Hi,

got a bit into talking about Music Streaming Services last Week over on Mastodon, but those platforms aside today. There's another aspect of Music Production and our modern media world that is super interesting to me. It's the fact that before Streaming and Tutorials became a thing, the practices involved in creating Music at home (wherever that may be: the Bedroom, a desk or a dedicated home studio space) weren't really something you would share. You could just spend your days at home producing Music and few people were aware of what you are actually doing.

Like, in a sense it's still the same, you kinda are on your own, just work from home and all the actions involved aren't obvious to people outside that space, unless you maybe collab with a friend or invite someone to add Vocals etc. Since Music Production Tutorials became a thing, or people went on to even stream music production, all that changed. So, concerning oneself with Music Production Tutorials or Streams are actually a very informative in learning more about what producers actually do.

Each person might still have their very own ways of doing things, in approaching a new track, maybe some start with creating a beat first, while others would just go with a melody. Often, Music Production is seen as just the "end result" or compared with the act of composing, but the more you concern yourself with this process, the more you understand how blurry the lines between composition and improvisation actually are. You would try new things out, play a melody a few times before you are happy with it and proceed to record it, you may change the sounds a few times until you are statisfied.

If you feel stuck, you maybe just save the file and close the project until you have fresh ideas next time you open it. Sometimes, a project would just sit there for a while, waiting to be opened again. Sometimes next time you listen to the project, you don't feel it, delete a bunch of tracks and start all over again, it's like sketches a composer would just have written on paper. Many desicions to be made until you say "Oh well, I guess that's the overall idea" and you get into fine-tuning, still adding bits here and there, mixdown, mastering.

If you feel unispired, you maybe watch a tutorial to get some fresh ideas. Or you might be looking for a specific Tutorial on how to learn a certain aspect of your DAW, Videos on Chord Progressions, Beats, you name it. It's an interesting approach, as you learn and create simultaneously. I mean, at least you could.

Here, time and space are also quite interesting: the audioviewer may be watching in the future or at the time a stream goes online, they can watch from home or on the go. You can even interact with the Musicians and comment a Live-Stream, which is kinda cool.

My own experience with all of this: sometimes I would just watch a Stream, just to see how others approach creating a new track. Some people are just inspiring to me, I had this a lot with Ocean for instance, I just liked his vibe and listening to his accent, same as with Will Hatton (both on YouTube, just to add a few names here. Also a huge fan of what Venus Theory is doing, especially since his Videos turned to criticism). Other times I use Tutorials as an initiator to get me started with an idea, so those Videos are often genre-specific. However, in this case, I often drift off and pause or even stop the Video to just continue working on my own project I just began. Overall, I'm pretty bad at watching Tutorials I'd say. I could have learned way more over the years just by watching others do their thing, but my attention span isn't the best, and I somehow prefer to just experiment, a DIY approach I'd say. Maybe also the reason why I feel kinda stuck with what I'm doing, because I often repeat the same stuff.

What also feeds into this are questions about platforms and content formats. To me, watching Tutorials on YouTube are probably the main source for information, besides using Forums. Not much into Twitch, as that's just a personal preference. I know there's also short-form content out there (also on other platforms), but I feel the more oldskool style of vertical layout and the possibility to watch content somewhere from 10 Minutes to hours are maybe more suitable for Music production. I guess we can agree on YouTube being a great place to learn new things, and I think that is also the quality of that platform, which is the main reason why I don't really see this platform becoming irrelevant for Music Production. Maybe it would help to see some Creators moving to alternatives, but then there's still the issue with monetization and the fact that some Content creators are huge into collabing with companies, showing off latest gear and all of this, it's a huge business.

Anyways, just a few thoughts. It would be really interesting to hear how you all perceive this whole thing with Tutorials and Streams. Where do you usually go to watch Tutorials, Streams? Do you often watch stuff, follow Videos on certain topics? How do you interact with that as you create Music? Do you just watch Creators that use the same DAW as you or doesn't that have any impact on which Video you end up watching? Is it more about Genres or sympathy for a specific person? Which people do you enjoy watching?

