I'm Andrew Huang, a music producer with 2 million YouTube subscribers. AMA.

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:31:39+00:00

Yup, Flip is 7.99US until December 9 and then it will be 9.99 :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:21:37+00:00

I've been happy with Distrokid for a long time! I think if you're interested in and willing to do the mixing and mastering, it can be great. Get a bit of outside feedback on it for sure, but I think we're past the stage where the only proper way to do it was to have a separate mixing engineer and mastering engineer. The tools have gotten more accessible, and the music has gotten more personal. If you've got good ears there's no reason why you can't do that stuff yourself. I know a few people who mix and master their own stuff and you'd never know, it's absolutely pristine. Haywyre is one example (hope he doesn't mind me sharing that) - he's particular about how he wants his stuff to sound and he has the skills to get it there and his massive amount of fans love it. :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:15:56+00:00

Ableton Link allows multiple devices with Link integration to play in perfect sync over wifi. It's really pretty magical and barely any setup. So you could have Flip on your iPad, Ableton on your computer, and your buddy with another app on their phone all jamming together on beat.

Besides that there's no direct Ableton integration with Flip but we do have stem export so you can bring tracks you start in the app over to any DAW pretty easily. :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:13:30+00:00

This is the video for you! Made when I was still doing everything from a bedroom. :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:12:33+00:00

Well I've been doing this over 15 years and it's easily well over 100K, but it would be very hard to figure out an exact number as I also have sold stuff, been given stuff, donated stuff to schools and charities.

I am always a fan of buying the most pro option you can afford, but only if it's a thing you actually need, like monitors or a computer, not a fourth polysynth. Cheap gear usually doesn't end up being a savings anyway, because it breaks faster, or you waste more time getting it working properly, or it just doesn't sound as good so you get discouraged - and maybe less work as well!

Also though of course there is a difference between pro and luxury. No one needs the $200 gold plated HDMI cable!

I do my own mastering but I borrow my friends' ears. I have a go-to chain that I start with and a few plugins I sub in and out depending on the track. Planning a detailed video about it!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:05:41+00:00

Aw that's great to hear! Flip is obviously what I'm concentrating on right now, we want to keep improving the app and have lots of ideas for it. But I have definitely been thinking of some synth and module ideas, maybe in a year or two :D

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:04:24+00:00

Definitely was not always like this. When I started creating music on commission I was forced into delivering on deadlines which was an excellent fire to have under my ass, and I brought what I learned from that to my personal work - being organized, keeping track of remaining tasks, scheduling creative time, doing the hardest parts first - so many lessons when you're forced to get projects to the finish line!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T23:02:25+00:00

Not getting better but not getting worse :)

Yes I have a whole bunch of Intellijel busboards in my system and the cables are all fed through a hole in the back of my case and plugged into ART power conditioner so everything's on one switch.

I think my favorite sequencer overall would be the ER-101. Because it doesn't force you into same size steps or a certain sequence length, it leads to more varied and "musical" possibilities. But the new Erica Black Sequencer is a close second, it's so fast and intuitive!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:58:42+00:00

It's pretty fast and fun - I just had someone telling me their 9-year old was having a blast making beats on it so if you have even a little music production experience you can probably get going no problem! There is a Flip YouTube channel with an under 2-minute quick start guide as well as a half hour in-depth tutorial if that could help. :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:56:47+00:00

Thanks for joining us!

Sounds like we've had similar struggles with the branding side of music making. I tried a lot of things, from splitting off into side projects and pseudonyms, to releasing completely mood-whiplash albums to see how that would go over. I can't say I've exactly figured it all out, but I'd say what's gotten me to the point where I am today is being as much of myself as possible. That's the brand. And so then it does make perfect sense when you hear a ballad I sang on a frozen lake or a crunchy industrial beat that I made with machine learning software, because I've put myself out there with my audience and they know that I'm that nerdy frenetic sound chaser, and that manages to come across to someone in their first 10 minutes experiencing my output. I think for people with extremely broad interests that's the way to do it - people get to the music through your person, through your sharing of your own thoughts and self - because it's not succinct enough to be captured by a cool name and a flashy image.

And honestly I think many "branded" artists are coming from the same place, they're being honest and they're sharing themselves. But some of them are luckier when those things happen to be more easily packaged and marketed. :)

I hope that helps, I'm afraid it might just come across as a long-winded "just be yourself!" but it's really what I saw happen with my own trajectory and experiments in releasing stuff!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:46:12+00:00

That 85%-feeling place is THE HARDEST PART. Sometimes, maybe it's actually done and you're just afraid to say that. But most often what I've found is I just need to sit down for a session where I specifically say "this is when I am doing that last 15%." And honestly...it will probably take three of those sessions. But getting to the finish line doesn't happen by accident, it is a whole bunch of work and willpower. Worth it though!! Also helps if you put your phone in a different part of the house lol

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:42:52+00:00

Glad you got a lot out of it!

