if you want to produce music for a living, watch this.

Check out my website at makethatlouder.com for gear reviews and more!
---
My recording studio equipment:
Interface - amzn.to/3liQDyY
8 channel preamp - amzn.to/3HGlJYM
Favorite vocal mic - amzn.to/3x1dEJd
Favorite general purpose mic - amzn.to/3RG32sU
Favorite instrument mic - amzn.to/3HHoKrN
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Camera - amzn.to/3jwNXgD
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Interface - amzn.to/3HBNbqp
As an Amazon Affiliate, I receive commission from any purchases you make using my links. However, that does not effect my reviews of any products, and I only recommend gear I have personally used.

[@AdamSliger]

Drop your questions for the next one here 🤘

[@eessppiii]

Hey i LOVE ur energy. I have a couple questions that i would like u answer. 1. Im 22, I have loved music all my life but I had never dared to study it. This January, after a couple of bad years of mental health and an accident, I decided to take advantage and start studying production . If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your 22-year-old self if you wanted to make a living? Genres to produce, how to send proposals to record companies, how to promote yourself, What to study? I feel a little lost and when I start making music that I could really listen to and that I'm not "ashamed" of, I would like to be able to make a living from this because it really suits me. The next one is simply, how much do you recommend that I study music theory and piano 100%. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and I really like your energy.

[@HelenScheiderrr]

Hey Adam, I would like to hear about AI influence on music producing, since usually the views on this are so polar but it feels like it's already too late to start climbing the ladder. I guess the idea would be to be as unique as possible to stand out but it's not such a new thought frankly

[@MakePopMusic]

to people wanting to make a career in music, DO NOT forget to hop up out the bed and turn your swag on. that's 🔑🔑🔑

[@AdamSliger]

Dammit Austin I forgot

[@TheJoeyBones]

"Just give up for like a week and do all those chores you've been putting off" hits so hard. Honestly, I needed to hear that right now

[@AdamSliger]

get in there 🧹

[@who_we_are______5926]

You needed to hear that your chores need to be done?

[@ZonymaUnltd.]

The “finish a bad song” part is usually pretty productive.

[@tasenova2717]

the ways that you're different and why you stand out to me as a creator: you're calm about your explanations, you're able to break down these processes with the right repetition in mind. you kept the same tone the whole time, so nothing went over my head. you've given us choices to make rather than assign us a belief you have for us. I think whatever happiness you found outside of music is genuine.

[@AdamSliger]

That’s so kind thank you 😢

[@BUNNIKYNS]

I described making music to my family as how I like doing puzzles, always have. And this is just a bigger, bit more complicated, but way more fun puzzle. Glad to see I'm not the only one who thinks this way :)

[@Bthelick]

"the ten year over night success" is a thing certainly. can't remember who the quote is from but its said often for a reason, its a real trend.

[@trollingisasport]

Good advice here. I wrote an EP awhile ago and I just wasn't motivated to finish it. Put things off for awhile. Just jamed, focused on making new presets, etc and then found a key sound that I wanted and then wrote over 15 songs which I wittled down to 12 for an album.

[@AdamSliger]

Good stuff!

[@dillonvado]

Your response to that middle question about success is so kind and all at once honest and very carefully worded and diplomatic haha. I think a lot of people need to hear that kind of advice, like be happy with what you have and grateful and then try making some music from there not from a wanting and grabbing space. That mindset is toxic and the whole world is setup to make people default to that belief system if they don’t take the time to craft something else of their own. Anyway I appreciated the casual but forward nature of your commentary in this video, no teleprompter needed 🤘

[@AdamSliger]

Glad you enjoyed the video, just doing what I can to spread good vibes!

[@themillicow]

I love your point about finding happiness before becoming successful. That's the most important insight I've had in the last year or so. I realized that I already have so much to be excited about, and if I'm not feeling it, then I'm the problem and no amount of success will fix it. Finding satisfaction now will actually make it easier to achieve your goals.

[@AdamSliger]

facts

[@theozimbro]

Man, whatta video! Thanks!

[@21broadway]

As always, another informative video. Thanks, man. I enjoy ur stuff, and it's something I look forward to every week.

[@AdamSliger]

I appreciate that!!! Thank you 🫡

[@EdsMusic]

Thanks for the good and warm tips! needed this is a lot today!

[@AdamSliger]

You are so welcome!

[@amans2806]

Solid advice bro 😎 thank you

[@AdamSliger]

🤘🤘

[@JonahKrullMusic]

Great video man!!

[@AdamSliger]

Glad you liked it! 🤘

[@aspirativemusicproduction2135]

What is writer's block? If you sit and improvise on an instrument long enough you'll come up with something. After you come up with something you record it. After recording bunch of short loops you can pick favorites and start improvising with them as backing tracks. Now you have some melodies and riffs to arrange. I mentioned improvisation few times which means you probably have to play around with some scales and phrases and be good enough to play some instrument. I know some people can just click melodies in the computer which is legit but it's much faster trying out ideas if you can actually play them. Having a loop you like to build around is the best way I know. Even if you just program music which I do often is good to know what you want to hear first. Something like simple melody can be transformed into chords and chords can be transformed back into melodies and all of this can be worked out on an instrument. Waiting for magical inspiration rather than working out something inspiring is not productive.

[@AdamSliger]

it's the part before you do what you just described haha

[@marcinpietrowski8775]

Wow, great insight

[@AdamSliger]

Thank you!!

[@lesterrr12312]

wow, this is actually so insightful and deep, very reassuring too.. i was expecting some "business scheme", but this is so much better!!