Still doing research on TheBedroomProducerInTheEraOfEnshittification, but I would be happy to hear some of your opinions or experiences if you feel like sharing :) Hope you have a nice day!

Edit: As I already mentioned Venus Theory above, I thought it would just be fair to include Liam Killen as well, as both have helped me in my previous research with Interviews, and it was so much fun chatting about Music. Check him out as well!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.studio/post/3478656

> Lemmy Communities and Threads Collection: Linux Audio & (FOSS) Music Production on Linux > > Hi! > > I hope it's allright to post this here as it's not just about Linux Audio, so please let me know if I should move this elsewhere. > > Well, I guess we are all in the same boat when it comes to trying to grow communities here on Lemmy so we can provide information on certain topics here as well (and making the platform more attractive for others in the long run). > > > There are a bunch of Questions concerning Linux Audio / Music Production scattered across many communities and instances - which is great for decentralisation reasons, but also makes everything a bit difficult to find. So, I thought I'd collect some threads and communities that might be interesting for a start to help others figuring things out in the future. > > When I joined Lemmy, I struggled a lot with search on here, and as I looked for anything concerning the keywords 'Linux Audio', I stumbled across this post: Any interest in a Linux Audio community? --> https://feddit.uk/post/25295 so I assumed there would not be any active community yet. > > --- > # Linux Audio communities > It took me a while to find this community (the one you are in right now): > - [email protected] > - which also seems to be the oldest and most active, so I guess this one is the best one to go with for any questions. > > Instead, I found these Linux Audio related communities, which I don't think are used much (anymore): > - [email protected] > - Status: waveform.social has unfortunately shut down, See: --> https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/1745550 but it's still worth checking out > - [email protected] > - Status: inactive, but the entries via the Microblog feature might be interesting, See --> https://fedia.io/m/LinuxAudio/microblog > > # Music Production, Distros, VST > Next, here is a collection of threads concerning Music Production, which I thought might be worth checking out. Most are concerned with Distro options, whereas the next section is more about VST's. I'm sorry if I missed any important ones, so feel free to add anything you found below. > - Help me decide my first distro for Audio --> https://lemmy.world/post/8849429 > - Audio Production oriented distribution recommendations --> https://sopuli.xyz/post/2019397 > - [Question] Lightweight Linux distro primarily for music production? --> https://lemmy.studio/post/1186313 > - Good DAWS and VSTs for linux --> https://lemmy.world/post/15591667 > - Considering switching to Linux, looking for some input --> https://sh.itjust.works/post/27401355 > - What's your setup? --> https://feddit.uk/post/392985 > - DAW For Linux (Audio Editors) --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64217 > I will also throw this link in here, a collection provided by Eugenia L on Mastodon --> https://mastodon.social/@eugenialoli/113358203445896735 > > --- > > - What are some must have Linux compatible VSTs? --> https://lemmy.ml/post/11030719 > - Open Source Music Software Thread --> https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/1044389 > - VST and VSTI FOR LINUX ?! --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64215 > - awesome-linuxaudio A list of software and resources for professional audio/video/live events production on Linux --> https://lemmy.world/post/1041065 > - Anyone using hardware synths with linux DAW? --> https://beehaw.org/post/1062432 > - List of LV2 plugins for Linux --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64083 > - Virtual instruments for Linux ?! --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64075 > > > # General Audio Questions > Then, I found a few threads about Audio issues. There are a few more concerning gaming, streaming etc. that I won't list here. > - Question about JACK audio interface --> https://lemmy.world/post/16498429 > - Severe Pipewire popping and cracking --> https://lemm.ee/post/36958804 > - Audio on imac running Linux is not as good as on MacOS --> https://lemmy.world/post/2715605 > - Distorted audio from Focusrite 2i2 --> https://lemmy.ml/post/3624730 > > # Specific communities: DAW's and Music Production > - [email protected] > - [email protected] > - [email protected] > - [email protected] > - ([email protected]) > - [email protected] > - [email protected] > - [email protected] > - [email protected] > - [email protected] > - ([email protected]) > > # DJing > Off-topic but I though I will include this section, as this might be interesting for the one or the other. > - Pioneer XDJ-RR to M-Audio Air 192 6 on Linux CLIPPING --> https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/832497 > - Mixxx 2.4 Open-Source DJ Software Released with Major Changes --> https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/10974996 > > > > --- > > That's it for now, hope this was or will be helpful for anyone. Always thankful for anyone adding anything I missed. > > Have a great Day! > > > Addition: I thought about providing another Music Production related collection soon, which will then most liekly be added to [email protected] in case anyone is interested!

