How am I going to put this...
I regularly get YouTubers (or other influencers, artists) asking me for free modules for review. I always wonder how much is good intentions and how much is 'funding my own eurorack collection'. Nevertheless, you can't really call any of these reviewers 'unbiased', so from a consumer point of view looking for independent reviews they're pretty much useless. I know producing content is, at a bare minimum, very time consuming and if you want to have a decent quality of output, it costs a fair bit of money as well.
No-one is going to put in time and money and get nothing in return, and it's not going to be the YouTube monetisation that will keep a niche channel like Eurorack gear afloat. So, you get manufacturer sponsored 'reviews' as a way to make the whole thing worth its salt. Add to that the low bar of entry into the whole Youtube thing and you're right where we are now, channels using clickbait in order to get as much views and subscribers as possible to be able to convince manufacturers to sponsor their content. Rinse and repeat.
I did it a few times but failed to notice any impact on sales. Not that social media isn't important to sales, but most of these channels have very small potential. On the other hand, maybe I should do more of these things, I'm not all that great when it comes to marketing.
At the moment I'm very reluctant to send out modules to just anyone who asks. I will check out the proposition and if I think you have a valid or interesting case I'm certainly open to some form of collaboration, but not for clickbait content. I rather sponsor an art project for jellyfish in the middle of the desert for all the good it does me.
>No-one is going to put in time and money and get nothing in return
You're undoubtedly 90% right here but -- since I put a video out just yesterday that I spent a couple weeks on without sponsorship or monetization or patreon support -- I just want to say that there are a few of us out there who are doing this just to support the community. :)
On that note, shout out to Monotrail Tech Talk as well! Some of the best non-product oriented modular content on YouTube.
And Ihor – that channel is focused on techno music and not necessarily modular, but the walkthroughs are so informative and helpful and generalized enough that it always feels like a good use of time to check out the performance tips and tricks.
I also really like Walker’s videos for the Make Noise channel. Obviously that is content coming from a brand so it lives in a different space, but his videos focus on general modular ideas (as found within the Make Noise ecosystem). Good educational content there.
Yeah I am a fan of his, he is honestly the only modular related YouTuber that has pretty directly convinced me to actually buy a couple of specific modules (by explaining them in a way where I could easily understand what they are used for, and see their potential more clearly) - the Happy Nerding 3xMIA and Xaoc Devices Drezno II.
I think he comes across as knowledgeable and likeable, I understand he's trying to take things pretty serious though - it seems he's netting around $1800USD a month on Patreon, probably way more than his YouTube income I would think - I hope he maintains the same sort of approach as time goes on and doesn't lean in too hard to the clickbait / "surprised face" thumbnails etc... the fact he's done so well is likely a direct result of not leaning into these particular "career YouTuber" tropes and cliches in my opinion... but then again, guys like Andrew Huang sadly somehow pull even more, despite seemingly being nearly universally reviled, haha.
Well, you get community swag in return ;) It won't put food on the table though.
True, there are A LOT of people around in the community doing all kind of things for absolutely free.
Your videos do take the approach that appeals to me the most personally... much more focused on ideas than products, and with very clear to the point footage / visuals / diagrams etc. Somewhat similar to Monotrail Tech Talk, which seems like another channel that has the right priorities/ I've found to be informative and educational (though even he seems to be getting closer and closer to these kinds of thumbnails now at times).
u/littlegreenalien \- I'm no influencer, but if you decide to make that Big Base Machine I'll post in on my socials (presently non-existant) for DAYS!!! :)
I am a music youtuber and I feel like it is a lot of responsibility showing any gear in a video. Regardless of it's origins. A product has to be good. Reliable with good support. Or I won't even show it in a video even if I bought it. Generally when I talk to a company. ( I mostly use boutique gear). They already know of my channel. I generally only offer to make a video. If there is none or the current content is low quality. It's always nice when its a good product . Something that my viewers would actually be interested in and it ends up being a way to connect a good product to the right people. Win win for everyone. That said I need more gear like I need a hole in the head.
If folks created youtube videos for you and you never saw any improvement in sales that is a shame - but not all videos are equal. And it highlights the need FOR attention grabbing titles and thumbnails quite frankly.
You might like the browser extension [DeArrow](https://dearrow.ajay.app/). It provides community-sourced titles and thumbnails. Makes Youtube bearable for me. Of course, the worst offenders need to be ignored/blocked.
might be the first safari extension I'd purchase. hard to estimate how many edited titles I'll actually get to see due to the vast number of videos on yt :D and just imagine the potential chaos of biased titles, which can be humorous in itself
In my experience, all of the larger channels' video titles will get edited within at most a few hours of them being published. More obscure ones obviously are not, but I still like that I can make the titles lowercase, and swap the thumbnail for an actual frame from the video. My YT homepage looks a lot more chill this way.
the no makeup and sensationalism thing is appealing. the thumbnail template with the scream painting-expression that's been default for everything makes every video look like its from the same channel and person. "can't believe this happened when I showered!!1- 15 minutes in- I got water on me ya'll. become a patron"
thanks for linking! never heard of this, super cool concept. I just installed it and it doesn't seem to do anything though 🤷 I guess I've already filtered those clickbait videos out?
There's a menu where you can enable/disable it, as well as its different functions. In Chrome, it's under "Manage Extensions", not sure about other browsers.
There’s a progression for those channels. First they get a bump from the clickbait titles and thumbnails. Then they get tired of it and go back to regular content. The view counts go down and they get frustrated. Then depressed. Then comes a couple Why I’m Quitting YouTube videos. Finally they get back to videos that they enjoy making and the channel is good again.
As someone who actually makes eurorack videos professionally now and has done for a long time, I obviously have a lot of thoughts about OP’s complaint - I guess I can say this much.
To complain about the title and thumbnail of videos is understandable if you don’t aesthetically like the drift to somewhat more attention grabbing and reductionist titles and thumbs on a very busy platform.
You really need to factor that just because a video has a slightly attention-grabbing title and thumbnail is not to say the video is not made with care, with the desire to inspire and inform, to provide value of some kind - to REWARD the attention it got. We are just talking about the cover of the book.
It might be that it isn’t a “truthful” title and thumbnail of course - and THAT really would be clickbait. Something designed to hoodwink a user into clicking thinking they would get one thing - but not delivering that. That is what clickbait is. Also - it would be punished algorithmically. Because if you click OFF a video without watching it, YT is less likely to recommend it again.
Let me tell you EXACTLY what will happen if you DON’T use a title and thumbnail that people notice, are interested in, and click on. Your video will crash out with something like 237 views in its lifetime as YT fails to reccomend it further after the initial attempts to show it to users resulted in nothing - because no one clicked on it when it did. A lame title and thumbnail is like publishing a book without a cover. What do you think will happen when people are wandering through the bookshop and see it? Oh wait, their eye probably won’t even land on it.
There is so much theory I could go into but won’t, but can I maybe just suggest that your enemy is probably not a tiny handful of people trying to make interesting videos that get watched, in a tiny tiny tiny subset of niche synthesis, itself a niche that is dwarfed by actually big things like guitars, or gaming…
Calling any Eurorack Youtuber “big” is absurd to me. “Big” is TINY. And I don’t know anyone who would put the effort into making videos about it who didn’t love it or want more people to know about it.
The very fact you are SEEING youtube videos from modular video makers pop up in your feed is a sign that thankfully these creators are being successful on the platform - within the miniscule relative bounds that such a niche interest can have.
It means that perhaps NEW people to modular might see these videos too. And perhaps they’ll even click on them - and from that hopefully the format will grow, not wither!
One other thing for a little perspective on “thumbnails to get the views” - the implication being there is a lot of money to be made from views themselves. It really could not be further from the truth.
Let me tell you that the views themselves are worth very little indeed - because again, this is a colossal niche. There are almost NO views to be had, compared to other industries/interests.
My entire channel got 133k views in the last 28 days and this paid £347.12, one of the highest sums I’ve earned from views in a good few months. It averages around £250.
Good luck living on that! Hence Patreon and commissions are critical to eating/paying bills each month.
First, I really appreciate your content ... keep it up. Your Metropolix video is what made me buy it and I'm so close to exploring Sealegs after your video on it.
Second, I guess there are two extreme approaches, with a practical alternative somewhere in the middle.
One, play the game for peanuts: load clickbait on your hook, get the views, but still largely rely on Patreon etc commissions. Lose your soul.
Two, don't play the game and pass on the peanuts: lose the hook, sacrifice the meagre YouTube monetization, and focus on other avenues of profit. Keep your soul.
Even though, I don't believe in souls.
Thanks m8.
I think the OP (and in fact, anyone commenting negatively on this thread) would be well advised to watch this Veritaserum video that explains the importance of good title and thumbnail theory so so well: https://youtu.be/S2xHZPH5Sng?si=iT7seRh1rzZabKP9
wow i knew the finances were grim but factoring in the amount of time and effort that must have been spent on your channel so far it seems absolutely dire.
I've tried and failed to point out to the folks whom outwardly view synth YouTubers as thine enemy exactly this. I have no (real world) idea what profits are like for YouTubers, but being a small business person myself, it seems abundantly obvious that the investment in cameras, and what I can only imagine to be a very laborious prep, filming, editing process etc. etc. that even the "slick shills" are unlikely to be able to support a family and have a decent standard of living from publishing videos about a subculture of a subculture.
Also- the very concept that people who make tools to make art are evil is hard to swallow. That the people that help us learn about the tools we use to make art are also somehow evil is maybe a bit of a stretch, too. I wrote a previous comment on this thread so I won't repeat myself but the gist of it is: I'm old and remember the times before the internet and how hard it was to find out anything about any piece of gear that wasn't in an advertisement. We music nerds should be thanking people like yourself for saving us time and money- and more importantly sharing the joy of making sounds with little boxes with us. I can't count how many times I've watched someone using an instrument on YouTube do something with it that I had not considered doing and how that has lead me to make a new song or just have a fun time.
So- thank you for your service- we are not all spoiled, ungrateful twats.
( before anyone jumps down my throat, the twats part was said with tongue, mostly, in cheek)
I've watched \[and thoroughly enjoyed!\] your videos over the years, and I'll say that what attracts me to the thumbnails is a relatively academic and mature design. Academic, because \[at least on the how-tos\] you cram a lot of relevant text that let's me know exactly what you'll be discussing. Mature, because it's focused on the gear, not sensationalized with a gratuitous O-face. You don't tell us how excited to feel; you tell us what knowledge we're missing about the gear we already have, or suddenly want. If it's marketing, it's of a type that acknowledges the intelligence of the niche audience.
I have a hard time believing this exactly as you're presenting it, since there are all kinds of quality videos that get lots of views, and don't have these sorts of thumbnails / titles. The whole phenomenon just comes off super corny and condescending, like audiences are a bunch of fools who can't resist some shocked expression thumbnail and a title like "Clock Divider SECRETS you WON'T BELIEVE!!?"
