My quest to find the perfect video doesn’t exist
It’s a late night and I’ve got one more task to get done before I can call it in. I’m having a hard time wording what it is I’m looking for but I know if I go on YouTube, I’ll find something. I type in “how to EQ reverb tail” and viola! Hundreds of tutorials at my finger tips just ready for me to click them. I select the first one and I am immediately turned off as the YouTuber’s vocals in the video are loud and distorted. Well if you don’t know to at least level your vocals in your videos then you’re probably not going to have a great tutorial either. I go back, and click on the next video and notice by the 15 minute mark the track is sounding pretty back. I go back and click the next one, same thing. Finally I scroll down past five more videos and jump right to the end of the video to hear what the finished product will be and I’m disappointed…again. I’m now stuck on how to make what I’ve been looking for and have lost inspiration.
Sound familiar? You’re not alone. Most YouTube Content Creators focus so much on the sizzle that they forget to serve the steak. We’re looking for information on how to get better, not click bait. Most of the YouTube tutorial gurus aren’t that great because if they were they’d probably be focusing on working on paid projects rather than creating content for a payout. Now I will give credit to those that I’ve had a great experience with checking out their videos. Make Pop Music, MG the Future, Navie D, and Beat Academy’s page and a few others have really helped me along. However, the issue is not how many producers and vocal coaches are making tutorials. It’s trying to find the ones that are actually good.
Great is subjective and that is not lost on me. Whoever you consider the greatest artist and/or producer of all time will more than likely be different than mine. However, one thing we can agree on is not everyone can reach the bar. More and more content creators have been tasked to generate as much content as possible to beat the algorithm but some of us, professionals, would like to jump straight into the information that we need. No, there’s nothing wrong with a 14 year old telling me how to do sidechain compression but when he’s spending 10 minutes telling me about his merch, email list, and his friend’s channel before diving into the video is ruining my experience. I want the information I am looking for, and fast. Most times what I’m looking to do can be explained in two minutes by the proper teacher. In fact, I’d encourage more tutorial videos to be shorter. It may even give the creator the advantage….
As I continue to look for information on how to level up I’ve realized that I am now arriving to the point where I will have to pay for the information that I am looking for. It’s not that I can’t find it on Google it’s just I’d rather just have the ability to call someone and get my questions answered or be coached in person. Plus, being able to interact with the person giving you the information allows you to ask questions. We can deep dive and I can learn why am I doing what I’m being told to do without having to run through more ads and unnecessary B roll.
Funny, I’d never thought I’d get to the point where the tutorials are almost useless.
