy like me? or does this just take time?

Wear no pants.. and be a nice guy.

At 1/17/13 03:29 PM, LiquidOoze wrote:

At 1/17/13 03:00 PM, JayenareMusic wrote:

At 1/17/13 02:24 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote: Make good music, be active in the community, review other peoples songs.

Be different from everybody else. Be unique.

Is that even possible nowadays?

Of course it is! Anyone listening to my work, for example, can tell I'm no Enya or Akiko Shikata. I'm just me. Yes, every person's work may have some nods to other artists, but melodies, chords, composition style and construction of the piece can give you away. I can, for example, tell apart Bosa's work from others, or Waterflame's from others -- those are just examples, mind you.

I think it's a matter of finding your niche and concentrating on becoming the best in that specific niche, rather than trying to be the best at emulating someone else.

At 1/17/13 03:29 PM, LiquidOoze wrote:

At 1/17/13 03:00 PM, JayenareMusic wrote:

At 1/17/13 02:24 PM, Back-From-Purgatory wrote: Make good music, be active in the community, review other peoples songs.

Be different from everybody else. Be unique.

Is that even possible nowadays?

Yep it is.... They say that with every new breakthrough in music... You don't know its coming, that is why it is not discovered yet. XD

Are you talking about successful in in NG or like everywhere?

If I knew that I wouldn't be here replying to your thread

I would recommend working towards improving your music first, then worry about popularity next. I mean, I haven't heard your ambient music yet, but if you've recently started out then your style is probably evolving, and it might be more beneficial for you to focus on learning music theory, testing the water with mixing techniques and suchlike.

What I'm saying is, it may help to make sure you're happy with what you're making before you start plugging.

At 1/17/13 06:36 PM, Juicebomb wrote: it might be more beneficial for you to focus on learning music theory, testing the water with mixing techniques and suchlike.

I've been working on glitch/idm/ambient stuff for a couple years now. it wasn't until recently that I developed interest in sharing my music online.

At 1/17/13 06:56 PM, Rhoder wrote:

At 1/17/13 06:36 PM, Juicebomb wrote: it might be more beneficial for you to focus on learning music theory, testing the water with mixing techniques and suchlike.

I've been working on glitch/idm/ambient stuff for a couple years now. it wasn't until recently that I developed interest in sharing my music online.

A couple of years doesn't necessarily mean our stuff's bullet-proof and ready to go. I've been making music for 18 years (doing so since I was 3), but sequencing since 2010. ONLY NOW can any of my stuff be CD-ready. Yeah.

There is a lot of learning to be done, and a lot of patience and humility is required. We've gotta be willing to learn and accept anything that we can use to make our pieces better.

At 1/17/13 07:09 PM, TroisNyxEtienne wrote:

There is a lot of learning to be done, and a lot of patience and humility is required. We've gotta be willing to learn and accept anything that we can use to make our pieces better.

I understand that. the only experience I don't have yet is growing some kind of fan base. I heard it's very difficult, even on here.

At 1/17/13 07:18 PM, Rhoder wrote:

At 1/17/13 07:09 PM, TroisNyxEtienne wrote:

There is a lot of learning to be done, and a lot of patience and humility is required. We've gotta be willing to learn and accept anything that we can use to make our pieces better.

I understand that. the only experience I don't have yet is growing some kind of fan base. I heard it's very difficult, even on here.

How I did it was by associating myself with the Audio Forums a bit more (and the portal), giving reviews, listening to others' music and showing interest. Whenever there was a competition I could enter, I entered. We have the MAC, Newgrounds' monthly audio competition (I joined a similar version, the NAC, last May, and that was how I first got quite a bit of attention). Also, if the music's good, Flash creators might consider using the music you make, and that might get you some.

Try also joining the Game Jams -- offer your music to a small-time team and work hard for 48 hours, and have your music featured in a game! You never know where that might lead.