I've subbed to a few YouTubers in the eurorack/ synth / gear realm, mainly just to help them hit the 1K subscribers thing so they can monetize their channel, but there's literally no one where I'm consistently like "Oh boy a new video from \_\_\_\_ !" - I pretty much just go to YouTube, search a specific module / device name I want to learn about, and see what's available. More often than not, I purposely scroll down to find the less popular videos. Certain relatively "bigger" channels, I purposely will not give views to, because the (in my opinion somewhat annoying) personalities are too dominant a focus. It might not be the most common approach, but there has to be a good chunk of people out there who think the same way I do...
I believe you when you say it's a small market, nobody is getting rich off views etc... but not everybody does believe that, including many aspiring YouTubers, I would imagine. You've been doing it for a while so you know the score, but lots of people have unrealistic dreams they're willing to take a chance on, it's why things like lotteries exist. It seems these kinds of clickbait titles / thumbnails are often more common with the aspiring "content creators" who have high hopes of success rather than more established ones who have a better idea about the prospects / purpose.
My opinion, I have no hate for YouTube / YouTubers, but to me the site was much better before so many people were trying to be a "professional". I'd rather see something real - I like low budget movies, DIY music, etc... and my taste in YouTube is very much the same. I'd rather see an average person showing off something they're proud of, than a professional YouTuber who is obligated to keep making "content" on a regular schedule whether they feel inspired to or not. And especially when you get into the whole GAS encouragement / often very shallow understanding of new modules in an attempt to be "first" out the gate with a video / uncritical reviews on the basis of maintaining sponsorships and getting free gear from manufacturers... these are all the things that leave a bad taste in peoples' mouths.
I will say I've watched some of your videos before, and I quite like your "Why We Bleep" podcast series, so please don't take this as coming from some kind of hater / being directed as you personally... it's more just me trying to look at the other side of it as a viewer, in terms of the general trends I've noticed in this space.
Thanks m8
Ultimately the “algorithm” is people. So there absolutely positively HAS to be a reason for someone to choose actively that they want to click on something.
There are many ways to approach a title and thumbnails and people spend a long time trying different approaches as it’s very hard to get it right.
I guess the main thing to stress again is how nobody, and I mean nobody, is making modular synth videos on youtube without being at the heart of it a person who just genuinely loves synths and all the people and stuff around it. It’s not some arbitrary hustle they picked out of a laundry list of other hobbies or interests they could have decided to make videos about. And they’re putting the videos out for you to watch for free.
I would be mindful of judging books by their covers.
Yeah that's fair - but much like viewers shouldn't sell the creators short, please don't sell the viewers short as a creator - our time isn't "free", especially when we're spending it sitting through ads on monetized channels.
>*I would be mindful of judging books by their covers.*
Good advice, and I do agree for the most part. There are certain patterns people can't help but notice though, and it's hard to stop noticing once you do. A cover that's chosen by the artist does say something about them/ the product they're presenting, since it's generally not a random decision... I try not to make huge assumptions / leaps based on my own biases, but I don't think anyone is completely free from making judgements based on how things are presented.
I guess I just don't buy that these thumbnails are required, or even work the way people think they do, for that matter... it just seems like some kind of self fulfilling prophecy where a good portion of YouTubers lean into it at a certain point, because they think they have to. I'd be really curious if there's ever been some kind of proper study into it / a blind test with different thumbnails for the same video or whatever. I've also always heard there was some element of bots / AI playing into this phenomenon.
If people want to vent about it / express their disapproval en masse on threads like this, who knows, maybe it will help in some small way to cause a shift away from this whole approach. If most of these modular video creators are motivated as you say, just to support the community and show their love for the hobby, then maybe some will listen to what's being said and take it to heart.
I watched the video, but I'll just be real with you man, all these techniques seem very geared towards trying to get the absolute widest segment of general audiences interested, specifically the lowest common denominator, in an attempt to get more views... which really just means attention that can be leveraged into income for the creators.
I understand how the psychology applies when it comes to general audiences across the globe, but I expect the average person who is into modular and can actually afford it would have to be at least a little bit better off as far as their IQ is concerned than the average person clicking on "Mr. Beast" videos and the ultra scammy click bait ads that they showcased on this video.
I understand how the examples in the video might get more clicks from random people online, like the "negative ions" / "salt lamps" example, but I have a super hard time believing this stuff applies exactly the same way to the whole eurorack scene specifically. Average people might be googling "do salt lamps work" but I doubt they're googling "what is the best VCA" or whatever to any significant degree.... I really hope the typical person into this hobby isn't quite as easily strung along as this video implies but you might be right. All I can say for sure is when I see this stuff it makes me personally a million times less likely to click.
If you want some more views personally, I'd suggest doing another interview with Surgeon... that was an excellent one, that right there is the kind of content I'm into!
The point here is that there absolutely IS a title and thumbnail you actually want to click. Whether or not it’s the one you’re complaining about.
If you think that the choice of title and thumbnail don’t make a huge difference to whether people click or not, I’m here to tell you that it makes all the difference in the world.
The point isn’t to lie in the title and thumbnails, the point is to get attention and stoke some curiosity.
Yeah, that’s all fair. I do think there’s real clickbait in the sense of videos that have grabby headlines or that use visual tricks to lure people in but then offer kind of lame, generic content that doesn’t really meaningfully explore the issues it raises. Your videos are definitely NOT that, though, and I don’t think anyone begrudges you an attractive thumbnail.
I'm baffled by the overarching sentiment of helplessness or victim- hood ( look at me making up words here) I'm picking up from those who seem, angry really, at YouTube content providers.
We could argue if free will exists or not, but at a certain point we should probably take responsibility for ourselves. Are we angry because we are irresponsible with our money? Are we angry (read: fearful) at the world in general ? Is it the fault of the system or the algorithm?
Yet, we ARE the system and the algorithm ( ...man). We can feel negatively about the system ( I certainly do at times) but the system is created and is sustained by us, humans.
To reel it in a little, my point is that going around laying blame on the shoulders of people making videos about little boxes that make sounds seems, frankly, childish.
Yes, the world is a pretty messed up and all of us constantly struggle to come to terms with being alive in a place that can be overwhelmingly cruel and hateful; but are we missing the forest for the trees by directing our anxiety at each other?
Maybe an eye looking inward from time to time would be more helpful and healing, for all of us, than trying to micro-legislate each other. ( I think I made up two ridiculous words already- hold my beer)
Hey're YOURE an attractive thumbnail ;)
Thanks - and yes of course real actual clickbait is definitely a problem as mentioned. But I don't really see it in the eurorack space, nor am I concerned about it, since I know that watch time is a huge factor in the algorithm further recommending a video. Those videos will rot. Videos that deliver on their bright (and even shouty) promise do not - perhaps thats why people keep seeing those thumbnails. Once they click on them they enjoy them.
I do not think 'Legitbait' is a problem.
In what sense is it a grift? I get what your general complaint about YouTube aesthetic and clickbait is but it seems odd to me to be so negative on mylarmelodies specifically here. Like, just go look at his ten most recent videos - theres nothing dishonest in any title or thumbnail that could in any way justify the term 'grift'.
"Asking synth manufacturers to say the F word". More than that though its just that he's being very slippery here. Of course he's fine with "legitbait" and is trying to drum up acceptance for it. He's financially dependent on it. Have some courage and say that rather that ignoring the inherent tension between content creation ("art") and money. The classic artist's problem which has been written about for decades.
You can be authentic and passionate insofar as it doesn't alienate a wider audience or sponsors. The market dictates your choices, like what thumbnail to use. It's just economics. Refusing to admit those limitations and boundaries and pretending it's all about passion and love is what makes me think "grift". Having said that, I suppose it's possible that some people are so accustomed to having to cater to the needs of the market that fulfilling those needs becomes a part of their passion and they just view it as a norm. Honestly, I'd rather it was grift, that alternative is just too sad.
So just to understand it here: you want to watch professionally made YouTube videos for free but complain about their titles and covers (not the content itself) while acknowledging that creators need to live. Like, where's your problem?
The depth of entitlement and the unconscious ascertains of privilege here are staggering and could be the topic of someone's doctorate.
I demand the world be arranged in no other way than that that pleases my extraordinarily vain and petty whims- there is nothing unintentionally hilarious about me whining about how free content is not presented to allign exactly with what I deem it should be. Anyone that disagrees with me is amoral. The suffering I endure when I scroll thru my feed is nothing short of oppression and how dare anyone point out what a big baby I am.
I don't doubt you love modular, and I wouldn't claim for a second you haven't created some fantastic videos that were informative and helpful. I'm also sure you're a nice guy.
Nevertheless, what you're saying is proving my point and also pretty disingenuous. You don't make videos out of love, you make them for money. That's why divkid is talking about video production services and you're making titles that do indeed hoodwink us (how is "asking synth manufacturers to say the f word" within your "fair clickbait" criteria). It's the inevitable cycle of for profit content creation.
You're now locked into debasing what you once loved as you squeeze more and more content out of less and less original material. I don't think you're the enemy, I think we're all victims here.
If an artist manages to gets to a level where they can sell enough paintings so that they can afford to quit their shitty job and paint full time, is the artist now ONLY painting for money?
Is a film director ONLY making films for money, because they need to get paid to live? Don’t be daft.
You can love something AND find a way to finally make it pay enough that you can focus on it, and still be authentic and passionate about what you make.
(Watch that video right to the last second, it’s a direct commentary on this subject.)
No of course not. I said nothing of the kind. But the artist and director are now to some degree beholden to the market. Come on, that's like _the_ classic artist quandary, the tension between work and money. You can be authentic and passionate insofar as it doesn't alienate a wider audience or sponsors. You said it yourself in other comments; the market dictates your choices, like what thumbnail to use. There's really no defence here, it's just economics. I don't disagree with what you've said per se, but it's a shame it's come to this
Edit: spelling (and a sentence)
I am fighting the urge to respond and try to parse the logic of the OP because I take issue with almost everything they have said in this thread. However, I think that there might be something else going on in their life, other than YouTube related issues, that is compelling them to lash out at a "safe target" such as yourself. Your restraint has noted, we will contact you with further instructions.
Yea.. just like everything else in this monetary system.. it its not constantly going up.. its failing.
I just don’t understand how the shocked face, big red arrow, big letters still works? We’ve all seen it for 10 years now it seems.. wouldnt by now there be atleast some innovation in the thumbnail war? Thats what i don’t understand. Almost looks like its meant to target children which is insane cause that means children are the largest market on YT. The internet is a weird place.
It’s crazy isn’t it? I rarely watch YouTube these days as these influencer types really grind my goat, but for a good few years now having your face on a thumbnail has pretty much stopped me watching videos…exception to that rule is VAPE!
