What constitutes a brony musician?

[ph00tbag]

I kind of have to take issue with Foxtrot's point, mostly because I've always gotten the sense that the term brony musician is used to account for the fact that often music inspired in the context of the brony community is taken on the whole regardless of genre, but exclusive to music that is not inspired in the same context. Essentially, a classification of the music is created independent of the sound of the music, and in the same sense that a rock musician or a classical musician or a house musician would make music classified by their respective genre, a brony musician makes music classified by context in which it is inspired.

Incidentally, 4thImpulse's example of Christian music is a prime example of this classification method. Because there are Christian musicians and Christian bands, and their music spans genres from hip hop to death metal (I shit you not--look it up).

So the term brony musician has utility from a classification standpoint. It's a concept that exists whether you like it or not, and extant concepts kind of require terms ready at hand in order to be communicated effectively. Brony musician does that for the concept of any musician that frequently makes music inspired in the context of the brony community. But it's not like someone this term applies to has to feel any obligation to always fit themselves into that mold. I feel like getting worked up over this definition means that you're taking the definition way too seriously, which, for someone who doesn't want to be hemmed in by definitions, seems to me to be the fast road to self-defeat.

[Sonarch]

I feel like the real issue with being called a brony musician is that fans of your pony stuff will whine and complain if your latest release isn't a pony song, and then it's like "you're a brony musician, where's the pony music?" and anything non-pony gets ignored. And I see this has been said already.

But I don't really feel very passionate about it as a label myself, probably since I really haven't made any music yet, but it bothers me that non-pony music should be ignored over pony music by the consumers in the fandom.

[Freewave]

Well we allow a lot of flexibility when it comes to brony music you can do any genre, you can do instrumentals, all that we ask is you find some way to channel some influence of the show. Just being a fan of mlp and making non affiliated music doesn't really make you a "brony musician". I think we know that and yes we benefit as much as we limit ourselves when we take that on.

[Mundius]

Well we allow a lot of flexibility when it comes to brony music you can do any genre, you can do instrumentals, all that we ask is you find some way to channel some influence of the show. Just being a fan of mlp and making non affiliated music doesn't really make you a "brony musician". I think we know that and yes we benefit as much as we limit ourselves when we take that on.

Be a brony and make your music inspired from the show. Gotcha.

[ph00tbag]

But I don't really feel very passionate about it as a label myself, probably since I really haven't made any music yet, but it bothers me that non-pony music should be ignored over pony music by the consumers in the fandom.

I don't really see the problem with it. I don't make non-pony music for bronies. I make it for the people that like that genre of music. If a brony doesn't like that genre, I don't really expect them to like the music.

This probably makes less sense than I'd like it to.

[Mundius]

Don't worry, princess butt shake, it makes perfect sense.

no sarcasm

[eClypse]

I'm no bronymusician imo, I'm just a guy who makes music and sometimes it's about cartoonponees. Some guys take that brony/ponystuff way too serious...

[Freewave]

I'm no bronymusician imo, I'm just a guy who makes music and sometimes it's about cartoonponees. Some guys take that brony/ponystuff way too serious...

This is what is kind of humorous but also disingenuous too. I checked your youtube and you have loads of videos with pony images all over them (most of your tracks). You have remixes of well known brony musicians and songs. So how does that NOT make you a brony musician? I just don't get the people who say such things when they portray the exact opposite. There's nothing to be embarassed on with that title and if you are then don't make music centered around ponies and portary yourself as one to get more views.

[eClypse]

edit:

It's hard for me, since english isn't my native language, but I try to explain it:

The term "Brony musician" constricts my musical freedom. Yeah, on my youtube I got a lot (or only atm, since I deleted old stuff) of bronymusic. Yea, I do make bronymusic, because I love the show and wanted to give something back. But I also make other stuff, not only brony/ponyrelated stuff. And the point is: I'm really afraid of uploading that other stuff to youtube, because since I made some bronymusic some of the - I like to call them that way - Uberbronies think I only create that kind of music and nothing else and I've seen a lot of that kind of people flaming more famous artists on youtube when they upload something non-mlp-related. That's why I try to make no empty promises: I call myself a normal musician who creates ponymusic sometimes but NOT ONLY ponymusic, so I'm no 100% bronyartist. You get me?

Oh and sorry again, it's hard for me to explain what I want to say, in my native language I need maybe 1 sentence to say what I want.

[Mundius]

You don't have to be a 100% bronyartist to be a brony musician. TLT then wouldn't be a brony musician, or Makkon, or Odyssey if that was true. Nopony starts off making brony music and nothing else.

And those "uberbronies" failed to understand the show.