Hi!

I hope it's allright to post this here as it's not just about Linux Audio, so please let me know if I should move this elsewhere.

Well, I guess we are all in the same boat when it comes to trying to grow communities here on Lemmy so we can provide information on certain topics here as well (and making the platform more attractive for others in the long run).

There are a bunch of Questions concerning Linux Audio / Music Production scattered across many communities and instances - which is great for decentralisation reasons, but also makes everything a bit difficult to find. So, I thought I'd collect some threads and communities that might be interesting for a start to help others figuring things out in the future.

When I joined Lemmy, I struggled a lot with search on here, and as I looked for anything concerning the keywords 'Linux Audio', I stumbled across this post: Any interest in a Linux Audio community? --> https://feddit.uk/post/25295 so I assumed there would not be any active community yet.

---

Linux Audio communities

It took me a while to find this community (the one you are in right now):

• [email protected]
  • which also seems to be the oldest and most active, so I guess this one is the best one to go with for any questions.

Instead, I found these Linux Audio related communities, which I don't think are used much (anymore):

• [email protected]
  • Status: waveform.social has unfortunately shut down, See: --> https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/1745550 but it's still worth checking out
• [email protected]
  • Status: inactive, but the entries via the Microblog feature might be interesting, See --> https://fedia.io/m/LinuxAudio/microblog

Music Production, Distros, VST

Next, here is a collection of threads concerning Music Production, which I thought might be worth checking out. Most are concerned with Distro options, whereas the next section is more about VST's. I'm sorry if I missed any important ones, so feel free to add anything you found below.

• Help me decide my first distro for Audio --> https://lemmy.world/post/8849429
• Audio Production oriented distribution recommendations --> https://sopuli.xyz/post/2019397
• [Question] Lightweight Linux distro primarily for music production? --> https://lemmy.studio/post/1186313
• Good DAWS and VSTs for linux --> https://lemmy.world/post/15591667
• Considering switching to Linux, looking for some input --> https://sh.itjust.works/post/27401355
• What's your setup? --> https://feddit.uk/post/392985
• DAW For Linux (Audio Editors) --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64217
• I will also throw this link in here, a collection provided by Eugenia L on Mastodon --> https://mastodon.social/@eugenialoli/113358203445896735

---

• What are some must have Linux compatible VSTs? --> https://lemmy.ml/post/11030719
• Open Source Music Software Thread --> https://lemmy.dbzer0.com/post/1044389
• VST and VSTI FOR LINUX ?! --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64215
• awesome-linuxaudio A list of software and resources for professional audio/video/live events production on Linux --> https://lemmy.world/post/1041065
• Anyone using hardware synths with linux DAW? --> https://beehaw.org/post/1062432
• List of LV2 plugins for Linux --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64083
• Virtual instruments for Linux ?! --> https://lemmy.ml/post/64075

General Audio Questions

Then, I found a few threads about Audio issues. There are a few more concerning gaming, streaming etc. that I won't list here.