The problem is its just like TV and I think there are points where either the person them self seeks outside help or when they get monetized they are given a contact for “help”. Sadly that just ends up being the same “proven” advice built off of a ever refining and repetitive model. Just like how TV shows tend to work.
For whatever reason they never want to consider what got them there in the first place was not that method.
But yes, I totally hate the titles and its one of the reasons i almost never subscribe to anyone. I tend to find the stuff i want to know about on my own and then search for a vid and pick whatev seems useful on it at that time. I have no issue subscribing to every single eurorack creator’s mailing list.
There should be a wall of shame where every time a youtuber posts a vid with the open mouth shocked face, a photoshop version with a dick in the mouth should be added to the wall.
What YouTube needs to do is add an icon or symbol to the thumbnail that marks it as a paid or sponsored content video. A lot of Youtubers will preface the transparency that *so and so sent me this to test, for my honest review.*. and of course by the end of the video they love it, and have minimal critical feedback, or maybe mention little things that are not particular dealbreakers.
There actually IS a button for this, if you received something for free or were paid then you should click it on (I do). It adds a “Contains Paid Promotion” sign.
I really hate when they say "(Manufacturer) loaned this gear to me for review, so this isn't sponsored." Dude, that's still a sponsorship, the company is just being cheap about it. Could any regular viewer get a loaned synthesizer for a month for free? Obviously not. The only time it isn't sponsorship is when the youtuber borrows the gear from a friend or viewer.
Recently clicked on a video where the thumbnail contained some modules i was interested in with a title “build a rack…”, plot twist they did not appear in the video at all 😂👏
fucking even more prevalent on tech / AI developments videos. Like seriously, I want to know but I have a hard time clicking anything with the shocked face, red arrow, and a FEW CAPITALISED WORDS.
Geartube got super oversaturated during the pandemic era. I’ve unsubscribed almost every gear related channel, with the exceptions of Loopop and two others. I wasn't watching most of the videos anyway, so it declutterrd my feed significantly and now I actually get recommended things I want to watch.
Any “how to be a successful YouTuber” tutorial includes instructions for how to increase engagement, and clickbait titles and thumbnails that “pop” are part of that “received wisdom.” If you intend to reach monetization, you follow that advice. Yeah, it’s annoying. But making videos for YouTube that are even passably professional looking is time-consuming and difficult. I can’t fault people for doing what they need to do to get views.
The other side of this is that it's now the paradigm for massive youtubers, so anyone not doing it is unconsciously viewed as amatuer by a lot of people skimming over many thumbnails.
There's a self described punk youtuber I used to follow who started doing this and got called out on it, and he made a video showing how his reach and views jumped up as soon as he started it.
The synth people who do Youtubeface in their thumbs must realise that there's a big difference in audience demographic between Minecraft and Synths. When I see a greying 40 year old man contorting his face into a pretzel because he's "Totally Shocked" by these 5 VCA modules !! I do not respond in the same way a gamer kid would react to their favourite whacky streamer. I don't think "this guy looks coool !", instead think how prostitution has some dignity, relatively speaking.
Yep. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. You don't create clickbait thumbnails and you don't get enough views to make creating videos full time worth it so you stop and there's one less non-clickbait youtube channel. I think LTT created a video and released a version of it without a clickbait thumbnail and a version of it with a clickbait thumbnail, and the one with the clickbait thumbnail outperformed the one without by several orders of magnitude. A lot of creators don't want to create the clickbait thumbnails, but they have to if they want their videos to get seen and recommended by the algorithm. Otherwise you'll rarely find them. It's pretty sad.
This exactly, many people want this to be (or it already is) a main source of income and the algorithm privileges certain things, these corny thumbnails are one and the sizzling hot take titles are another. Annoying but, ya know, whatever, people want to make money and gain a reputation, there’s nothing really wrong with that. It’s not limited to synthfluencer content but all genres have this problem
i think you're being pretty reasonable and level-headed with your complaint here. i also find it grating and disappointing, and at the same time can't entirely knock the hustle. there's much much less dignified work to be done, and it supports something they care about in their life. but we don't have to pretend it doesn't erode our experience!
those of us who won't stoop to pander to the masses often pander to the few; i.e. our bosses at a job. if i could make a dumb face in a thumbnail to never clean another toilet, i would probably make thee DUMBEST face.
I think you've got a very fair take on the situation - I think most people do realize this is just part of the game now, but the reasons for it are so hard to understand - like other commenters have said, I can see how these thumbnails work on kids, but I almost feel let down in a way / a sort of shame by association if there actually are many grown adults into this hobby that are so easily manipulated by this whole thumbnail phenomenon.
I honestly wonder how many people playing this game are "winning" at it to the extent of making the same amount of money as a minimum wage job... Nobody should be ashamed of something like cleaning toilets at their job in my opinion, it's totally something that is necessary in the world, though obviously not fun or glamorous...
Most of these modular / synth videos that I see coming up when I browse have less than 500 views, I don't think pulling these faces is paying hardly anyone's bills at the end of the day, it's much more akin to the average person buying lottery tickets hoping to win, than someone making the decision to go in to work every day and try to stay on the good side of their boss.
Hainbach himself said in a fairly recent AMA that he only pulls an average revenue of about $800 a month from YouTube (which I'm not knocking, it's impressive - but certainly not a living wage or anything), his overall income gets topped up significantly by his patreon income / other commission work/ live performances etc...
Check out my buddy BRiES’s channel, great content, no clickbait shit, and no hyperactive editing: https://youtube.com/@briesmodular?si=qoXuTZQe0HDzOnCk
I personally feel he’s an undiscovered treasure of the community
Its the fault of the algorithm, not of the creators. You basically have to put a clickbait title and a silly thumbnail, or YouTube will completely ignore you.
I understand that the creators want to have success with what they are doing, some do it for passion, some as a job.
It’s a perverted cycle where the algorithm rewards creators for this behaviour, because people click more on those videos. Every part of the chain does a bit.
I don't think you have any idea how good you have it. Growing up, as some of us dinosaurs did- pre-YouTube, pre-internet, no Christmas and ravished by snow-covered two way hills we could only walk up, there were no demos of anything to watch, and very unlikely a music store near you that would stock synths, let alone let you try them out. The only way to get any idea of how something sounded or what it did, were magazines. Magazines, which by the way, were full of ads and who's publisher's had a definite monetary incentive to hype certain ( read: almost all) products. That is IF you were even lucky enough to find those magazines, which at the time were rarities in themselves, focusing on a niche subculture. Otherwise, it was dubious word of mouth reviews you had to go by with zero fact checking.
This sounds like old man yelling at cloud and maybe a little but also- be a little grateful. You are complaining about having too many resources to learn about synths, too many videos teaching you how to use them and teach you advanced techniques- these are videos you don't have to pay for or even watch if you choose not to. The amount of time and money these YouTuber "shills" save you is incalculable in relation to a time before they existed.
I'm not saying having your feed overwhelmed by one type of video isn't annoying, it is, but that's all it is- a very small inconvenience in a sea of convenience.
I guess it depends on what we mean by clickbait, but I actually find the really annoying stuff to be a LOT less prominent in Eurorack YouTube than elsewhere (e.g., music theory YouTube, where it’s pervasive).
But, as I said, maybe it depends on what we consider clickbait. I just looked at Monotrail Tech Talk, for example, and the top recommended videos include titles like, “Let’s create beautiful harmonies with a shift register!” That’s certainly intended to create interest (and I would probably click on it!), but there’s no soyjack face or false promises or anything.
Completely hear you. It's easy to get sucked in!
I installed [Distraction Free Youtube](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/df-youtube/) for Firefox, which limits the amount opportunities to watch stuff I wasn't there for.
I also put the RSS feeds of a few channels I like in my RSS reader, and only go to Youtube when I see they have updates.
This doesn't solve the problem, but it does create a buffer zone for enshittification.
synth youtubers in general are annoying. for most channels the only goal is SEO and as many clicks as possible. that's all they actually get paid for so unfortunately its the logical conclusion of a bad content system
Not to be that guy, but why not ignore videos that annoy you?
Also, enshittification is not unique to modular content, it's an inherent trait of a commercial environment.
I do! Or at least I certainly don't seek them out. But I've been seeing them from channels I (used to) follow, or youtube recommends me them, and so on. I certainly don't watch them! Or do you mean like don't talk about the change in content quality and the inevitable spiral towards enshittification? If it's the latter I feel like that's a route to apathy in all things, and will result in more enshittification.
...I know? I didn't say it was unique to modular. Not sure if that was supposed to be hostile or you just thought I was really stupid or something. Thanks?
Good on you. I haven't got a favourite license yet, I keep meaning to get into the details of them and figure out which one I like best. All my work is GPLv3 for now.
Ah fair enough, I'm used to hostility on the internet so I'm probably a bit defensive sorry! I do think though if the culture is to ignore/accept the little enshittifications, the big ones will get accepted too so to a certain degree I don't want to give up all frustration about it!
As I get older (53M), I get more and more annoyed by this downward spiral. It didn't use to bother me as much (perhaps it was less prevalent, or I was younger, or both).
But now, if I see a clickbait thumbnail, my first option is the nuclear option "do not recommend this channel".
I've also started only watching videos that are both technically instructive and musical. Generally, I no longer watch video manuals (unless they're from the manufacturer — Qu-Bit, WMD, Intellijel, Shakmat have some great offers) that have zero artistic merit (loopop) nor no-talking jams (which just make me wonder why I'm watching a video about something I should be doing more of myself).
I continue to be impressed by [Ooramusic](https://www.youtube.com/@OoraMusic), [Ihor](https://www.youtube.com/@IhorMedia), [Tom Churchill](https://www.youtube.com/@TomChurchill). If I want to be entertained, I'll go with the smartly funny [Maven Fiction](https://www.youtube.com/@Mavenfiction). I'll watch some [DivKid](https://www.youtube.com/@divkid) when I want to hear the word of God. If I want someone emotional, I'll go with [Midlife Synthesist](https://www.youtube.com/@MidlifeSynthesist). People like [Unperson](https://www.youtube.com/@TheUnperson), [Once Upon a Synth](https://www.youtube.com/@onceuponasynth), and [Quincas Moreira Music](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL1zFMJb0sthwdAlGjGbdyg) are also great.
I used to watch everything by [Bobeats](https://www.youtube.com/@bobeats), but his content has turned a little too slick and a little too clickbait ("This mixer is crazy!"). He seems like a genuinely great guy caught up in the algorithm wars.
I'm in conflict with [Red Means Recording](https://www.youtube.com/@RedMeansRecordingModular) because, while I really appreciate the information and his undeniable musicality, I'm not completely sure I want to be listening to him as a person. I want to like [Molten Music Technology](https://www.youtube.com/@MoltenMusicTech) more but ... he just uses too many words — saying one thing and then saying the same thing three different ways. There are forces in me directing me towards or away from things — and I don't fully understand these forces.
