EQD talks about current pony music

[CitricAcid]

Holy crap EQD post. Reading it now. It looks like it covers that exact thing that everyone here was talking about not too long ago. Did someone here inform them of our thoughts?

http://www.equestriadaily.com/2013/12/m ... n-new.html

[JSynth]

Its good that they would do this. I guess we get a chance to see what people in the fandom feel about the situation.

UPDATE:
I spent some time reading thought people's comments. It seems like most people are not burnt out by fan music.

[Freewave]

Well its a good question to ask. It's clear out of all the fannons of MLP that music is having to toughest time staying upbeat and thriving.

Again their questions
1. Do you give new musicians a shot these days, or do you wait until you see someone you recognize?
2. Were you a listener back in the day but lost interest over time? What burnt you out if so? Was it low quality music, or just general boredom with the genres?
3. What do "you" think constitutes a pony song in the instrumental department?
4. Are you happy with the current selection of music that makes it to spotlight? Do you think we need to be stricter? Music of the day is meant to be a "wild west" style environment with much less quality control, so stick to spotlight on this one.
5. Instrumental Vs. Vocal Vs. Show Remix..... Which of the three categories above do you listen to? Do you ever experiment with one you don't usually bother with?
6. What do you want to see improved/changed in regards to music posts here on EQD?

Whats YOUR thoughts on what EQD specifically can do to fix the situation?

[Injustrial]

Same comment I made on the EQD page:

I'm commenting here as a musician who's had several songs featured on this site's Music of the Day posts. I get really happy when I see a new post, since it means I get to experience more music, often made by complete amateurs, like myself. I find it inspirational and motivating to see so many people trying out a medium of expression, and we as a fandom give them a base to be heard and receive feedback. I believe the brony fandom helps a lot of starting musicians to discover their passion, build a bit of a fanbase and learn from others. I can think of no other place where I could just ask someone if they wanted to do a collab and get a positive response. I'm nobody, there's no way the big musicians I listen to on a regular basis would agree to work with me, probably not even reply to my request.

With that being said, I keep hearing wishes about niche genres and different types of music. Certain genres are more popular than others, so we get a bit of oversaturation. If that is the case, I'd suggest something along the lines of a new spotlight post. Something like an "alternative spotlight". It should have some quality control and the music going on it should be good, but perhaps relax a bit on the standards, in order for it to actually get some material. This post could highlight some of the less common genres, to show off the breadth of this fandom's music.

I have also noticed something on my own part. After my last track was accepted, I didn't see the same spike in visitors as before. It seems that I've personally milked EQD for new visitors and that my entries for Music of the Day would give me diminishing returns. This is not to say that I'm not grateful for getting my song on there, and that I'm very happy for every single view that I get, but there seems to be a double standard. A lot of the most common genres are probably that common because it's a popular genre for people to listen to. While I might do something different, it might not be for everyone. Which is fine, but if people aren't listening to the "different" music and subscribing to their respective channels, the producers might think that what they're making isn't wanted. Of course, there might be other reasons for this as well. I know of several musicians dealing in "underground" genres, who have plenty of subscribers and a nice solid fanbase.

When in comes to "what qualifies as brony music" I have some issues. I sometimes feel that the producer has made something and then just slapped a pony on the artwork and submitted it. I agree that a lot of instrumental music could be about ponies and / or related to the show, but I have to be able to hear it. Which I often don't...
For instance: if I made an instrumental industrial track it might be a good track. It might be really cool to listen to, but where's the link to ponies? Could I just use a picture of Pinkamena for the YT artwork, call it "Depression" and offer nothing in the description? Not if the melody itself doesn't convey the emotions. Instrumental music about something specific is insanely hard, in the same way abstract art is: You have to convey emotions and a message without actually saying it outright.

I feel that if it's going on EQD, there has to be SOME link to the brony fandom. Use a sample, (Don't shoehorn it) make the melody "speak" to the listener, explain your thoughts ion the description. It doesn't have to direct, but there should be SOME link. If the song isn't related to ponies in any way, it shouldn't be on EQD. A fanart image of Luna does not make your track about her. But that's OK, if what you've got is good, it should be able to stand on its own.

Anyways, that's my thoughts on the subject. My views might be slightly skewed, being an amateur musician myself, trying to build a bit of a fanbase. If you disagree with me, feel free to leave a reply. I'd love to have a proper discussion on the subject, as this is something I've been thinking a bit about lately.