• Question about JACK audio interface --> https://lemmy.world/post/16498429
• Severe Pipewire popping and cracking --> https://lemm.ee/post/36958804
• Audio on imac running Linux is not as good as on MacOS --> https://lemmy.world/post/2715605
• Distorted audio from Focusrite 2i2 --> https://lemmy.ml/post/3624730

Specific communities: DAW's and Music Production

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• ([email protected])
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• ([email protected])

DJing

Off-topic but I though I will include this section, as this might be interesting for the one or the other.

• Pioneer XDJ-RR to M-Audio Air 192 6 on Linux CLIPPING --> https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/832497
• Mixxx 2.4 Open-Source DJ Software Released with Major Changes --> https://discuss.tchncs.de/post/10974996

---

That's it for now, hope this was or will be helpful for anyone. Always thankful for anyone adding anything I missed.

Have a great Day!

Addition: I thought about providing another Music Production related collection soon, which will then most liekly be added to [email protected] in case anyone is interested!

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.studio/post/3409116

> Ideas and Tips for Dual Boot and Audio Things on Linux (2011 Laptop) > > Research post > > --> Before you contribute anything to this post, please be aware that I research a Music Production related topic on Lemmy/Mastodon. > > Check out more info here > > > > > # Hi there, > not even sure if this community is still active, but I will give it a go ;) > I'm looking for distro ideas and tips for setting up Audio. > > So, here's the situation: I've been thinking about switching DAW for a while now and just tried LMMS so far, which I didn't like at all. I'm curious to check out Reaper and/or Ardour next while also considering Bitwig as another option. > > Currently I use an old MacBook Pro (~2011) for Music Production - running MacOS and Ableton Live 10. The plan is to Dual Boot this machine for now, but I'm unsure which Distro to go for. SSD is new, I can dedicate around ~250 Gigs to this install, which is a lot since I mainly use external storage usually. 4 GB of RAM, I think some swap space would be ideal. > > On my main machine I've so far tried Ubuntu Studio for about 3 Weeks, so this is absolutely not an option. Then I've tried Mint for literally just 3 Days because I really hated the look of it (maybe no surprise as a long-time Mac user). I'm on arch-based/Arch with Plasma 5/6 + pipewire now since around 2 years. Haven't been touching on anything Music Production related on here, just the average everyday use to play Videos and Music (which just worked out of the box) so I'm not really familiar with anything Audio-related on Linux. > > I want the Music Laptop to just be pretty minimal, a bit of Note-taking and Office stuff besides the DAW's. The Laptop is usually offline, so I think going for Arch/ a rolling release is not very ideal. I thought about just Gnome or Plasma 6 on Debian, as I wanted to try out Debian for future projects anyways. Not sure how this will play out on that old Laptop, so just thought I'd ask if there's any experience with older machines before I get into it. Also open for other recommendations in case I missed some other good distro option, I feel like I'm also in an experimental phase currently and wouldn't mind distro-hopping for a bit. > > Then, I feel a bit overwhelmed by the whole audio thing, so I would be very thankful for useful tips, videos, websites or similar that might help me to figure things out. > > I own a Focusrite Audio-Interface, and it will be a problem if I can't get this running, but I will definitely try it out before I buy a new one. Another issue with this Laptop is that the Audio jack broke years ago inside the machine, so it's not even possible to get any sound out of this thing if not via the Interface lol. Well, actually there is: Bluetooth Speakers, which I also do own but... meh. Usually on Headphones for Music Prodcution, so I kinda need the Interface. Not a huge VST user, so this is less of an issue for me. I mainly use my Interface to record Instruments/Mics or just my field recorder and Samples. > > Hope I can get some feedback on my throughts and recommendations, thanks a lot in advance!

Research post

--> Before you contribute anything to this post, please be aware that I research a Music Production related topic on Lemmy/Mastodon.

Check out more info here

Hi all,

hope you had a great day!

So, the next week(s), I thought about diving a bit into the tech side of things for my thesis. The plan is to write a few paragraphs about the layers of technology involved in the whole process of making music using DAWs, to get a better understanding of where possible issues might be.