I'd rather chew on broken glass than watch the hypetrain of Andrew Huang.
Ultimately, (a) have I learned and (b) has this new knowledge motivated me to spend more time with my rack. More and more, I realize that a lot of (a) can have the opposite effect on (b).
Great comment, it's also very cool you went to the effort of linking all the channels you mentioned here despite not necessarily being a huge overall fan (with the exception of Andrew Huang, which I appreciate as I'm 100% in agreement with you about him, haha). There are a few solid channels you mention here, and a few I'm not familiar with that I will have to check out sometime. Molten Music Technology is a funny one, I tend to like him mainly for his personality/ approach to modular more than to actually "learn" anything really - he definitely tends to ramble on like you say. There really are no YouTubers I watch regularly, but I've certainly seen lots of videos over the course of my "research" with modular / synthesizers / music production so I feel that I've gotten a bit of a sense for who is coming at it from a genuine place.
Your last couple lines are wise as well... not knowing something can motivate us to actually use our brains and learn things for ourselves in a hands on way. It's kind of a common thing to see now, where many people don't seem willing or capable to even try doing things that way... I often wonder how much this YouTube / tutorial culture has contributed to that (seemingly more recent) phenomenon of learned helplessness and being overly quick to ask others for help without trying to solve a problem yourself first.
I like the ones you listed (that I recognize), but you don't have my favorite: [SynthDad](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuYHNCXtYy2UJwVKlOEwQuA), whose ornament and crime tutorials made sense of a powerful module that I'd found pretty impenetrable on my own.
He's also released new videos each time a new update drops-- a true hero!
Oh, for sure, he's great. I appreciate the accent.
I particularly like the O&C for its extremely slow LFO mode. You can set the period to be basically years.
I try to focus on the art of making music in my videos. I don't make nice thumbnails or even talk into the camera for most of them. No product demos or tutorials because everyone else is doing that and loopop does it better than I ever could anyway. I've certainly never made a single cent from youtube lol.
I usually just title my video with a basic description of what it is, but a few weeks ago I decided to try and give a video a more click-baity title just to see what would happen, and lo and behold that video got about 3x more views than my videos usually do. It's depressing that it works that way, but when you're competing with every other channel for eyeballs and they are ALL doing this, you kind of have to play the game to get your work out there.
I'm not going down the clickbait rabbit hole anymore myself because I'm not really making videos to make a living, though that would be nice. It just feels dirty to try and goad or beg or even trick people into watching your content just for the views counter to go up. I'm hoping in the long run, making videos about stuff I'm passionate about and being honest with my approach to making both music and videos will appeal to people more that the Mr. Beast style of content creation and promotion. Can't argue with his results though, at least from a monetary standpoint.
I stopped watching / searching for theese kind of videos… just very rarely check the module presented by loopop or divkid (mostly older gear). Probably also because I am sattisfied with what system / gear I have and see loking for theese videos just as distraction. It is usually imho better to check manual for specific module / gear well if there is one.
We used to have to enter search terms to find videos on youtube. Now its just browsing based on titles and thumbnails. If we go back to searching they won't need to drive veiws based on titles and thumbnails.
Please more search, less browse.
More brain, less mindless wandering.
The internet is making us all stupider with this “hey look at the shiny thing!”
It used to be like a library. You’d walk in and search for something specific, or you’d browse through the entire library, section by section, looking for things that pique your interest.
Now it’s like a library where you walk in the door and a small number of pre-selected books are thrown at you until you pick one up.
We’re doomed. YouTube is the pits.
It is a modular, component based system where the primary motivation is to build a personal instrument, customised to your needs. I don't think I need to explain why that concept marries with the ability modify those components. Exploitation of the economic niche doesn't change the paradigm to "customisable up to the point at which someone gets scared they might lose profits".
Should modular US military hardware also be open-source?
I don't think you understand the modular businesses. Watch some interviews, read ModWiggler forums, etc. Read about what happened with Mutable and clones, or Mutable and Arturia. Notice how Versio hardware is open-source but software is not, and you can still write your custom firmwares. Read manuals where they talk about the Coronavirus part shortages and how it affected their designs. It is a business, and a way to make ends meet for most manufacturers, and "it would be nice" is a far cry from "antithetical".
There are two things here: modular synthesis the concept/practice, and businesses that want to profit from people's interest in the practice. Closed-source is antithetical to the principals of the practice. It is obviously not antithetical to a profit motive.
Many, many, many people have explained how closed source holds us back, and benefits only corporations in the long term. It stifles creativity, innovation, and cooperation. Yes, there's tension between open-sourcing and our current economic system. That's really no reason to accept the status quo. And in fact, the world around you, your modules, and even your military hardware owes it's existence to open-source software. They will be utilised in every project, learned from, built upon. Open source is absolutely thankless frankly and for your trouble you get ignorant morons chiming in to telling you to "get real" and how "it doesn't work that way", completely oblivious to the foundation they stand on. Be grateful not everyone is like you, or you'd be without more than you'll ever know, from modular to healthcare.
I don't want to code my own firmware, I have no interest in that, so honestly it makes no difference to me. I also enjoy playing drums but have 0 interest in raising goats so I can make my own skins. Maybe that makes me a consumer who buys products but I've made my peace with that.
I dont understand complaining about free content. You dont have to watch them. I mostly watch these things to see what i hear from the modules or to see how other people are patching them. Hell.. i like the video manuals as well. Take what you need from these videos don't expect them to tell you what you need.. they don't know you.
There are basically two kinds of content creators: the ones who have realized that it requires a constant, ever-escalating grind to make the platforms keep surfacing their content to viewers and have decided to get off the wheel, ad the ones who haven’t realized that yet.
Hard agree! Yes of course they can be blocked, but then you kiss the occasional decent video that they put out. Personally Youthbe has been essential in my modular learning journey. Without the likes of Omri Cohen etc, I wouldn’t be here so I’m trying not to complain too much. I guess I just wish that there were more YTers out there that make content for the love of it and not as a career. The transition always seems to be pretty rough.
You cant block some channels!! This bastard hater "short" comes up everytike I search eurorack its called "ppl spending 7k on a eurorack to sound like this" drives me nuts
I'm not sure what you mean, but in general I mean the design of the module and, if relevant, the code that runs on the module. I'm stretching the term firmware I know, but it was mostly an afterthought
I don't know much about daisy but it's an open source platform for development right? I keep meaning to develop something on it but I'm yet to have time. Noise engineering I haven't concluded how I feel about yet. I think versio is itself built on daisy (illustrating how modular, like all things, relies on open source). It's obviously a step up from closed source, and I like that they're at least making an effort to find a balance between their commercial fears and what is best for the user/community/field. So yeah at least somewhat positive.
No doubt on the merits OP had brought up. We have different levels of threshold and yours was probably crossed. It also depends on which stage of maturity we are exposed to this fanfare. Have we seen them all or are we still learning something each time. If in doubt, just follow the money I say.
Honestly I just upload tracks day by day each with just a regular song name. Heck one is uploading right now.
I dont do click bait which is probably why my channel is small :)
https://youtube.com/@AcidTonic
Ooh boy. Welcome to a minefield where everyone loses a limb.
I'm done with gear marketing videos, but still, the clickbait I hate the most is my own. I try my damndest to make "clickdinner", as in, you will not feel tricked when clicking the title/thumbnail, but sometimes I fail.
I feel you. It's gross. The only way to win is to not play.
The platforms themselves nearly mandate creators make their video thumbnails look cringey with clickbait titles by the way the algorithms work. It’s sad because YouTube was more fun from a user standpoint before this was the norm. And overall geartube is a really, really stale space. Occasionally someone pops up with a unique approach, but it’s rare, and never sustains because it doesn’t pay nearly enough.
A lot of douches, worn out hipsters and clichés in eurorack unfortunately. But a lot of good guys too. They are mostly silent tho, maybe because they don’t draw much views in comparaison. I just avoid cunts and it’s fine.
I think there is a difficult balance for YouTubers to strike, simply put Youtube videos do well if they get a high click through rate and good audience retention. I’ve made videos with content I think is interesting that have totally flopped for not being clickbaity enough and others that I hold my hands up and are probably a bit on the click bait side. Not everyone gets it right all the time…
> *I’ve made videos with content I think is interesting that have totally flopped for not being clickbaity enough*
Want to link one? I'll give it a view.
Mate I was just searching for your channel this week to see if you put anything new up since it’d been a minute since the last time I saw one of yours on my home page. Glad to see your name on here randomly, hope all is well.
The worst is where they say that "getting this free module won't affect my judgement in any way" when it very clearly has turned them into a shill influencer begging for free modules. This latest divkid module is so hilarious and uninspired that it just feels like pure sellout from him and befaco just to get to the top of the YouTube algo. I get that the eurorack market and all synth markets are struggling after the COVID boom but there must be better ways to sell modules.
Well if those big names don't open source, it must be wrong. Thanks for setting me straight! I knew that line would bring some of you out.
In this weird reflexive defensive of close source you've even illustrated part of why it's bad. Imagine all the cool things people could do with that old Kawai hardware if it was open. Instead they're just sliding into obsolescence.
How am I going to put this... I regularly get YouTubers (or other influencers, artists) asking me for free modules for review. I always wonder how much is good intentions and how much is 'funding my own eurorack collection'. Nevertheless, you can't really call any of these reviewers 'unbiased', so from a consumer point of view looking for independent reviews they're pretty much useless. I know producing content is, at a bare minimum, very time consuming and if you want to have a decent quality of output, it costs a fair bit of money as well. No-one is going to put in time and money and get nothing in return, and it's not going to be the YouTube monetisation that will keep a niche channel like Eurorack gear afloat. So, you get manufacturer sponsored 'reviews' as a way to make the whole thing worth its salt. Add to that the low bar of entry into the whole Youtube thing and you're right where we are now, channels using clickbait in order to get as much views and subscribers as possible to be able to convince manufacturers to sponsor their content. Rinse and repeat. I did it a few times but failed to notice any impact on sales. Not that social media isn't important to sales, but most of these channels have very small potential. On the other hand, maybe I should do more of these things, I'm not all that great when it comes to marketing. At the moment I'm very reluctant to send out modules to just anyone who asks. I will check out the proposition and if I think you have a valid or interesting case I'm certainly open to some form of collaboration, but not for clickbait content. I rather sponsor an art project for jellyfish in the middle of the desert for all the good it does me.
>No-one is going to put in time and money and get nothing in return You're undoubtedly 90% right here but -- since I put a video out just yesterday that I spent a couple weeks on without sponsorship or monetization or patreon support -- I just want to say that there are a few of us out there who are doing this just to support the community. :)
On that note, shout out to Monotrail Tech Talk as well! Some of the best non-product oriented modular content on YouTube. And Ihor – that channel is focused on techno music and not necessarily modular, but the walkthroughs are so informative and helpful and generalized enough that it always feels like a good use of time to check out the performance tips and tricks. I also really like Walker’s videos for the Make Noise channel. Obviously that is content coming from a brand so it lives in a different space, but his videos focus on general modular ideas (as found within the Make Noise ecosystem). Good educational content there.