[Nine Volt]

Brony Musician:
A brony who is also a musician. Just like other fandoms have a name for their fans, brony is our name, and some of us are musicians.

Not sure if they actually call themselves Avatards, but an Avatard Musician would be a musician who likes Avatar, would it not?

Someone who makes music based off of the show should be called a 'musician who makes music inspired by MLP:FiM'. There doesn't need to be a separate label for it.

[Freewave]

Brony Musician:
A brony who is also a musician. Just like other fandoms have a name for their fans, brony is our name, and some of us are musicians.

Not sure if they actually call themselves Avatards, but an Avatard Musician would be a musician who likes Avatar, would it not?

Someone who makes music based off of the show should be called a 'musician who makes music inspired by MLP:FiM'. There doesn't need to be a separate label for it.

I don't get why your using the term so loosely here, it has a real meaning.

Again this is a fanbase that actively writes music ABOUT the show (and in many genres and in many different ways). As some people who've been in this thread (like Sentennial) have said they may be bronies but they don't WRITE music about the show (but their actions may actually make that hard to defend when they title their tracks "Rarity Tripping Down the Stairs" and "20% Cooler", are using pony images, and hang out on mlr constantly). I wouldn't consider a person who is a fan of the show but who doesn't do anything with pony images, titles, or MLP-themes a "brony musician" and i don't think most people use that in that way.

There's been a few people like Swagberg, Renard, Ken Ashcorp who've done 1 or 2 pony tracks. I wouldn't call them "Brony Musicians" anymore than I would call Queen, Rolling Stones, Kiss, Rod Stewart a "Disco Band" that did 1 or 2 disco songs in the 70's. But they COULD be lumped in with us/them if you wanna include making a well known brony/disco song in the most generic sense or more importantly in the past tense.

As a "brony musician" as you are combining 2 things - music and MLP as the subject. For awhile people were equally calling it "pony music" but that sounds a little weird to the outside world so brony musician or brony music stuck. When you don't combine those 2 interests you're not a "brony musician" you're "a brony who happens to be a musican". Andrew WK doesn't make "pony music" and is not a "brony musician". He's a musician who happens to be a fan of MLP. See what I'm saying?

People can come and go and make pony music and then decide not to make it at a different point in their lives. It doesn't stop what they've done (Archie **cough* Icky *cough*) but it may change how they choose to identify themselves in the present tense.

[Nine Volt]

But I still fail to see the necessity for a separate label. Brony and Musician are both separate labels and there is really no need to combine them. Yes, the fandom produces a lot of music inspired by the show. So what? There's not a need for a term for it.

But remember, this is just my opinion.

Also, the fact that this is actually turning in to a legitimate argument (albeit a calm one) is just ridiculous.

[Freewave]

But you're missing the point if you don't see the significance of it all. I mean you could write music about Gravity Falls or any random show but that wouldn't be that special or part of some big social trend or community.

MLP is a show that has HUNDREDS (if not one THOUSAND plus over 2 years) of people making dedicated music about it, that has its own massive fanbase, that has about 6+ dedicated radio stations playing NOTHING BUT pony music, that has blogs that get hundred and thousands of hits a day highlighting that music, that has several conventions dedicated to that fanbase, and it's own compilations and events. You're arguing this on a forum that combines that combines those interests (music making and MLP themes) with a guy who runs a directory FOR those same people (brony musicians). There's some irony there.

I find the inability to understand that combining those 2 words HAS a distinct meaning by creating a community through all that. I find not getting that kinda ridiculous.

But I'm not mad at ya. I guess some people hate labels even when they identify what a person is talking about in 2 simple connected words

[Nine Volt]

But you're missing the point if you don't see the significance of it all. I mean you could write music about Gravity Falls or any random show but that wouldn't be that special or part of some big social trend or community.

MLP is a show that has HUNDREDS (if not one thousand plus) of people making dedicated music about it, that has its own massive fanbase, that has about 6+ dedicated radio stations playing NOTHING BUT pony music, that has blogs that get hundred and thousands of hits a day highlighting that music, that has several conventions dedicated to that fanbase, and it's own compilations and events. You're arguing this on a forum that combines that combines those interests (music making and MLP themes) with a guy who runs a directory FOR those same people (brony musicians). There's some irony there.

I find the inability to understand that combining those 2 words HAS a distinct meaning by creating a community through all that. I find not getting that kinda ridiculous.

But I'm not mad at ya. I guess some people hate labels even when they identify what a person is talking about in 2 simple connected words

Oh no, I understand that it has a distinct meaning. I just don't like that we needed to come up with a label for it.