I'm not sure if I will make these Discussions a weekly thing, but I will add more topics to discuss in the Months to come, so if you are interested, I'm happy for people to join! Therefore, for this week (or if you stumble across this later) I'm curious to hear about your setup for Music Production! Feel free to share your thoughts below.

As an example, a few things that came to mind were the following topics:

• Do you use your main machine for Music Production or is there a second one you use for that purpose? In case you are open to sharing more info: when buying the computer, did you look for specific parts that would suit that use case? Where did you get info or recommendations for that?
• Which OS(es) run on this machine, and which one do you use for Music Production?
• Audio routing, Audio Interfaces, Speakers/Headphones
• Of course, your choice of DAW - why you use it & like it (or not)!
• VST Plugins + anything else Software-related
• Instruments, MIDI-Keyboards, Controllers etc.

Besides that, I'm also interested in comments on the following:

• your standpoint on using Linux and FOSS for Music Production
• opinions on certain Tech Companies
• thoughts on Music Production being a rather pricey hobby
• Compatability and other issues you think are worth being talked about

So it's also ok if you feel like you need to share your frustration. I'm probably gonna start to rant in the coming weeks as I will switch (well, at least dual boot) to a Linux Distro on my music Laptop. If you're interested in my current setup, maybe check out this post I just added to LinuxAudio asking for some advice for the whole process.

Looking forward to hearing your stories and experiences :)

Hi Music Friends!

... I thought about creating a seperate community to post this (and any future ones) but since the last contribution on here is already a while back, I'll just go with it for now...

The next paragraphs will be a somewhat lengthy Introduction explaining why I'm here and what I'm doing here now :)

I'm a Musicology student from Vienna, Austria and usually research topics such as Electronic Music and technology in music as well as surrounding culture and practices. However, over time, I became interested in Media Studies as well, primarily investigating Social Media and Streaming Services .

With this research account I will now begin my journey doing Hybrid Fieldwork on the Fediverse for my MA Thesis.

Planned as an (auto-)ethnographic research project, I will write about The Bedroom Producer in the era of Enshittification

background

I've been wanting to write about Music Production for a while now, but wasn't too sure about a precise topic as I began my Master's. As I engaged myself in literature on the history of Music Production, I became quite fascinated with the narrative beginning around the turn of the millenium, hailing the internet as an opportunity for DIY Musicians (or Amateur Musicians) as a place to share their Music, to build an audience, or to find like-minded Artists via online forums.

Almost a quarter of a century later, many of these aspects are still true, while the online world surrounding Musicians changed drastically with the emergence of streaming services and social media platforms. Today, BigTech companies inherit monopoly positions not only concerning the computer techologies allowing such online communications, but also do so in gate-keeping positions within the Music Industry and beyond.

As an autodidact Bedroom Producer myself, I spent the last decade on such online platforms and was able to witness the changing media landscape towards an increasing number of privacy-invading business models oriented towards infinite growth, which are so prevalent today.

It was probably not until I began researching such platforms and online communities as an undergraduate student that I became more invested with and wary of these technologies. Around 2 years ago, I also found an interest in FOSS and decided to start my Linux journey, which further fostered this idea of wanting to write something incorporating all of these topics.

Further down the line, I also stumbled upon the Fediverse, which I have been using personally for a while. I now decided to give Mastodon and Lemmy a go as my research field, especially after having considered issues with other platforms that are often used in Music Production contexts such as Discord YouTube or Twitch (that I wish to not participate in any longer).

about the project

I hope the title is self-explanatory to most of you: Doctorow's Enshittification applied to a Music context - focussing on hobbyist Music Production.