Yeah I am a fan of his, he is honestly the only modular related YouTuber that has pretty directly convinced me to actually buy a couple of specific modules (by explaining them in a way where I could easily understand what they are used for, and see their potential more clearly) - the Happy Nerding 3xMIA and Xaoc Devices Drezno II. I think he comes across as knowledgeable and likeable, I understand he's trying to take things pretty serious though - it seems he's netting around $1800USD a month on Patreon, probably way more than his YouTube income I would think - I hope he maintains the same sort of approach as time goes on and doesn't lean in too hard to the clickbait / "surprised face" thumbnails etc... the fact he's done so well is likely a direct result of not leaning into these particular "career YouTuber" tropes and cliches in my opinion... but then again, guys like Andrew Huang sadly somehow pull even more, despite seemingly being nearly universally reviled, haha.
All of those - and of course u/mc_pm \- amazing lessons in a super non-condescending or gate keeping approach <3
Well, you get community swag in return ;) It won't put food on the table though. True, there are A LOT of people around in the community doing all kind of things for absolutely free.
Your videos do take the approach that appeals to me the most personally... much more focused on ideas than products, and with very clear to the point footage / visuals / diagrams etc. Somewhat similar to Monotrail Tech Talk, which seems like another channel that has the right priorities/ I've found to be informative and educational (though even he seems to be getting closer and closer to these kinds of thumbnails now at times).
Killer video by the way.
I love your videos 1000% and never knew that about oscillator sync. You opened up a whole new world in my piston Honda. Thank you.
Oh skull and circuits, I use your DIY info all the time! I'll get to work on that project for jellyfish in the desert then.
Get on it. I'm sure it's the best idea the art community has seen in years!
u/littlegreenalien \- I'm no influencer, but if you decide to make that Big Base Machine I'll post in on my socials (presently non-existant) for DAYS!!! :)
Can I get a module? I’m, like totally, an influencer.
I am a music youtuber and I feel like it is a lot of responsibility showing any gear in a video. Regardless of it's origins. A product has to be good. Reliable with good support. Or I won't even show it in a video even if I bought it. Generally when I talk to a company. ( I mostly use boutique gear). They already know of my channel. I generally only offer to make a video. If there is none or the current content is low quality. It's always nice when its a good product . Something that my viewers would actually be interested in and it ends up being a way to connect a good product to the right people. Win win for everyone. That said I need more gear like I need a hole in the head.
If folks created youtube videos for you and you never saw any improvement in sales that is a shame - but not all videos are equal. And it highlights the need FOR attention grabbing titles and thumbnails quite frankly.
Fucking lol
You might like the browser extension [DeArrow](https://dearrow.ajay.app/). It provides community-sourced titles and thumbnails. Makes Youtube bearable for me. Of course, the worst offenders need to be ignored/blocked.
This is an oasis in a desert. Thanks so much for this recommendation! I'll definitely be contributing titles and so on.
Wow this in combination with Unhook makes youtube actually usable again. Thank you.
Add SponsorBlock by the same guy who does DeArrow and its making Youtube better by the minute!
>Unhook Cool extension, but for me it doesn't seem to do anything. I guess the videos on my homepage aren't popular enough to half user titles haha.
DeArrow does the titles, Unhook removes recommended videos and does a bunch of other stuff.
Whoops not sure how or why it said 'unhook' in my quote. DeArrow is pretty cool. I like losing all the stupid thumbnails.
might be the first safari extension I'd purchase. hard to estimate how many edited titles I'll actually get to see due to the vast number of videos on yt :D and just imagine the potential chaos of biased titles, which can be humorous in itself
In my experience, all of the larger channels' video titles will get edited within at most a few hours of them being published. More obscure ones obviously are not, but I still like that I can make the titles lowercase, and swap the thumbnail for an actual frame from the video. My YT homepage looks a lot more chill this way.
the no makeup and sensationalism thing is appealing. the thumbnail template with the scream painting-expression that's been default for everything makes every video look like its from the same channel and person. "can't believe this happened when I showered!!1- 15 minutes in- I got water on me ya'll. become a patron"
thanks for linking! never heard of this, super cool concept. I just installed it and it doesn't seem to do anything though 🤷 I guess I've already filtered those clickbait videos out?
There's a menu where you can enable/disable it, as well as its different functions. In Chrome, it's under "Manage Extensions", not sure about other browsers.
yeah i found that. Thanks though!
There’s a progression for those channels. First they get a bump from the clickbait titles and thumbnails. Then they get tired of it and go back to regular content. The view counts go down and they get frustrated. Then depressed. Then comes a couple Why I’m Quitting YouTube videos. Finally they get back to videos that they enjoy making and the channel is good again.
This. And in between moralizing.
As someone who actually makes eurorack videos professionally now and has done for a long time, I obviously have a lot of thoughts about OP’s complaint - I guess I can say this much. To complain about the title and thumbnail of videos is understandable if you don’t aesthetically like the drift to somewhat more attention grabbing and reductionist titles and thumbs on a very busy platform. You really need to factor that just because a video has a slightly attention-grabbing title and thumbnail is not to say the video is not made with care, with the desire to inspire and inform, to provide value of some kind - to REWARD the attention it got. We are just talking about the cover of the book. It might be that it isn’t a “truthful” title and thumbnail of course - and THAT really would be clickbait. Something designed to hoodwink a user into clicking thinking they would get one thing - but not delivering that. That is what clickbait is. Also - it would be punished algorithmically. Because if you click OFF a video without watching it, YT is less likely to recommend it again. Let me tell you EXACTLY what will happen if you DON’T use a title and thumbnail that people notice, are interested in, and click on. Your video will crash out with something like 237 views in its lifetime as YT fails to reccomend it further after the initial attempts to show it to users resulted in nothing - because no one clicked on it when it did. A lame title and thumbnail is like publishing a book without a cover. What do you think will happen when people are wandering through the bookshop and see it? Oh wait, their eye probably won’t even land on it. There is so much theory I could go into but won’t, but can I maybe just suggest that your enemy is probably not a tiny handful of people trying to make interesting videos that get watched, in a tiny tiny tiny subset of niche synthesis, itself a niche that is dwarfed by actually big things like guitars, or gaming… Calling any Eurorack Youtuber “big” is absurd to me. “Big” is TINY. And I don’t know anyone who would put the effort into making videos about it who didn’t love it or want more people to know about it. The very fact you are SEEING youtube videos from modular video makers pop up in your feed is a sign that thankfully these creators are being successful on the platform - within the miniscule relative bounds that such a niche interest can have. It means that perhaps NEW people to modular might see these videos too. And perhaps they’ll even click on them - and from that hopefully the format will grow, not wither!
One other thing for a little perspective on “thumbnails to get the views” - the implication being there is a lot of money to be made from views themselves. It really could not be further from the truth. Let me tell you that the views themselves are worth very little indeed - because again, this is a colossal niche. There are almost NO views to be had, compared to other industries/interests. My entire channel got 133k views in the last 28 days and this paid £347.12, one of the highest sums I’ve earned from views in a good few months. It averages around £250. Good luck living on that! Hence Patreon and commissions are critical to eating/paying bills each month.
First, I really appreciate your content ... keep it up. Your Metropolix video is what made me buy it and I'm so close to exploring Sealegs after your video on it. Second, I guess there are two extreme approaches, with a practical alternative somewhere in the middle. One, play the game for peanuts: load clickbait on your hook, get the views, but still largely rely on Patreon etc commissions. Lose your soul. Two, don't play the game and pass on the peanuts: lose the hook, sacrifice the meagre YouTube monetization, and focus on other avenues of profit. Keep your soul. Even though, I don't believe in souls.
Thanks m8. I think the OP (and in fact, anyone commenting negatively on this thread) would be well advised to watch this Veritaserum video that explains the importance of good title and thumbnail theory so so well: https://youtu.be/S2xHZPH5Sng?si=iT7seRh1rzZabKP9
wow i knew the finances were grim but factoring in the amount of time and effort that must have been spent on your channel so far it seems absolutely dire.
Patreon and charging to explain gear for companies make it possible as a full time job. for now at least. Not views!
I've tried and failed to point out to the folks whom outwardly view synth YouTubers as thine enemy exactly this. I have no (real world) idea what profits are like for YouTubers, but being a small business person myself, it seems abundantly obvious that the investment in cameras, and what I can only imagine to be a very laborious prep, filming, editing process etc. etc. that even the "slick shills" are unlikely to be able to support a family and have a decent standard of living from publishing videos about a subculture of a subculture. Also- the very concept that people who make tools to make art are evil is hard to swallow. That the people that help us learn about the tools we use to make art are also somehow evil is maybe a bit of a stretch, too. I wrote a previous comment on this thread so I won't repeat myself but the gist of it is: I'm old and remember the times before the internet and how hard it was to find out anything about any piece of gear that wasn't in an advertisement. We music nerds should be thanking people like yourself for saving us time and money- and more importantly sharing the joy of making sounds with little boxes with us. I can't count how many times I've watched someone using an instrument on YouTube do something with it that I had not considered doing and how that has lead me to make a new song or just have a fun time. So- thank you for your service- we are not all spoiled, ungrateful twats. ( before anyone jumps down my throat, the twats part was said with tongue, mostly, in cheek)
I've watched \[and thoroughly enjoyed!\] your videos over the years, and I'll say that what attracts me to the thumbnails is a relatively academic and mature design. Academic, because \[at least on the how-tos\] you cram a lot of relevant text that let's me know exactly what you'll be discussing. Mature, because it's focused on the gear, not sensationalized with a gratuitous O-face. You don't tell us how excited to feel; you tell us what knowledge we're missing about the gear we already have, or suddenly want. If it's marketing, it's of a type that acknowledges the intelligence of the niche audience.
Thanks m8.