But yeah, I suppose I just dislike labels like that. Nobody wants to be restricted by a label

[Freewave]

And a label isn't something that shouldn't restrict or embarass anyone! There's no reason to feel that. It's just simply means "hey there's a person who made some music about mlp" and that's because you did (and likely several times!). What we share in this community may not be that unique. What's important is how you create your own story about who you are as a person outside of that and what makes you different and unique. Just because we share a lot in common doesn't mean we're all the same, we're not. It's great to be linked as brony musicians but we're all different in the many ways we make music and live our lives. This music community is still built up of hundreds of individuals just trying to tell the stories of who they are through their unique contributions, personalities, pasts, and styles. And that's awesome, that's as it should be.

[Sonarch]

Actually I was thinking about this whole subject while walking to class a few days ago while listening to S2 Pt.2 by SoGreatAndPowerful, and the guy who was doing the rapping was such a superb lyricist and I got his voice in my head and I kinda wrote out like a verse and a half of a rap about this stuff and I don't know if it'll ever go anywhere yet. I'd need a mic. Later i'll listen to it again and see if any more inspiration hits me.

[ph00tbag]

But I still fail to see the necessity for a separate label. Brony and Musician are both separate labels and there is really no need to combine them. Yes, the fandom produces a lot of music inspired by the show. So what? There's not a need for a term for it.

Well, it's not so much that "Brony Musician" is needed, but "Brony Music" is certainly needed, and the noun extends from that.

[Nine Volt]

But I still fail to see the necessity for a separate label. Brony and Musician are both separate labels and there is really no need to combine them. Yes, the fandom produces a lot of music inspired by the show. So what? There's not a need for a term for it.

Well, it's not so much that "Brony Musician" is needed, but "Brony Music" is certainly needed, and the noun extends from that.

'Brony Music' is just as unnecessary as 'Brony Musician'. Brony music is not a genre; why should we have a label for it? Why not just say it's inspired by MLP? Yes, brony music may be a bit shorter of a term, but are we really too lazy to type out the extra few words? I still fail to see the importance of a unique term to define a, by popular standards, very niche musical inspiration. We don't need 'brony music' to be a term any more than those extremely obscure subgenres that are so often limited to only a few artists.

My point is that this fandom (or any fandom for that matter) having a good amount of musicians does not inherently create a need for a term to describe said musicians. Yes, there is no reason why we shouldn't have a term, but that's not what I'm trying to argue. I'm merely trying to argue that it's unnecessary and can even be a restricting term (when it comes to fans; just look at how few views Glaze or Tomb's non-pony-inspired songs get in comparison to their pony-inspired works).

Also, 'Brony Music' and 'Brony Musician' are both nouns. Just a little grammar Nazi thing to end this little rant off

[Freewave]

It's just 2 words that's describe what we've talked about in multiple paragraphs in this thread. People like concise meaning and taking a lot of meaning and information and wrapping it into short combinations of words that relay that meaning. Just because it doesn't fit a standard genre format doesn't mean it's not a real musical scene. There's a lot of small subgenres that are extremely important and substantive to the people who like and make that music. Saying that they're dumb is like some outsider thinking bronies are dumb. Ignorance is bliss.

The term is only as restrictive as you allow it to be as people make this music in SO many different ways that the focus is the only unity. The brony fanbases ARE primarily here for music about MLP no matter how many musician want to moan about it. That's why those non-pony songs GENERALLY have less views. A lot of people have found many ways to make brony that music without limiting their scope and artistic values or using direct symbolism (Makkon for example). It's all up to you how you want to make your music and label yourself.

I have no wish to beat this dead horse anymore, it's really not rocket science... or even high level sociology or semantics.

[Nine Volt]

But Freewaaaaaave 3:
I like arguing about pointless things

[Freewave]

But Freewaaaaaave 3:
I like arguing about pointless things

Yes you do. And i like writing multiple paragraphs pointing that out. You should read them some time lol

[ph00tbag]

Genre doesn't necessarily imply the grouping is based on a similar end product. Sometimes it's enough that the inspirational context is similar. Fact is, some people will listen to playlists of brony music regardless of whether they share musical elements in common--I'm an existence proof of it, myself. The demographic that listens to music in this way uses the term to distinguish music that is inspired by MLP from that which is not, and the distinction has a demonstrable impact on the music they listen to.

As far as "restricting" what people listens to, you're really putting the cart before the horse here (so to speak). The term didn't arise out of a vacuum and create a classification of music that people distinguish from other music. People started creating and listing to music solely based on this common context of inspiration, and the term arose to describe that distinction. So really, the term is only as restricting as you allow it to be, and that goes just as much for the listeners as it does for the content creators. And honestly, you can't tell any of those people what and what not to listen to. The best you can do is describe what they do listen to. And that's what "Brony Music" does.