How did other pony-music musicians get so popular?

[Pulse Wave 44]

My point is, don't create to be famous, create to create.

This, and a whole lot of it. Especially nowadays.

 

There have been countless bronies already who jumped into the music-making scene just for the purpose of becoming #HorseFamous quickly and easily. Their plan was to do what the #HorseFamous artists had done so far. Dubstep seemed to be something that'd be popular with bronies while being easy to make for somepony who had never in his life made music, next to no budget and next to no time, what with the abundance of "0 to Skrillex in 5 minutes with FL Studio, no previous knowledge required" video tutorials on YouTube. The outcome was a torrent of brostep of often questionable quality in which individual artists got washed away.

 

Several big names have already advised against making music just for fame. Silva Hound did so at every other musicians panel. And that was not so that n00bs stop trying to mimick them, and they have their sound for themselves again.

 

Now let's look at what happens when somepony doesn't care for piling up fame and simply makes whatever music they please — and ends up making music that nopony else has made before. That's how "Mother Changeling" was made. Stylistically based on the "Habanera" from Carmen. Okay, that one was a bit more of an effort with multiple singers and whatnot, and it required quite some musical knowledge. But while it didn't make Sand Josieph Mando-grade #HorseFamous, it did make its mark because it stood out.

 

So if you want to make music that's far from what's considered popular among bronies, go for it.

 

From what I've seen, especially in videos or art, quantity is everything. Making quality works fast and plenty. If you consistently pump out content, you're going to be an entity worth paying attention to.

I've read somewhere that you have to churn out two tracks per week to be and stay noticed. I don't buy that. Also, it's quite difficult to do if you don't have that much time (working week etc.), and if you don't simply click together your tracks in FL Studio from loops of up to four bars. It takes considerably longer to a) apply actual songwriting and sing and/or use any kinds of hardware instruments. Some of the #HorseFamous brony musicians do both.

 

Anyway you look at it it has changed from the beginning days of the music scene and what it is now. Part of it was it was completely new, scene when it was happening, and there was very much a collaborative and supportive scene back then. Look at how often Mic the Microphone,, Tombstone, Toaster, and Jackleapp worked on each other's tracks. Most hung out on mylittleremix and in chats to gether. I could endlessly go on about how things may have been easier back then during that first year or two. They pushed each other into being the well know names they are now...

Even some time later, there were cases of musicians who rose to fame because they collaborated with a big name who was generous enough to collab with a nopony.

 

The scene now seems much larger of course but much less of a community then it was back then. People weren't trying to be "famous" then, but people do care a bit more about that now or look to the heights that some have reached. It's also a much smaller audience for music out there and many more new people around (from good to bad) and few veterans.

Add to that that our first-tier musicians don't hang around on pony sites anymore. They meet on Skype and release their music on Bandcamp (okay, plus the usual promotional video on YouTube). And if they show up at a convention (never mind smaller events), it's as a VIP with their plane tickets and hotel paid by the con. Oftentimes, you never even see them anywhere unless they do their gig, host a panel or give a signing session.

 

Look to see what you can differently from others in ways to stick out from the herd. Doing genres that others don't do, making fancier pmv's, handling mlp topics that aren't often covered are key things. Collect your tracks as albums so you can have common themes to your work can help. Mastering genres that you love is another (and will give you a sound to your name).

Yep, as I said: Be yourself. Don't try to be "another [insert #HorseFamous musician here]".

 

Don't forget if you're a brony musician that you include that inspiration as part of your music so you don't make generic pino like far too many musicians.

I think this is often one of the most difficult things in making pony music: not to make it PINO (that's Pony In Name Only for those who don't know yet). Each method has its downside:

• Sing so that it's clear from the lyrics that this is pony music. Downside: That's hard to get right if you simply cannot sing, and/or if you only have that €20 gaming headset plugged into your laptop's mic and headphone sockets as your only mic.
• Get someone else to sing. Collaborate with a singer. Well, good luck finding someone willing and able to sing for you that's known for being good if you aren't because you don't have any releases under your belly.
• Dialogue samples from the show. Getting old. And certain samples are old by now. May be pulled off as a stylistic element if justified, but not as a replacement for all vocals. That's what's getting old.
• Cover something that's known to be pony music. As in remake everything from scratch as opposed to a remix. If the bronies know from the melody that this is pony music, you can get away with an instrumental. But this has to be the case. Also, quite often well-known pony songs are just that, songs, with songwriting, with verses and choruses so you can't get away with loops. Furthermore, you have to find a way to make your cover creative instead of trying to mimick the original artist.
• Remix pony music. If you can do that, it's a sure-fire way. However, if you don't do anything but remixes, bronies will ask themselves whether you can't make original stuff, and you'll seem like trying to piggyback on the #HorseFame of those whom you remix.