Also, every year there is the Newgrounds Audio Deathmatch. Now this one is a competition which gains the attention of pretty much all of the Audio Portal. And if you're good, you'll gain quite a bit of notoriety!

At 1/17/13 07:30 PM, TroisNyxEtienne wrote:

Also, every year there is the Newgrounds Audio Deathmatch. Now this one is a competition which gains the attention of pretty much all of the Audio Portal. And if you're good, you'll gain quite a bit of notoriety!

cool I'll definitely check those out.

Define success? I think success of an AP artist is one who moves beyond the Audio Portal. Artists like xKore didn't build their reputation by just submitting in the AP, the vast majority of his fame came from playing out live and networking far beyond the reaches newgrounds can provide. He doesn't really submit here anymore, most of us AP artists who have done the same also fall back on submissions. I myself, no longer make consistent contributions to the audio portal, but you'll find my current tracks and live mixes on labels and online stations. Honestly, once you've found yourself, and your sound, you need to move beyond.

Again, define success. If your goal is to play the big room, then the above is pretty much a no-brainer. If success to you is bringing your music to people for free, always, and trying to maintain true artistic integrity, then you've already achieved success.

If success to you is finding where your soul really lies in music, and where you find yourself flourishing with ideas and innovation, then sit, produce, and discover.

Good music
Good artist image
Interaction with other artists/fans
Luck (Being in the right place at the right time with the right songs)

Honestly though get to know as many musicians as possible you never know when you will have something too offer them and vise versa!

1) experiment. Not to find a niche, but to get familiar with your program/DAW. Learning things like compression, limiting, synths ( analog, digital), etc.

2) now start finding a niche, best achieved by listening to a variety of music. Try to find a type that appeals to you. The trick to being original is to make music you would enjoy listening to.

3) only once, you have a "feel" of different music should you review. Then you can be a upstanding member of the AP. you can give constructive criticism and have some insight to ask questions in the review post ( how did you layer various basslines? For eg). This sets you apart from the two word encourage-reviewers ( eg. Sounds good, nicely done etc.)

4) whenever you can, enter competitions, like remix contests and others that have been mentioned. The most important lesson you can learn is losing ( assuming you live your life like the first verse of the Pokemon theme song).
Humility is important, don't try and 1-up on someone else. Respect and knowing your place is a good way to increase your place. It helps with accepting criticism.

This is as far as I've gotten so I can't speak further.
Hope this helps!

At 1/18/13 03:28 AM, SadSpoon wrote: that about sums it up.

Yeah I guess that'll work too

At 1/18/13 03:28 AM, SadSpoon wrote:
- a person who was once a successful newgrounds artist

Holy fuck it's sad spoon. Didn't you make an alt/ do DNB waaaaayyyyy back when? How old are you now? You were like 10 back then. You're probably 14 now right?

At 1/18/13 05:49 AM, Quarl wrote:

At 1/18/13 03:28 AM, SadSpoon wrote:
- a person who was once a successful newgrounds artist

Holy fuck it's sad spoon. Didn't you make an alt/ do DNB waaaaayyyyy back when? How old are you now? You were like 10 back then. You're probably 14 now right?

Lol, I think he was joking.

Make dubstep

At 1/18/13 03:28 AM, SadSpoon wrote:

you still lurk a bunch

At 1/18/13 11:14 AM, HyperTrough wrote: Make dubstep

no thx

At 1/18/13 05:19 PM, Rhoder wrote:

At 1/18/13 11:14 AM, HyperTrough wrote: Make dubstep

no thx

Make Nerdcore? It has an own category now.

At 1/18/13 04:23 PM, SadSpoon wrote: what's good SBB?

almost everything, in some way or another, depending on your outlook on things

I'm not big in the NG scene (nobody knows me besides a few old mods that I keep in chat with), but fame just happens.

I'm not saying I'm popular, but with very little advertisement and some networking/interaction with other artists on Soundcloud has helped me reach almost 300 followers.

I'm not saying that I'm the best musician, but occasionally I manage to write a cool tune that garners people's attention, from bedroom producers like myself to some massive names in the music biz.