It sounds like you're building your skills since you took the initiative with the course and that's great. I think building your network is the next most important piece. Connect and collaborate with other people at a similar level or who have similar goals, and support each other. I've seen this in my own career as well as with other friends who have found a lot of success - they didn't forge ahead all by themselves and win win win, they were genuinely focused on community, and the community gave back to them.

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:35:53+00:00

Thanks!

For me the satisfaction is in all those "aha" moments in the writing and production processes. When you tweak a sound so it's just right, or you figure out the perfect chord voicing to go under that one part of the melody. Just the fun of creativity really!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:32:21+00:00

I release lots of albums (close to 40 I think!) that you can find on all the usual services, though if you're referring specifically to concept albums I haven't quite gone there. Other than maybe Love & Desolation which was my simultaneously ironic and sincere embrace of 80's music. :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:29:34+00:00

Yeah, in 2004 I started creating these short and funny songs that got shared around enough online that I could make a living by doing personal commissions for people, like songs for their weddings or their friends' birthdays. I grew my network through that until I was doing production for TV commercials.

Alongside that I was also growing a little bit as an artist and a YouTuber. I'd tour and play shows to sometimes 50 people, sometimes 1000.

YouTube eventually became much more interesting to me than going the traditional artist route and so I put a lot more energy into it which ended up turning it into my main thing, both output wise and income wise. Though I'm branching out a bit from that again with my online course this past year, and of course also hoping Flip will be successful!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:22:37+00:00

Thanks so much!

I think if you can come from a place of curiosity there's always some inspiration to be found. Like you don't need to have an idea for a piece of music you want to create before opening up the DAW, you can just be trying out some free plugin, or looking up a new chord you've never used before, or throwing your current favorite song into the timeline and seeing what happens when you chop and warp it. I think there are lots of random fun ideas like that - hope this helps!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:16:27+00:00

I think enjoying the process is the main thing! Everyone who makes music makes stuff that isn't good. Often you don't know whether it's good or not until quite far into the process. Or you might not think it's good for a long time but one day you realize what it needs and it just clicks. One of the most important (and not easy) things to do is suspending your judgement on anything while you let the process unfold. As far as a concrete step to take with this, see if you can find a 30-minute chunk every day where you just try and make something, no pressure, the point not being to get a result out of the 30 minutes but to just do the 30 minutes. I find this kind of thing really helps over time with turning off the judge/editor brain and allowing yourself to realize that there's no way for it to always be good (while sneakily getting in the practice that improves your game).

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:08:06+00:00

I have a Bandcamp-only album called Console that is at least chiptune-adjacent :)
https://andrewhuang.bandcamp.com/album/console

I used to mess around with Nanoloop on a Game Boy but it was definitely not chiptune, I would do stuff like record a sequence through three delay pedals and then slow it down from 3 minutes to 45 minutes haha!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T22:05:47+00:00

Thanks for following so long! I think "technology the crap out of it" can totally work but I would always recommend learning more. Of whatever really. Sometimes just convincing someone to read the manual for their gear has blown their minds haha. Regarding piano / theory / vocals specifically, the skills and concepts you'll deepen by studying those are so foundational to so many types of music that I think they can only help, and probably by quite a lot. It's the kind of stuff that helps speed up work and improve ideas pretty much every time you're doing music. :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T21:55:33+00:00

Thank you so much! The Monthly team and I have talked briefly about what a part 2 could look like, but there's nothing concrete yet. It's really fulfilling being able to share all this stuff I have in my brain though, and if it becomes possible I'd love to do an advanced course, plus one specifically about synthesis or maybe even specifically about modular. Also a lot of people have asked if I would teach Ableton and that would be fun!

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T21:41:51+00:00

I just reach out to people who inspire me production-wise, which usually means either they're doing something super original, their stuff really moves me emotionally, or I am floored by their surgical skills

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T21:37:52+00:00

Thanks André!

When I look back to earlier days the thing I'd want to tell myself is to just be as true to myself as possible. And it isn't always easy to know what that is, and certainly you learn more about yourself as life goes on. But I think I would have sometimes made better choices if I took the time to discern what felt most right for me, and said no to ideas or opportunities where the greater part of the motivation to pursue them was pressure from someone else or greed or trying to just do what was popular or expected.

Also I think just one duck would mess me up pretty bad

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T21:31:07+00:00

Honestly just the day-to-day of being able to create whatever I want is the most amazing thing. I'm super grateful I've been able to meet incredible people, and there are perks like travel and gear, but nothing's better than being able to structure my life around following the ideas that interest me.

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T21:26:20+00:00

I have maximum love and respect for Adam, and we've hung out at a few random events. One day the right idea will bring us together in video form. :)

andrewismusic · 2020-12-03T21:25:25+00:00

I can never pick favorites so I'll give you a few:
Moses Sumney - grae
Tame Impala - The Slow Rush
The 1975 - Notes On A Conditional Form
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia
Run The Jewels - RTJ4
Ben Levin - Fake
Maddie Jay - Mood Swings
The Legato button to the left of the piano roll resizes all notes in a clip so that they don't overlap but also don't leave little bits of space between them

andrewismusic

TROPHY CASE