Putting your work out there
I was working on uploading my recent organ improvisations in church today when two students from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater showed up in my balcony. They were here for their organ registration exam.
This means they have to show they know how to use various organ colors for different types of organ music.
While they were waiting for their instructor to arrive, I chatted a bit with them. One of them is a very talented student of mine from the art gymnasium and the other has a church choir where one of my current organ students from Unda Maris studio sings as a bass.
So I asked the first, if she has a YouTube channel and she said, "No." And the second said, "Yes but I don't have any videos there."
I then wondered what is she using her account for and it turns out she is using it solely for upvoting the videos of others after which the first student also acknowledged she has such an account on YouTube too.
It appears though they understand the value of putting your work out there because you have to build a reputation online, if you ever hope to be invited to play organ recitals.
The way I do is through Facebook livestreaming and cross-posting them to YouTube and creating my Secrets of Organ Playing blog and podcast which is just one path. Of course there are many others but it's a valid starting point. And it has been working for me since 2011.
I would love to do everything just on Steem though. But since most of world's organists are on Facebook and YouTube these days, I need to reach at least some of my potential recital organizers and international festivals which are also on Facebook and YouTube.
I then explained how I monetize my videos. YouTube also pays me for ad clicks, if I have an eligible account. To be eligible, I think it takes 1000 subscribers on YouTube. They're not paying me very big money though. Just around 10 USD every month which are transfered to my bank account.
What to do if you're just getting started online? You have just a few subscribers, not thousands of them and can't get any revenue from YouTube.
I told them how I create posts about my YouTube posts on the Steem and Whaleshares blockchains and how they create me an extra source of revenue. and my videos get a chance for a second life. Not wanting to overwhelm them I didn't even mention Musicoin and Choon.
None of them seem to be intrigued. To bad... They don't have the early adoptor mentality and don't understand what kind of benefits it gives.
Do you think this could be changed?
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Whilst I try and share a lot of my work online, I did come across an opinion as to why people don’t share. This person was not in the music field, but engineering. He said if they had to keep sharing/uploading etc. it slows down their progress from refining their craft. He has a point which I can relate to. It takes me a “practice session” to get a decent recording of a single piece—wouldn’t it be more beneficial to spend that time learning or polishing up other pieces? I guess there needs to be some balance. Recording sessions can be physically and emotionally draining too.
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Very well said!
Everybody is different but the way I solved this problem is by showing my practice too, not only the result but also the process.
A lot of organists post only post-recital pictures which is fine but this is the result. And where is the process which leads to this result?
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Correct. Everyone is different and the practice and/or process will be different. Not everyone would be comfortable showing that online. I wish organists would at least post some video of their recitals. It can be added to the growing collection of repertoire online. We all like to listen to different interpretations (many of us will listen online first—so why aren’t we all contributing to this open library?)
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Yes, separate pieces or entire recitals would be the most obvious step. All the preparation has been done before and one only has to press the "Record" or "Livestream" button.
Mind boggling stuff, isn’t it? 😂
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For people who never bother to learn beyond how to scroll only, unfortunately, yes...
Very well said!
You are right, now many people have channels on YouTube, but they don’t know how to use them and as a rule it comes from reluctance to do something or just don’t like the amount of earnings!
This could be another incentive to use Steem - to post once and get paid twice (or more times).
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This actually reminds me of my YouTube channel, I created. Out of frustration I left it. Though I creates it for monetary gained only. Hoping to be paid some cash. But when I found out about the criteria and my channel was still far from reaching the criteria, I get the youtbe channel dormant till today
You can simply share your videos on Steem to get the extra revenue. And perhaps link Steem with Snax and Whaleshares.
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The sooner you get started the better. You may not see the benefits now but in time you will thank yourself or someone who introduced you to properly utilize your talents and showcase them for the world to see. The internet makes the whole world our stage. There are people who are forward thinkers and there are those who need to be lead and wants proof. I guess an early bird will always catch the best wormburger hahaha
Hahaha! So true. One of the few regrets I have is not having started a blog when I first become aware of them back in the early 2000's.
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