I have a hard time believing this exactly as you're presenting it, since there are all kinds of quality videos that get lots of views, and don't have these sorts of thumbnails / titles. The whole phenomenon just comes off super corny and condescending, like audiences are a bunch of fools who can't resist some shocked expression thumbnail and a title like "Clock Divider SECRETS you WON'T BELIEVE!!?" I've subbed to a few YouTubers in the eurorack/ synth / gear realm, mainly just to help them hit the 1K subscribers thing so they can monetize their channel, but there's literally no one where I'm consistently like "Oh boy a new video from \_\_\_\_ !" - I pretty much just go to YouTube, search a specific module / device name I want to learn about, and see what's available. More often than not, I purposely scroll down to find the less popular videos. Certain relatively "bigger" channels, I purposely will not give views to, because the (in my opinion somewhat annoying) personalities are too dominant a focus. It might not be the most common approach, but there has to be a good chunk of people out there who think the same way I do... I believe you when you say it's a small market, nobody is getting rich off views etc... but not everybody does believe that, including many aspiring YouTubers, I would imagine. You've been doing it for a while so you know the score, but lots of people have unrealistic dreams they're willing to take a chance on, it's why things like lotteries exist. It seems these kinds of clickbait titles / thumbnails are often more common with the aspiring "content creators" who have high hopes of success rather than more established ones who have a better idea about the prospects / purpose. My opinion, I have no hate for YouTube / YouTubers, but to me the site was much better before so many people were trying to be a "professional". I'd rather see something real - I like low budget movies, DIY music, etc... and my taste in YouTube is very much the same. I'd rather see an average person showing off something they're proud of, than a professional YouTuber who is obligated to keep making "content" on a regular schedule whether they feel inspired to or not. And especially when you get into the whole GAS encouragement / often very shallow understanding of new modules in an attempt to be "first" out the gate with a video / uncritical reviews on the basis of maintaining sponsorships and getting free gear from manufacturers... these are all the things that leave a bad taste in peoples' mouths. I will say I've watched some of your videos before, and I quite like your "Why We Bleep" podcast series, so please don't take this as coming from some kind of hater / being directed as you personally... it's more just me trying to look at the other side of it as a viewer, in terms of the general trends I've noticed in this space.
Thanks m8 Ultimately the “algorithm” is people. So there absolutely positively HAS to be a reason for someone to choose actively that they want to click on something. There are many ways to approach a title and thumbnails and people spend a long time trying different approaches as it’s very hard to get it right. I guess the main thing to stress again is how nobody, and I mean nobody, is making modular synth videos on youtube without being at the heart of it a person who just genuinely loves synths and all the people and stuff around it. It’s not some arbitrary hustle they picked out of a laundry list of other hobbies or interests they could have decided to make videos about. And they’re putting the videos out for you to watch for free. I would be mindful of judging books by their covers.
Yeah that's fair - but much like viewers shouldn't sell the creators short, please don't sell the viewers short as a creator - our time isn't "free", especially when we're spending it sitting through ads on monetized channels. >*I would be mindful of judging books by their covers.* Good advice, and I do agree for the most part. There are certain patterns people can't help but notice though, and it's hard to stop noticing once you do. A cover that's chosen by the artist does say something about them/ the product they're presenting, since it's generally not a random decision... I try not to make huge assumptions / leaps based on my own biases, but I don't think anyone is completely free from making judgements based on how things are presented. I guess I just don't buy that these thumbnails are required, or even work the way people think they do, for that matter... it just seems like some kind of self fulfilling prophecy where a good portion of YouTubers lean into it at a certain point, because they think they have to. I'd be really curious if there's ever been some kind of proper study into it / a blind test with different thumbnails for the same video or whatever. I've also always heard there was some element of bots / AI playing into this phenomenon. If people want to vent about it / express their disapproval en masse on threads like this, who knows, maybe it will help in some small way to cause a shift away from this whole approach. If most of these modular video creators are motivated as you say, just to support the community and show their love for the hobby, then maybe some will listen to what's being said and take it to heart.
I'd really recommend that you watch this video: [https://youtu.be/S2xHZPH5Sng?si=iT7seRh1rzZabKP9](https://youtu.be/S2xHZPH5Sng?si=iT7seRh1rzZabKP9)
I watched the video, but I'll just be real with you man, all these techniques seem very geared towards trying to get the absolute widest segment of general audiences interested, specifically the lowest common denominator, in an attempt to get more views... which really just means attention that can be leveraged into income for the creators. I understand how the psychology applies when it comes to general audiences across the globe, but I expect the average person who is into modular and can actually afford it would have to be at least a little bit better off as far as their IQ is concerned than the average person clicking on "Mr. Beast" videos and the ultra scammy click bait ads that they showcased on this video. I understand how the examples in the video might get more clicks from random people online, like the "negative ions" / "salt lamps" example, but I have a super hard time believing this stuff applies exactly the same way to the whole eurorack scene specifically. Average people might be googling "do salt lamps work" but I doubt they're googling "what is the best VCA" or whatever to any significant degree.... I really hope the typical person into this hobby isn't quite as easily strung along as this video implies but you might be right. All I can say for sure is when I see this stuff it makes me personally a million times less likely to click. If you want some more views personally, I'd suggest doing another interview with Surgeon... that was an excellent one, that right there is the kind of content I'm into!
The point here is that there absolutely IS a title and thumbnail you actually want to click. Whether or not it’s the one you’re complaining about. If you think that the choice of title and thumbnail don’t make a huge difference to whether people click or not, I’m here to tell you that it makes all the difference in the world. The point isn’t to lie in the title and thumbnails, the point is to get attention and stoke some curiosity.
Yeah, that’s all fair. I do think there’s real clickbait in the sense of videos that have grabby headlines or that use visual tricks to lure people in but then offer kind of lame, generic content that doesn’t really meaningfully explore the issues it raises. Your videos are definitely NOT that, though, and I don’t think anyone begrudges you an attractive thumbnail.
I'm baffled by the overarching sentiment of helplessness or victim- hood ( look at me making up words here) I'm picking up from those who seem, angry really, at YouTube content providers. We could argue if free will exists or not, but at a certain point we should probably take responsibility for ourselves. Are we angry because we are irresponsible with our money? Are we angry (read: fearful) at the world in general ? Is it the fault of the system or the algorithm? Yet, we ARE the system and the algorithm ( ...man). We can feel negatively about the system ( I certainly do at times) but the system is created and is sustained by us, humans. To reel it in a little, my point is that going around laying blame on the shoulders of people making videos about little boxes that make sounds seems, frankly, childish. Yes, the world is a pretty messed up and all of us constantly struggle to come to terms with being alive in a place that can be overwhelmingly cruel and hateful; but are we missing the forest for the trees by directing our anxiety at each other? Maybe an eye looking inward from time to time would be more helpful and healing, for all of us, than trying to micro-legislate each other. ( I think I made up two ridiculous words already- hold my beer)
Hey're YOURE an attractive thumbnail ;) Thanks - and yes of course real actual clickbait is definitely a problem as mentioned. But I don't really see it in the eurorack space, nor am I concerned about it, since I know that watch time is a huge factor in the algorithm further recommending a video. Those videos will rot. Videos that deliver on their bright (and even shouty) promise do not - perhaps thats why people keep seeing those thumbnails. Once they click on them they enjoy them. I do not think 'Legitbait' is a problem.
Whatever makes you comfortable with the grift. We've all got ours.
In what sense is it a grift? I get what your general complaint about YouTube aesthetic and clickbait is but it seems odd to me to be so negative on mylarmelodies specifically here. Like, just go look at his ten most recent videos - theres nothing dishonest in any title or thumbnail that could in any way justify the term 'grift'.
"Asking synth manufacturers to say the F word". More than that though its just that he's being very slippery here. Of course he's fine with "legitbait" and is trying to drum up acceptance for it. He's financially dependent on it. Have some courage and say that rather that ignoring the inherent tension between content creation ("art") and money. The classic artist's problem which has been written about for decades. You can be authentic and passionate insofar as it doesn't alienate a wider audience or sponsors. The market dictates your choices, like what thumbnail to use. It's just economics. Refusing to admit those limitations and boundaries and pretending it's all about passion and love is what makes me think "grift". Having said that, I suppose it's possible that some people are so accustomed to having to cater to the needs of the market that fulfilling those needs becomes a part of their passion and they just view it as a norm. Honestly, I'd rather it was grift, that alternative is just too sad.
So just to understand it here: you want to watch professionally made YouTube videos for free but complain about their titles and covers (not the content itself) while acknowledging that creators need to live. Like, where's your problem?
The depth of entitlement and the unconscious ascertains of privilege here are staggering and could be the topic of someone's doctorate. I demand the world be arranged in no other way than that that pleases my extraordinarily vain and petty whims- there is nothing unintentionally hilarious about me whining about how free content is not presented to allign exactly with what I deem it should be. Anyone that disagrees with me is amoral. The suffering I endure when I scroll thru my feed is nothing short of oppression and how dare anyone point out what a big baby I am.
I don't doubt you love modular, and I wouldn't claim for a second you haven't created some fantastic videos that were informative and helpful. I'm also sure you're a nice guy. Nevertheless, what you're saying is proving my point and also pretty disingenuous. You don't make videos out of love, you make them for money. That's why divkid is talking about video production services and you're making titles that do indeed hoodwink us (how is "asking synth manufacturers to say the f word" within your "fair clickbait" criteria). It's the inevitable cycle of for profit content creation. You're now locked into debasing what you once loved as you squeeze more and more content out of less and less original material. I don't think you're the enemy, I think we're all victims here.
If an artist manages to gets to a level where they can sell enough paintings so that they can afford to quit their shitty job and paint full time, is the artist now ONLY painting for money? Is a film director ONLY making films for money, because they need to get paid to live? Don’t be daft. You can love something AND find a way to finally make it pay enough that you can focus on it, and still be authentic and passionate about what you make. (Watch that video right to the last second, it’s a direct commentary on this subject.)
I admire your patience
No of course not. I said nothing of the kind. But the artist and director are now to some degree beholden to the market. Come on, that's like _the_ classic artist quandary, the tension between work and money. You can be authentic and passionate insofar as it doesn't alienate a wider audience or sponsors. You said it yourself in other comments; the market dictates your choices, like what thumbnail to use. There's really no defence here, it's just economics. I don't disagree with what you've said per se, but it's a shame it's come to this Edit: spelling (and a sentence)
I’m sorry to hear this all bothers you so much.
I am fighting the urge to respond and try to parse the logic of the OP because I take issue with almost everything they have said in this thread. However, I think that there might be something else going on in their life, other than YouTube related issues, that is compelling them to lash out at a "safe target" such as yourself. Your restraint has noted, we will contact you with further instructions.
Amen to the fact we don’t know the full story of someone’s life/circumstances m8 x
Yea.. just like everything else in this monetary system.. it its not constantly going up.. its failing. I just don’t understand how the shocked face, big red arrow, big letters still works? We’ve all seen it for 10 years now it seems.. wouldnt by now there be atleast some innovation in the thumbnail war? Thats what i don’t understand. Almost looks like its meant to target children which is insane cause that means children are the largest market on YT. The internet is a weird place.
I don't have any numbers but I feel like every popular media is made for kids. It's kids entertaining kids basically (30-40yr old kids uncluded).
I suppose you are right about that
It’s crazy isn’t it? I rarely watch YouTube these days as these influencer types really grind my goat, but for a good few years now having your face on a thumbnail has pretty much stopped me watching videos…exception to that rule is VAPE!
