u/musicmakur

I am staying near the Long Beach airport during Dreamstate and wondering how much uber and lyft would costs to and from the festival? I know the prices will change from day to night but I want to budget and make sure before I decide to book a reservation.

Looking for tutorials in the 138–150 BPM range but not hard techno, more of a psytrance/techno hybrid sound. Ideally a full start-to-finish masterclass from a pro producer, not just quick tips or short clips.

Any recommendations?

I know Splice can filter samples based on your project's key and BPM once it's connected through the plugin, so you're mostly seeing compatible results. But I'm wondering if there's something that goes further than filtering.

Specifically looking for a sample browser that actually time stretches and pitches samples in real time as you preview them, so any sample in the library becomes usable in your project's key and tempo regardless of what it originally was.

Does anything like this exist? Would appreciate any recommendations, even if it's a smaller or less known tool.

I'm looking for podcast recommendations, specifically ones where artists talk about transitioning from a full time job in a totally unrelated industry to doing music full time.

I currently work full time in a field that has nothing to do with music, and honestly it's soul crushing. Trying to balance a demanding job with actually making progress in music feels close to impossible some days. I rarely come across stories where artists go in depth about what that transition actually looked like. Most interviews focus on the music itself, not the years before it when they were stuck clocking in somewhere they didn't want to be.

I'm 32, and there are days it feels like I started too late, like I picked the wrong path entirely, or like the window has already closed. I know logically that's not true, but hearing directly from artists who went through something similar and made it out the other side would mean a lot right now.

If you know of any podcasts, episodes, or even interviews that go deep on this specific struggle, I'd really appreciate the recommendations.

edit: I didn't ask for life advice or a "reality check". This is a thread about inspiring podcast episodes based on the topic.

I'm an independent electronic artist trying to get my new tracks in front of people on TikTok, either through sound seeding (creators using my track as background audio) or clipping campaigns. I've found a handful of agencies through Google (Clipping Culture, Lumina Clippers, SoundCampaign, Playlist Push) but I have no way to tell which of these actually deliver versus which are good at marketing themselves and nothing else.

Before I put money into this, I'd rather hear from people who've actually run a campaign.

A few specific questions if you've done this:

• Which service did you use and would you use them again?
• What was the actual cost versus what they promised?
• Did the views/creations translate into real streams or followers, or did it evaporate once the campaign ended?
• Any services you'd actively warn people away from?
• Did you go the managed agency route or find creators yourself, and which was worth it?

I'm an independent electronic artist trying to get my new tracks in front of people on TikTok, either through sound seeding (creators using my track as background audio) or clipping campaigns. I've found a handful of agencies through Google (Clipping Culture, Lumina Clippers, SoundCampaign, Playlist Push) but I have no way to tell which of these actually deliver versus which are good at marketing themselves and nothing else.

Before I put money into this, I'd rather hear from people who've actually run a campaign.

A few specific questions if you've done this:

• Which service did you use and would you use them again?
• What was the actual cost versus what they promised?
• Did the views/creations translate into real streams or followers, or did it evaporate once the campaign ended?
• Any services you'd actively warn people away from?
• Did you go the managed agency route or find creators yourself, and which was worth it?

I’m curious what people here do for a living outside of music.

My ideal situation would be something that’s relatively low-stress, pays reasonably well, is fully remote, and still leaves enough mental energy at the end of the day to work on music. I realize that’s probably asking for the holy grail, and there are always tradeoffs, but I’m interested in hearing what’s worked for others.

I’ve been looking at website-related roles because many of them seem to be remote and fairly manageable day-to-day. Things like website administration, content updates, troubleshooting issues, handling support tickets, making page edits, and other maintenance work. From the outside, those jobs seem like they offer a decent work-life balance compared to a lot of other careers.

Are there any other career paths I should be considering?

I’d especially love to hear from people who are actively producing music while working full-time. What do you do, how stressful is it, and does it leave you with enough creative energy to make music consistently?

I make electronic music techno, trance, 4/4. Everything is produced in my software so jam sessions and improv content aren't really an option for me.

I've been posting on TikTok and Reels for a while and I still haven't found a format that feels genuinely like me.

I see other artists doing studio vlogs, day in the life content, talking head videos. None of it feels right for what I'm building.

Has anyone found a content style that actually fits their artist identity rather than just copying what works for other people? How did you figure it out?

I make electronic music techno, trance, 4/4. Everything is produced in the box so jam sessions and improv content aren't really an option for me.

I've been posting on TikTok and Reels for a while and I still haven't found a format that feels genuinely like me.

I see other artists doing studio vlogs, day in the life content, talking head videos. None of it feels right for what I'm building.

Has anyone found a content style that actually fits their artist identity rather than just copying what works for other people? How did you figure it out?

Saw James Hype's recent video where he talks about moving to London as an unknown DJ and having "no choice but to succeed." In the comments he mentions he had savings and a girlfriend helping cover expenses at the time.

I get the appeal of the all-or-nothing mindset, but these stories almost always omit other details. I was laid off a year ago and suddenly had all the time in the world for music. I was lucky that unemployment covered my basic expenses, but the growing financial pressure still killed my creativity and tanked my quality of life. I couldn't afford basics like promo, photos, or video content from gigs, the exact things you need to grow. My savings I barely touched, keeping it strictly for emergencies like medical bills, housing, or car troubles.

I'm not saying the "burn the boats" approach never works. But I'm skeptical every time I hear it, because the version that gets told publicly is never the full one. And on the flip side, why do we almost never hear about artists who worked full-time and still broke through? Those stories exist too, they just don't make as good a video.

I'm all for believing in yourself and pursuing your goals with everything you have, but money matters in this industry. Personally, I wouldn't quit my job until music income could sustain me long term.

• Has anyone here had a success with quitting your job to pursue music? What was your situation like?
• Has anyone had success pursuing music while working full time, eventually quitting your 9-5 job?

I have heard that the reflections from your speakers will bounce off the bill of the hat and back into your ears. I suppose this could be solved by wearing your hat backwards.

Thoughts?