I never expected any recognition at all in the first place, so any love that comes my way is bless.

I wouldn't get caught up on the number of listens/downloads you have.
I mean, it's gratifying to have a following.
But just do you and make music that YOU like. And others will respect your output.

I feel you MAMA! I think that track is dope tho!

The best you can do is you, so if you make music that doesn't get much love but it's close to your heart what do you do? MAKE MORE OF IT!

This is something I've been struggling to do myself as well, but I do believe in it firmly. When you make music with your heart there will be other people that will recognize it and feel that shit too. But it's just harder to find when you also put out music that is less close to who you are.

I've got the same problem with this track:
https://soundcloud.com/tommy-crano/the-odd-experiment

Guess I just need to make more of it before it will find it's way to the right people.

best answer.

tae

Well what about when you make what you feel is a crap beat with a couple loops barely fucked with and everyone loves it?

I personally find it somewhat soul crushing when folks don't vibe with music I feel like I did well with conceptually/mechanically, but I'm overly dramatic about shit. If you experiment for the sake of enjoying the music you make there are bound to be beats you make that you might not even enjoy in a practical manner. I also personally enjoy the look of a person in the act of hearing some music they think is shit but they don't know what to say it to your face. That shit is funny

Okay so what you need to do is compose a really tight mixtape of beats from all of your favourite producers and then slip the "slept on" beat into the mixtape too. Then play the mixtape in your car with your homies or at a party and every time people will be asking you who made that one beat they don't recognise and you can hype it up from there haha. It works for me every time

I try to look at the big picture. Sure, maybe today no one cares about my work, but in the future even the distant future, someone might stumble on it and really get inspired. I like to think that someday hundreds of years from now people will be looking back at this stuff and thinking it was revolutionary (remember the revolution will not be televised ).

Your ego can be what makes you great, or what tears you down (likely both). You start making music because it's interesting and fun and a product of your own creation. Then you get some followers (fans), and you start to think how would they like this song? would they like this? this needs to sound more like my one song that got xxxxx listens and a blog post! Suddenly you're making music for someone else instead of yourself, and something is lost.

As everyone else has been saying, I guess it's best to stay humble (easier said than done). But this doesn't mean you shouldn't be proud. In fact you should be proud of how undergound you are. Because who wants to be mainstream anyways.

Lots of good replies to this post.
At the end of the day I dont have the time, energy, or business minded head to try to push my music for the express purpose of reaching an audiance. I enjoy making it and throw it up on the internet so its out there for the few people who find it dope or interesting. If you really want to reach a broader audience you will need to put some of your music making time and energy into promotion etc. I dont really know how that works on a practical level tho because i havent traveled down that path myself.
That track is filthy tho, good work!

Filthy is my favorite Seattle slang word.

I always try to make sure first and foremost that
I like my track...so if other people arent so crazy about it I don't mind as much because at least I have some tunes I can bump for myself.One thing I have noticed is no matter how much I like a track I've made its not as fun as listening to someone elses music..

+1