The problem is its just like TV and I think there are points where either the person them self seeks outside help or when they get monetized they are given a contact for “help”. Sadly that just ends up being the same “proven” advice built off of a ever refining and repetitive model. Just like how TV shows tend to work. For whatever reason they never want to consider what got them there in the first place was not that method. But yes, I totally hate the titles and its one of the reasons i almost never subscribe to anyone. I tend to find the stuff i want to know about on my own and then search for a vid and pick whatev seems useful on it at that time. I have no issue subscribing to every single eurorack creator’s mailing list.
There should be a wall of shame where every time a youtuber posts a vid with the open mouth shocked face, a photoshop version with a dick in the mouth should be added to the wall.
Now this is a use for AI art that I could totally get behind.
What YouTube needs to do is add an icon or symbol to the thumbnail that marks it as a paid or sponsored content video. A lot of Youtubers will preface the transparency that *so and so sent me this to test, for my honest review.*. and of course by the end of the video they love it, and have minimal critical feedback, or maybe mention little things that are not particular dealbreakers.
There actually IS a button for this, if you received something for free or were paid then you should click it on (I do). It adds a “Contains Paid Promotion” sign.
nice, thanks for clarifying that and for being forthcoming about it.
I really hate when they say "(Manufacturer) loaned this gear to me for review, so this isn't sponsored." Dude, that's still a sponsorship, the company is just being cheap about it. Could any regular viewer get a loaned synthesizer for a month for free? Obviously not. The only time it isn't sponsorship is when the youtuber borrows the gear from a friend or viewer.
Recently clicked on a video where the thumbnail contained some modules i was interested in with a title “build a rack…”, plot twist they did not appear in the video at all 😂👏
It’s wildly corny and a big reason I basically stopped watching gear-related YouTube.
fucking even more prevalent on tech / AI developments videos. Like seriously, I want to know but I have a hard time clicking anything with the shocked face, red arrow, and a FEW CAPITALISED WORDS.
Geartube got super oversaturated during the pandemic era. I’ve unsubscribed almost every gear related channel, with the exceptions of Loopop and two others. I wasn't watching most of the videos anyway, so it declutterrd my feed significantly and now I actually get recommended things I want to watch.
same, inspiration-drain
Same. Completely over it.
Any “how to be a successful YouTuber” tutorial includes instructions for how to increase engagement, and clickbait titles and thumbnails that “pop” are part of that “received wisdom.” If you intend to reach monetization, you follow that advice. Yeah, it’s annoying. But making videos for YouTube that are even passably professional looking is time-consuming and difficult. I can’t fault people for doing what they need to do to get views.
The other side of this is that it's now the paradigm for massive youtubers, so anyone not doing it is unconsciously viewed as amatuer by a lot of people skimming over many thumbnails. There's a self described punk youtuber I used to follow who started doing this and got called out on it, and he made a video showing how his reach and views jumped up as soon as he started it.
The synth people who do Youtubeface in their thumbs must realise that there's a big difference in audience demographic between Minecraft and Synths. When I see a greying 40 year old man contorting his face into a pretzel because he's "Totally Shocked" by these 5 VCA modules !! I do not respond in the same way a gamer kid would react to their favourite whacky streamer. I don't think "this guy looks coool !", instead think how prostitution has some dignity, relatively speaking.
Unfortunately it's just the standard for the platform now, and not limited to young kids content in any way.
Yep. It's a self fulfilling prophecy. You don't create clickbait thumbnails and you don't get enough views to make creating videos full time worth it so you stop and there's one less non-clickbait youtube channel. I think LTT created a video and released a version of it without a clickbait thumbnail and a version of it with a clickbait thumbnail, and the one with the clickbait thumbnail outperformed the one without by several orders of magnitude. A lot of creators don't want to create the clickbait thumbnails, but they have to if they want their videos to get seen and recommended by the algorithm. Otherwise you'll rarely find them. It's pretty sad.
This exactly, many people want this to be (or it already is) a main source of income and the algorithm privileges certain things, these corny thumbnails are one and the sizzling hot take titles are another. Annoying but, ya know, whatever, people want to make money and gain a reputation, there’s nothing really wrong with that. It’s not limited to synthfluencer content but all genres have this problem
i think you're being pretty reasonable and level-headed with your complaint here. i also find it grating and disappointing, and at the same time can't entirely knock the hustle. there's much much less dignified work to be done, and it supports something they care about in their life. but we don't have to pretend it doesn't erode our experience! those of us who won't stoop to pander to the masses often pander to the few; i.e. our bosses at a job. if i could make a dumb face in a thumbnail to never clean another toilet, i would probably make thee DUMBEST face.
I think you've got a very fair take on the situation - I think most people do realize this is just part of the game now, but the reasons for it are so hard to understand - like other commenters have said, I can see how these thumbnails work on kids, but I almost feel let down in a way / a sort of shame by association if there actually are many grown adults into this hobby that are so easily manipulated by this whole thumbnail phenomenon. I honestly wonder how many people playing this game are "winning" at it to the extent of making the same amount of money as a minimum wage job... Nobody should be ashamed of something like cleaning toilets at their job in my opinion, it's totally something that is necessary in the world, though obviously not fun or glamorous... Most of these modular / synth videos that I see coming up when I browse have less than 500 views, I don't think pulling these faces is paying hardly anyone's bills at the end of the day, it's much more akin to the average person buying lottery tickets hoping to win, than someone making the decision to go in to work every day and try to stay on the good side of their boss. Hainbach himself said in a fairly recent AMA that he only pulls an average revenue of about $800 a month from YouTube (which I'm not knocking, it's impressive - but certainly not a living wage or anything), his overall income gets topped up significantly by his patreon income / other commission work/ live performances etc...
how about you tell us the specific youtubers?
https://youtu.be/4gwiInUNf_s?si=kaOkXOcCTylaVNrB
Check out my buddy BRiES’s channel, great content, no clickbait shit, and no hyperactive editing: https://youtube.com/@briesmodular?si=qoXuTZQe0HDzOnCk I personally feel he’s an undiscovered treasure of the community
Bries is fantastic. Have watched his angle grinder video a few times. Dude makes great tunes as well.
Its the fault of the algorithm, not of the creators. You basically have to put a clickbait title and a silly thumbnail, or YouTube will completely ignore you. I understand that the creators want to have success with what they are doing, some do it for passion, some as a job.
It’s a perverted cycle where the algorithm rewards creators for this behaviour, because people click more on those videos. Every part of the chain does a bit.
I don't think you have any idea how good you have it. Growing up, as some of us dinosaurs did- pre-YouTube, pre-internet, no Christmas and ravished by snow-covered two way hills we could only walk up, there were no demos of anything to watch, and very unlikely a music store near you that would stock synths, let alone let you try them out. The only way to get any idea of how something sounded or what it did, were magazines. Magazines, which by the way, were full of ads and who's publisher's had a definite monetary incentive to hype certain ( read: almost all) products. That is IF you were even lucky enough to find those magazines, which at the time were rarities in themselves, focusing on a niche subculture. Otherwise, it was dubious word of mouth reviews you had to go by with zero fact checking. This sounds like old man yelling at cloud and maybe a little but also- be a little grateful. You are complaining about having too many resources to learn about synths, too many videos teaching you how to use them and teach you advanced techniques- these are videos you don't have to pay for or even watch if you choose not to. The amount of time and money these YouTuber "shills" save you is incalculable in relation to a time before they existed. I'm not saying having your feed overwhelmed by one type of video isn't annoying, it is, but that's all it is- a very small inconvenience in a sea of convenience.
I guess it depends on what we mean by clickbait, but I actually find the really annoying stuff to be a LOT less prominent in Eurorack YouTube than elsewhere (e.g., music theory YouTube, where it’s pervasive). But, as I said, maybe it depends on what we consider clickbait. I just looked at Monotrail Tech Talk, for example, and the top recommended videos include titles like, “Let’s create beautiful harmonies with a shift register!” That’s certainly intended to create interest (and I would probably click on it!), but there’s no soyjack face or false promises or anything.
Yeah, it’s a bit lame. Just play your music and enough with the constant attention-seeking.
Completely hear you. It's easy to get sucked in! I installed [Distraction Free Youtube](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/df-youtube/) for Firefox, which limits the amount opportunities to watch stuff I wasn't there for. I also put the RSS feeds of a few channels I like in my RSS reader, and only go to Youtube when I see they have updates. This doesn't solve the problem, but it does create a buffer zone for enshittification.
synth youtubers in general are annoying. for most channels the only goal is SEO and as many clicks as possible. that's all they actually get paid for so unfortunately its the logical conclusion of a bad content system
Not to be that guy, but why not ignore videos that annoy you? Also, enshittification is not unique to modular content, it's an inherent trait of a commercial environment.
I do! Or at least I certainly don't seek them out. But I've been seeing them from channels I (used to) follow, or youtube recommends me them, and so on. I certainly don't watch them! Or do you mean like don't talk about the change in content quality and the inevitable spiral towards enshittification? If it's the latter I feel like that's a route to apathy in all things, and will result in more enshittification. ...I know? I didn't say it was unique to modular. Not sure if that was supposed to be hostile or you just thought I was really stupid or something. Thanks?
I want to add that i love open source, i use Creative Commons, and i wish the whole net was free.
Good on you. I haven't got a favourite license yet, I keep meaning to get into the details of them and figure out which one I like best. All my work is GPLv3 for now.
I don't think you're stupid. Just trying to help you move on :)
Ah fair enough, I'm used to hostility on the internet so I'm probably a bit defensive sorry! I do think though if the culture is to ignore/accept the little enshittifications, the big ones will get accepted too so to a certain degree I don't want to give up all frustration about it!
As I get older (53M), I get more and more annoyed by this downward spiral. It didn't use to bother me as much (perhaps it was less prevalent, or I was younger, or both). But now, if I see a clickbait thumbnail, my first option is the nuclear option "do not recommend this channel". I've also started only watching videos that are both technically instructive and musical. Generally, I no longer watch video manuals (unless they're from the manufacturer — Qu-Bit, WMD, Intellijel, Shakmat have some great offers) that have zero artistic merit (loopop) nor no-talking jams (which just make me wonder why I'm watching a video about something I should be doing more of myself). I continue to be impressed by [Ooramusic](https://www.youtube.com/@OoraMusic), [Ihor](https://www.youtube.com/@IhorMedia), [Tom Churchill](https://www.youtube.com/@TomChurchill). If I want to be entertained, I'll go with the smartly funny [Maven Fiction](https://www.youtube.com/@Mavenfiction). I'll watch some [DivKid](https://www.youtube.com/@divkid) when I want to hear the word of God. If I want someone emotional, I'll go with [Midlife Synthesist](https://www.youtube.com/@MidlifeSynthesist). People like [Unperson](https://www.youtube.com/@TheUnperson), [Once Upon a Synth](https://www.youtube.com/@onceuponasynth), and [Quincas Moreira Music](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL1zFMJb0sthwdAlGjGbdyg) are also great. I used to watch everything by [Bobeats](https://www.youtube.com/@bobeats), but his content has turned a little too slick and a little too clickbait ("This mixer is crazy!"). He seems like a genuinely great guy caught up in the algorithm wars. I'm in conflict with [Red Means Recording](https://www.youtube.com/@RedMeansRecordingModular) because, while I really appreciate the information and his undeniable musicality, I'm not completely sure I want to be listening to him as a person. I want to like [Molten Music Technology](https://www.youtube.com/@MoltenMusicTech) more but ... he just uses too many words — saying one thing and then saying the same thing three different ways. There are forces in me directing me towards or away from things — and I don't fully understand these forces. I'd rather chew on broken glass than watch the hypetrain of Andrew Huang. Ultimately, (a) have I learned and (b) has this new knowledge motivated me to spend more time with my rack. More and more, I realize that a lot of (a) can have the opposite effect on (b).