[HMage]

Holy crap EQD post. Reading it now. It looks like it covers that exact thing that everyone here was talking about not too long ago. Did someone here inform them of our thoughts?

To answer your question — all of these topics in questions were debated in dramatic proportions by prelisteners internally.

I spent some time reading thought people's comments. It seems like most people are not burnt out by fan music.

You're reading comments by people who got interested enough to post a comment there. It's almost exact set of people listening to music posts — of course majority of comments will be "yes I care about music".

Most of those who don't care about music will just ignore the post.

[JSynth]

You're reading comments by people who got interested enough to post a comment there. It's almost exact set of people listening to music posts — of course majority of comments will be "yes I care about music".

Most of those who don't care about music will just ignore the post.

That is a fair point.

[itroitnyah]

My response to the questions:

1: Usually no. There are some talented people in this fandom, and I have no problem listening to pony music, but I find that there isn't much quality music. A lot of it is amateur music.

2: Yes, Alex S and Glaze were my favorites. Omnipony, Tomb and a few others were following behind. I got burnt out because suddenly they left. Alex is signed for nonpony stuff, Glaze does whatever the hell he wants, Omni is wat, and Tomb just makes some stranger music (imo. Good for him with making his own style of music though). With the quality of music that Alex and Glaze and a few others were making, it sorta leaves some expectations from me that a lot of other people can't seem to achieve.

3: Erm, a song that relates to the show in some way or another, I guess? And not just pony slapped on because poniponi?

4: N/A

5: Instrumental can be just as beautiful as vocal.

6: N/A

[Bronies Are Cool]

I think tht this is something people should take a look at. I'll have to answer the questions later but I'm posting in here so I can find this thread easily when I come back to it.

Pony music ftw

[Pickslide1992]

Well its a good question to ask. It's clear out of all the fannons of MLP that music is having to toughest time staying upbeat and thriving.

Again their questions
1. Do you give new musicians a shot these days, or do you wait until you see someone you recognize?
2. Were you a listener back in the day but lost interest over time? What burnt you out if so? Was it low quality music, or just general boredom with the genres?
3. What do "you" think constitutes a pony song in the instrumental department?
4. Are you happy with the current selection of music that makes it to spotlight? Do you think we need to be stricter? Music of the day is meant to be a "wild west" style environment with much less quality control, so stick to spotlight on this one.
5. Instrumental Vs. Vocal Vs. Show Remix..... Which of the three categories above do you listen to? Do you ever experiment with one you don't usually bother with?
6. What do you want to see improved/changed in regards to music posts here on EQD?

Whats YOUR thoughts on what EQD specifically can do to fix the situation?

I may as well throw my hat into the ring and give my impressions:

1. I tend to delve more into people I've never heard before and if I like what I hear, I become a fan. Of course this applies to both well known musicians as well as newbies on the scene. I say "Well known" because there might be a well known guy that I never heard of, but I tend to stick around the newbies.

2. To be honest, I'm a little burnt out mainly because of the lack of variety there is with pony music. Most of the popular songs 9 times out of 10 will be some form of EDM or dubstep, and frankly it can get old after a while. If I heard more of a variety, which I do actively seek, then I'd be more of a listener rather than scrolling through YouTube only to find 10,000,000 dubstep songs and maybe 2-3 anything elses.

3. Speaking as an instrumental musician myself, I think an instrumental song should have a game plan. What do you want your listeners to feel? What message are you trying to get across? This is a tough question to answer, but I do know what it's not: Doing a generic beat in FL or Ableton and attaching pony samples haphazardly with no rhyme or reason. As for what would, like I said, have a game plan about what your inspiration is and how you can convey it with music alone and no words.

4. I haven't been on EqD in about a year, so I can't really answer this question, but I'm all for a selective process just so long as everyone who shows promise gets a bit of limelight. By that, I mean not reserving the spotlight for fandom favorites despite the quality or pony relevance. I think the standards should apply to everyone so it's an equal playing field, or maybe higher standards for established musicians so they can't just release a bush league song and get instaposted.

5. I usually gravitate towards remixes and instrumental tracks, though there are some vocal songs I like, but honestly I feel that show remixes have potential to be classics if done properly (I.E. not the weekend an episode premieres) and if you do a spin on it rather than a note-for-note copy.

6. Again, I haven't been on EqD in a year, so excuse me if my answer's a little outdated, but have varying levels of standards depending on how well known an artist is. That way we can get exceptional newbie tracks instead of being spammed with garbage just because it has a big name attached.