The Ethnography focuses on practices, perceptions and perspectives surrounding Bedroom Producers. While research will take place on Mastodon and Lemmy, it does not mean that topics are restricted to those platforms or that experiences do have to be connected to platforms at all, it can be anything connected to Music Production and Media/Technology use. I mainly chose these platforms as I do 1) feel comfortable doing research here and 2) I'm looking for alternative voices and experiences. As I consider many Fediverse-users as tech-savy, I hope to get some insights that I would otherwise not be able to find - topics such as selfhosting, discussions about OS compatabilites or issues with Music technology as well as FOSS or even infosec are highly encouraged

I wish to get a better understanding of

• how Music Producers make sense of today's (online) world,
• which choices they make concerning technologies used for Music Production,
• how such technologies are used in everyday life and why,
• which strategies they might have found to navigate privacy-oriented media participation,
• further challenges and sentiments along the way (mental wellbeing, competition, peer pressure etc.)
• [...]

Initially, I hoped to being able to outline the needs of Musicians in order to suggest solutions for alternative media platforms, opening new perspectives for a possible emergence of new platforms. I won't be able to do so, as there is a lot to write about already, but I hope I can contribute to that goal somehow, or at least spreading awareness on (the importance) of some of these topics.

some more details

Research is outlined as partcipatory fieldwork. This means, I will actively participate in discussions, sharing content and ideas on here while I do also observe what I encounter online (which I will mainly note down in a research diary but may also take screenshots of etc.). I mainly thought about sharing some thoughts based on literature I read or some of my own observations while engaging online here and there to encourage discussions.

Another aspect is that this research is also autoethnographic, which means my own experiences will play a huge role in the end result (I chose to do this mainly because it is difficult to find any literature concering how some of the major music platforms operate behind the scenes and because I felt inspired by reading Eshun's More Brilliant than the sun, which gave me this idea of giving this thesis a slightly techno-dystopian undertone).

I hope I can find some people here that are willing to talk about their experiences and opinions not just on this platform but also in interviews - which will form another big chunk of the thesis. I am aware that research of this kind on here and conducting interviews with you folks may be a bit tricky as many people value privacy a lot. In general, I have to comply to ethical standards, so everything I will use for my thesis will only happen after I get each user's permission. It will always be possible to be anonymized or contact me after an interview if you changed your mind on anything you said or if there are any other concerns until I will begin the process to analyze all the collected data and begin writing results (which I will announce beforehand).

I put some time/effort/thoughts into planning this project, so I will try to make this as transparent as possible and hope that I can make everyone participating to feel safe. It's a bit weird to ask, but please feel free to block me if you feel that way. I also want to mention that, as I have done research of this kind already twice, this time I will also keep an eye on my own well-being, so bare with me if I will be offline for some days or won't share too much personal information.

I will use dedicated devices for this research to keep things a bit seperated. Also, I will store whatever I collect on a seperate and encrypted device, no Google services, iCloud and such involved. For the writing process, I will use LibreOffice (Markor and just regular pen and Papep for note-taking and planning, Obsidian for University-related stuff), I will still need to find a suitable solution for Interview transcripts, so any recommendations are welcome.

Concerning communications, I haven't decided on how and where to do interviews yet (jitsi?) but most likely will also make it possible to contact me on Matrix. Signal would be another option, as I have registered a number to use for online accounts (just in case), but I get the opinions to not use Signal beyond close personal contacts. I wish I could offer any other solutions but I'm also limited to my skill set - but again, any help is appreciated!

Everyone who does produce Music as a Hobbyist (or Ex-Hobbyist) on some kind of DAW is very welcome to participate! Unfortunately this means I will exclude people with a purely analog, DAW-less setup that might frequent this community as well. Genres do not matter really, and it is also not about skills in Music Production (as mentioned, I'm self-taught in this as well).

The current plan is to do research until January, but I may extend it to April.

Thanks if you made it this far ;)

That's all the info I have for you so far. Feel free to let me know about any ideas, opinions, concerns or if you feel I should create a seperate community for this. Your input is appreciated! Please use She/They pronouns ;) I'm also on mastodon if you prefer that way of communicating.

As a final word, I'd also like to thank Beto for supporting the project and providing the space here!

Hope you have a great day, x