Fame is kinda cool, no two ways about it, but I do my work for the fun of writing music, with fame being a handy and fun little by-product of the joy I get form writing music.
And I understand, too, that some people find little joy in making music without the fame. And that's fine! I'm not going to slag you off for not being "about the music", but you have to realise fame is not a big thing. There are a quadrillion other bedroom producers out in the big world doing their thing, and only a tiny handful of those producers get big.

Some producers get big worldwide (read: Dillon Francis, Noisia, Skrillex, Diplo, Baauer), some get big in a certain scene (Donny, Katharsys in the dark DnB scene; Renard in the furry scene; Anamanaguchi, Sabrepulse, trash80 and little-scale in the chipmusic/retrotech scene; etc), and some get big in their circle of friends.

If you're doing it for a sense of self-validation, remember that fame =/= talent. Sometimes it does (Skrillex's synth work is killer, Donny can brickwall a tune harder than any human or machine alive, Diplo knows how to jump on a bandwagon and keep it going for a while), but a lot of my favourite artists are my friends, and they're doing absolutely killer things with their music (while being on a Soundcloud follower count of anything lower than 500).

Success is subjective, too. So there's always that :P

At 1/17/13 04:26 PM, camoshark wrote: I think it's a matter of finding your niche and concentrating on becoming the best in that specific niche, rather than trying to be the best at emulating someone else.

That can be debated. I saw this one guy on Soundcloud the other day that was doing a sorta eptic/Xilent-style wall-of-screaming-synths style - his handle was Rawborg or something - and he absolutely kicked arse at it. My closest mate Guerrilla Warfare is doing a dark and deep dubstep thing, taking cues from a lot of the old dubstep heads back in the day. He's kicking arse. My other close interstate m8 AtomSmasha is doing this Rig-/Noisia-esque neuro shit. He kicks arse at it too.

On the other end of the spectrum, a few of my local mates and myself are founding a genre based around juke, trap and chopped-n-screwed, affectionately titled "scuff" - 96bpm productions crammed with 808s, lovely synth pads, and chopped breaks. While we're all pretty good at doing it, and probably the best at it, it sure as hell isn't getting us famous.

I also have a few friends doing their own take on juke and footwork in their two-man interstate project B.O.O.M.A. They've received quite the bit of local recognition for it, and they've pretty much nailed the hell out of their style.
A few of my friends in the chipthrash scene are doing this blend of chiptune and digital hardcore, which has gathered them a lot of recognition and praise. My mate Juan performs under the handle KOOL SKULL and plays a lot of LA gigs.

The point is this: having a niche of your own is no better or pride-worthy than piggy-backing on another niche's sound. There's no reason to hold one in higher regard than any other!!

At 1/19/13 03:18 AM, ChainsawPolice wrote:

At 1/17/13 04:26 PM, camoshark wrote: I think it's a matter of finding your niche and concentrating on becoming the best in that specific niche, rather than trying to be the best at emulating someone else.

The point is this: having a niche of your own is no better or pride-worthy than piggy-backing on another niche's sound. There's no reason to hold one in higher regard than any other!!

Which leads me to the question: would I rather have music that rakes in cash or music that is fulfilling? This is for each of us to answer.

At 1/19/13 05:02 AM, TroisNyxEtienne wrote:

At 1/19/13 03:18 AM, ChainsawPolice wrote:

At 1/17/13 04:26 PM, camoshark wrote: I think it's a matter of finding your niche and concentrating on becoming the best in that specific niche, rather than trying to be the best at emulating someone else.

The point is this: having a niche of your own is no better or pride-worthy than piggy-backing on another niche's sound. There's no reason to hold one in higher regard than any other!!

Which leads me to the question: would I rather have music that rakes in cash or music that is fulfilling? This is for each of us to answer.

^ Oh, of course! The whole argument is subjective. You just gotta figure out what you want to do and where you want to go with your music!