An Update About Updates (and Other Things)

Since I know many of you are probably new here, WELCOME! This website is going to be the new center of what I do on the internet, and will contain links to every social media site where you can find me and my work. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, this provides the perfect segway into the point of this post: how I’ll be conducting my work on social media and such, and what changes are going to be made to how I use YouTube. There’s a lot to explain, so let’s not waste any time! Here it goes!

1. Updates will be found here on LIAMCULLINS.COM

As you probably gathered from the previous paragraph, this website is going to be where you’ll find all the latest news and announcements about my work as a composer, simply because writing for me is much easier, faster, and allows me to be more precise and clear about what I’m saying than awkwardly babbling into a webcam. This also means you’ll want to be following me on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and so on, because that’s where you’ll be seeing links to updates that you’ll want to pay attention to. Also, the vlogs I have posted on YouTube will be removed, to the dismay of most likely no one.

2. Less YouTube, more SoundCloud

 YouTube and I have had a strange relationship over the years. My current account is actually the fifth one I’ve had, my first one being all the way back in 2009, when YouTube was first beginning to let people test this new channel layout shown below.

However, that was during a time where I had no idea what I wanted to do for a living as I’d just entered high school, and now that I’m working toward becoming a self-employed composer and music producer, the online platforms that deserve the most focus have changed.

Up until now, I’ve been trying to upload musical pieces to both YouTube and SoundCloud as I finish them, even if they’re eventually going to be part of a larger collection (such as my current album project formerly titled Eyes Open in Dream, now titled Cloudland Connection). However, when it comes to tracks that aren’t standalone, they’ll no longer be posted to YouTube on an as-finished basis. Why is that? Well, there are a few reason why. The main reason is because I plan to use CDBaby, a aggregator service that distributes your music to dozens of the most popular online streaming and digital download sites, one of which being YouTube. On top of that, CDBaby manages all the income that your work generates on those various websites, so I’d rather have the version that CDBaby creates and manages as the official YouTube video for said piece of music.

Second of all, having SoundCloud be the only real-time publishing site gives me more freedom to tweak my work afterward. As you probably know, once you upload a YouTube video, that’s it. You can’t change it or replace it without re-uploading the entire thing and losing all the preexisting views, ratings, and comments in the process. YouTube used to have a much more versatile and useful built-in editor, but unfortunately, in their eternal quest to disempower the creator and allow businesses to continue to abuse the copyright claim service, the editor has now reduced to color correction and audio replacement with preselected public domain tracks. That doesn’t fly with me and my fickle perfectionist mindset, so from now on, if you want to catch my music the instant it’s finished, SoundCloud is your go-to place.

Thirdly, and I imagine some people might find this reason a bit strange, but it’s true, so whatever, I feel guilty. What do I mean by that? Well, most popular YouTube channels work because they output a continuous stream of content for their viewers to enjoy. That is why people SUBSCRIBE to them, after all. Try as I might, though, I haven’t been able to work that way when it comes to music. I know some people like Adrian von Ziegler have been able to pull it off, but either I’m not at that point yet, or I just don’t work that way, period. Only time will tell, I’m afraid. What I do know, though, is that it causes me actual stress because I feel like I’m betraying my subscribers. Maybe this reason doesn’t hold any water, but that’s just how I currently feel.

However, this doesn’t mean that I’ll no longer be posting anything of note to YouTube. I actually have a couple of ideas saved for when I have a more substantial following and am able to devote time to them, with a focus on helping those who are interested in music and the music industry. One of which is something I call So You Want to Be a Composer, a series of educational videos on musical theory and composition. When I was first started taking an interest in music, the biggest source of frustration I had was not being able to find information on just how music was supposed to work. This series would aim to give budding musicians that sort of resource. Speaking of budding musicians, my second project would be called Composer of the Month. This would most likely be its own YouTube channel, and would center around featuring a new fledgling composer every month, showcasing multiple pieces of theirs throughout said month in an effort to help lesser-known or upcoming artists get the audience they deserve. As I said, though, these ideas are for years down the road.

3. Most recent tracks and all video game arrangements/remixes will be removed from YouTube

Okay, first of all, calm down. I can already hear all the commotion and tirade of angry comments heading my way. All the video game arrangements and remixes you love (because they’re always the most-viewed videos on my channel) will be available shortly on SoundCloud. Secondly, I’m not going to be deleting the videos for another two weeks (they’ll be taken down on 2/21/17) in order to make sure people have time to see the changes I’m making (all VGM videos of mine will soon have explanatory annotations). The reasoning behind this is similar to second reason I gave when explaining the last change: creative freedom. Now managing those tracks will be a lot easier, making way to improved versions, hour-long loops, and even downloads that come straight from SoundCloud, giving me some of my Dropbox space back. Also, the other reason why I’m doing this is because, while my YouTube account says I’m in good standing copyright-wise, I can no longer monetize my videos, so hopefully this change will fix that, as I have a feeling that Nintendo’s consistently out-of-touch and belligerent attitude toward YouTube’s monetization system may be to blame. As for my “most recent tracks”, I’m specifically talking about Dream Abyss, Rain Over the Water, and Song of the Cul-De-Sac, which will be part of my upcoming album Cloudland Connection. See change #2 for why.

Anyways, that was a lot! I know it was just three changes, but they were big changes, and I think you’ll agree that they deserved the word count they have—or, maybe you don’t agree, which makes me wonder why you’ve gotten this far in the first place. Either way, there are two things you can do to help. Comment below on this post and tell me if you think these changes are justified, and if you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them as well. Secondly, support me on Patreon. If every one of my YouTube subscribes were to contribute just $3 a month, I’d be able to start focusing on music full-time, making the publishing process go even quicker.

Thank you so much for tuning in, and HAVE AN AWESOME DAY!

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