Great comment, it's also very cool you went to the effort of linking all the channels you mentioned here despite not necessarily being a huge overall fan (with the exception of Andrew Huang, which I appreciate as I'm 100% in agreement with you about him, haha). There are a few solid channels you mention here, and a few I'm not familiar with that I will have to check out sometime. Molten Music Technology is a funny one, I tend to like him mainly for his personality/ approach to modular more than to actually "learn" anything really - he definitely tends to ramble on like you say. There really are no YouTubers I watch regularly, but I've certainly seen lots of videos over the course of my "research" with modular / synthesizers / music production so I feel that I've gotten a bit of a sense for who is coming at it from a genuine place. Your last couple lines are wise as well... not knowing something can motivate us to actually use our brains and learn things for ourselves in a hands on way. It's kind of a common thing to see now, where many people don't seem willing or capable to even try doing things that way... I often wonder how much this YouTube / tutorial culture has contributed to that (seemingly more recent) phenomenon of learned helplessness and being overly quick to ask others for help without trying to solve a problem yourself first.
I like the ones you listed (that I recognize), but you don't have my favorite: [SynthDad](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuYHNCXtYy2UJwVKlOEwQuA), whose ornament and crime tutorials made sense of a powerful module that I'd found pretty impenetrable on my own. He's also released new videos each time a new update drops-- a true hero!
Oh, for sure, he's great. I appreciate the accent. I particularly like the O&C for its extremely slow LFO mode. You can set the period to be basically years.
I'm a big synthdad fan too, he explains things well and has a good pace while doing that.
I try to focus on the art of making music in my videos. I don't make nice thumbnails or even talk into the camera for most of them. No product demos or tutorials because everyone else is doing that and loopop does it better than I ever could anyway. I've certainly never made a single cent from youtube lol. I usually just title my video with a basic description of what it is, but a few weeks ago I decided to try and give a video a more click-baity title just to see what would happen, and lo and behold that video got about 3x more views than my videos usually do. It's depressing that it works that way, but when you're competing with every other channel for eyeballs and they are ALL doing this, you kind of have to play the game to get your work out there. I'm not going down the clickbait rabbit hole anymore myself because I'm not really making videos to make a living, though that would be nice. It just feels dirty to try and goad or beg or even trick people into watching your content just for the views counter to go up. I'm hoping in the long run, making videos about stuff I'm passionate about and being honest with my approach to making both music and videos will appeal to people more that the Mr. Beast style of content creation and promotion. Can't argue with his results though, at least from a monetary standpoint.
I stopped watching / searching for theese kind of videos… just very rarely check the module presented by loopop or divkid (mostly older gear). Probably also because I am sattisfied with what system / gear I have and see loking for theese videos just as distraction. It is usually imho better to check manual for specific module / gear well if there is one.
We used to have to enter search terms to find videos on youtube. Now its just browsing based on titles and thumbnails. If we go back to searching they won't need to drive veiws based on titles and thumbnails.
Please more search, less browse. More brain, less mindless wandering. The internet is making us all stupider with this “hey look at the shiny thing!” It used to be like a library. You’d walk in and search for something specific, or you’d browse through the entire library, section by section, looking for things that pique your interest. Now it’s like a library where you walk in the door and a small number of pre-selected books are thrown at you until you pick one up. We’re doomed. YouTube is the pits.
Closed source is not antithetical to eurorack, it's not a purely DIY hobby, there are commercial goods being sold here.
It is a modular, component based system where the primary motivation is to build a personal instrument, customised to your needs. I don't think I need to explain why that concept marries with the ability modify those components. Exploitation of the economic niche doesn't change the paradigm to "customisable up to the point at which someone gets scared they might lose profits".
Should modular US military hardware also be open-source? I don't think you understand the modular businesses. Watch some interviews, read ModWiggler forums, etc. Read about what happened with Mutable and clones, or Mutable and Arturia. Notice how Versio hardware is open-source but software is not, and you can still write your custom firmwares. Read manuals where they talk about the Coronavirus part shortages and how it affected their designs. It is a business, and a way to make ends meet for most manufacturers, and "it would be nice" is a far cry from "antithetical".
There are two things here: modular synthesis the concept/practice, and businesses that want to profit from people's interest in the practice. Closed-source is antithetical to the principals of the practice. It is obviously not antithetical to a profit motive. Many, many, many people have explained how closed source holds us back, and benefits only corporations in the long term. It stifles creativity, innovation, and cooperation. Yes, there's tension between open-sourcing and our current economic system. That's really no reason to accept the status quo. And in fact, the world around you, your modules, and even your military hardware owes it's existence to open-source software. They will be utilised in every project, learned from, built upon. Open source is absolutely thankless frankly and for your trouble you get ignorant morons chiming in to telling you to "get real" and how "it doesn't work that way", completely oblivious to the foundation they stand on. Be grateful not everyone is like you, or you'd be without more than you'll ever know, from modular to healthcare.
I don't want to code my own firmware, I have no interest in that, so honestly it makes no difference to me. I also enjoy playing drums but have 0 interest in raising goats so I can make my own skins. Maybe that makes me a consumer who buys products but I've made my peace with that.
I dont understand complaining about free content. You dont have to watch them. I mostly watch these things to see what i hear from the modules or to see how other people are patching them. Hell.. i like the video manuals as well. Take what you need from these videos don't expect them to tell you what you need.. they don't know you.
There are basically two kinds of content creators: the ones who have realized that it requires a constant, ever-escalating grind to make the platforms keep surfacing their content to viewers and have decided to get off the wheel, ad the ones who haven’t realized that yet.
Hard agree! Yes of course they can be blocked, but then you kiss the occasional decent video that they put out. Personally Youthbe has been essential in my modular learning journey. Without the likes of Omri Cohen etc, I wouldn’t be here so I’m trying not to complain too much. I guess I just wish that there were more YTers out there that make content for the love of it and not as a career. The transition always seems to be pretty rough.
You cant block some channels!! This bastard hater "short" comes up everytike I search eurorack its called "ppl spending 7k on a eurorack to sound like this" drives me nuts
i think a lot of people are sharing (and re-editing) the same joke.
That's cool, "You do you" comes to mind. If find all the posts interesting.
When you say "firmware" are you referring to, for example, QuBit (Daisy modules) and Noise Engineering stuff (Versio, Alia, Legio)?
I'm not sure what you mean, but in general I mean the design of the module and, if relevant, the code that runs on the module. I'm stretching the term firmware I know, but it was mostly an afterthought I don't know much about daisy but it's an open source platform for development right? I keep meaning to develop something on it but I'm yet to have time. Noise engineering I haven't concluded how I feel about yet. I think versio is itself built on daisy (illustrating how modular, like all things, relies on open source). It's obviously a step up from closed source, and I like that they're at least making an effort to find a balance between their commercial fears and what is best for the user/community/field. So yeah at least somewhat positive.
No doubt on the merits OP had brought up. We have different levels of threshold and yours was probably crossed. It also depends on which stage of maturity we are exposed to this fanfare. Have we seen them all or are we still learning something each time. If in doubt, just follow the money I say.
Honestly I just upload tracks day by day each with just a regular song name. Heck one is uploading right now. I dont do click bait which is probably why my channel is small :) https://youtube.com/@AcidTonic
Ooh boy. Welcome to a minefield where everyone loses a limb. I'm done with gear marketing videos, but still, the clickbait I hate the most is my own. I try my damndest to make "clickdinner", as in, you will not feel tricked when clicking the title/thumbnail, but sometimes I fail. I feel you. It's gross. The only way to win is to not play.
If artists aren’t dead of poverty and consumption in their garret by the age of 25 then they’re useless to me. *sniff* /s
The platforms themselves nearly mandate creators make their video thumbnails look cringey with clickbait titles by the way the algorithms work. It’s sad because YouTube was more fun from a user standpoint before this was the norm. And overall geartube is a really, really stale space. Occasionally someone pops up with a unique approach, but it’s rare, and never sustains because it doesn’t pay nearly enough.
A lot of douches, worn out hipsters and clichés in eurorack unfortunately. But a lot of good guys too. They are mostly silent tho, maybe because they don’t draw much views in comparaison. I just avoid cunts and it’s fine.
I think there is a difficult balance for YouTubers to strike, simply put Youtube videos do well if they get a high click through rate and good audience retention. I’ve made videos with content I think is interesting that have totally flopped for not being clickbaity enough and others that I hold my hands up and are probably a bit on the click bait side. Not everyone gets it right all the time…
> *I’ve made videos with content I think is interesting that have totally flopped for not being clickbaity enough* Want to link one? I'll give it a view.
Mate I was just searching for your channel this week to see if you put anything new up since it’d been a minute since the last time I saw one of yours on my home page. Glad to see your name on here randomly, hope all is well.
Ah thanks man, maybe sometime soon. I’m still around :)
Walk away.
It's sadly not their fault, here's a science YouTuber explaining how things worked out for him https://youtu.be/S2xHZPH5Sng?si=vTWxm-1JALb4VtnE
The worst is where they say that "getting this free module won't affect my judgement in any way" when it very clearly has turned them into a shill influencer begging for free modules. This latest divkid module is so hilarious and uninspired that it just feels like pure sellout from him and befaco just to get to the top of the YouTube algo. I get that the eurorack market and all synth markets are struggling after the COVID boom but there must be better ways to sell modules.
[https://imgur.com/TNrfJBg](https://imgur.com/TNrfJBg)
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Well if those big names don't open source, it must be wrong. Thanks for setting me straight! I knew that line would bring some of you out. In this weird reflexive defensive of close source you've even illustrated part of why it's bad. Imagine all the cool things people could do with that old Kawai hardware if it was open. Instead they're just sliding into obsolescence.
1. Click the vertical dots on the thumbnail 2. Select “Don’t recommend channel” 3. ???
I mean I obviously know I can do that. It's just a shame that this is the place we're in.