[@AdamSliger]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Nick_santana1]

I just came home from work and saw this and first, huge thanks for choosing my comment! Second, thanks for blowing my mind! The breaking bad analogy made so much sense that I just thought "man how did I never think of it like that?", but that's why it's important to have different perspectives on things. Your channel has so much potential to grow, keep making awesome content! Huge fan ❤

[@AdamSliger]

Heck yes so glad you found it helpful! You got this 🤘🤘🤘

[@greysonhaze]

great video man

[@AdamSliger]

Appreciate it!

[@PookieWookieBear-on2ln]

Thank you

[@AdamSliger]

Welcome!

[@max_not]

as always very inspiring & interesting! love this channel, keep up the great work! :)

[@AdamSliger]

thank you!

[@SomaliSmuli]

That mountain metaphor hits hard af

[@Bthelick]

The puzzle analogy is definitely one I use often. Music is hard, not just the harmony, mixing, production, arrangement , but branding, image, story, etc etc. I enjoy the lot because I'm a geek and I make everything a puzzle to be solved. that includes reach, if your not getting the numbers then that's another puzzle to solve. (thats where branding comes in)

[@AdamSliger]

Facts

[@outmindbeats]

Just subbed, thanks for the video 🥂

[@AdamSliger]

Thank you 🤘

[@JacobsBlue]

Great vid

[@AdamSliger]

Thank you!

[@AdamSliger]

Thank you!

[@connorrobertson7594]

Would love to hear more about how you got into the sync world and how someone can start making music for sync themselves!

[@AdamSliger]

i've actually got a pretty long video just about that on my channel!!!

[@JoshuaReinhart-yy5cr]

Super relatable

[@AdamSliger]

glad you think so!!!

[@XDJTXPDX]

I like thinking - these videos make me do that in a nice way for my mental health

[@AdamSliger]

That’s amazing to hear 🫡🫡

[@z3ussy970]

Well said

[@AdamSliger]

🙌🙌

[@brinepacer]

I'm so happy to see that, after committing to YT, knowing you would eat shit for a long time, but being consistent, doing the work and keeping your goal in mind, you've found the exact audience you deserve. Genuinely makes me happy to see.

[@AdamSliger]

Couldn’t do it without ya 🤘🤘

[@matt_r_w]

I’m gonna be real, whenever I see a video with a title like this it’s gets all my negative self talk wheels turning. Because it makes me reflect on how little success I have with music. But then when I make myself watch the video, I realise that there is a way to work through that difficulty and there are practical steps that I can take. Thank you ❤

[@Peaceful.Protest]

Success in music is what you define it to be. My band is small but I do everything I wanted to do in music. If I had a million fans I would not being anything different; only the same stuff I do today on a larger scale. As far as I am concerned, I’m living the dream already. Everything else is just a bonus if it happens. Craft your life as a musician around your habits, and don’t stress over things outside your control because stressing over things outside your control does not put them in your control.

[@AdamSliger]

Any time 🤘🤘🤘🤘 human first musician second!

[@Ktorios]

You deserve way more subs.

[@AdamSliger]

appreciate it

[@mikeymckinnon5778]

When I played soccer I was a striker. I then got moved to left wing and right wing. Did I like it? At the start not really. However I learned to embrace it and saw things from a different perspective which lead to an appreciation of the game I never had before. In my head this relates to what you’re saying…… I think 🤔👀

[@AdamSliger]

It def does!

[@BiddyBiddyBiddy]

I would suggest too, maybe think of the music you work on (but don't like) as if you have a music friend who you love as a person, but don't care for their music, but it's your job to help them see the project through. I do better work when people are waiting on me...even if I find out later they were never really waiting for me and never came back to use the piece. I would also say, instead of aiming at sync or stock music, try different compositional ideas, and throw crazy instrument pairings or synth patches together, and that tends to land me with solid pieces of music, or at least sound. When all else fails, make a cartoon theme, make it as cheesy as possible (until you can't help but laugh when listening) and then go back to the serious stuff.

[@AdamSliger]

All good stuff here!

[@Bthelick]

FYI it was 120,000 songs uploaded per day to spotify alone before AI. now its over 800,000. phew.

[@SRMoore1178]

I don't know if I could make music for others peoples' projects. If I start working on something and it starts to sound awesome, I want to keep it for myself.

[@AdamSliger]

That feeling gets old quick!

[@Maskaradas]

My story is quite unhappy regarding this, now that I'm much older I realize mistakes I made, but I still feel traumatized for not having made it and I struggle to open my DAW, even though I've been praised so many times for making something different and heartful. Now i'm giving it integration time away from music

[@dexterous7516]

Question - I really want to make instrumental sync music, but I am too much demotivated by the advancement of AI on top of the already high competition. Is it even worth investing my time in it when AI can spit out what I want to make in seconds. I know that it is more about expressing myself more than anything and I should do it for myself (which I am already doing), but I also want to make money from it if I can. How are you dealing with the advancement of AI. What should someone do when they are just starting out today?

[@AdamSliger]

covering this for sure

[@dexterous7516]

@@AdamSliger great, I look forward to it. I saw some other videos from other youtubers on this subject but honestly they were not really helpful. I am asking especially as someone new starting out right now.

[@__kaii__]

how can i start working at a studio or another producer so i can get my foot in the door

[@AdamSliger]

ooo good question I’ll def have to make a video about this one

[@everybodyhasoul5438]

Does sync music exist anymore with AI?

[@AdamSliger]

Feels like a topic to cover in a future video…

[@VictoriaWhitlock]

“Theme park whose logo looks like a rodent.” Me: Chuck-E-Cheese?

[@AdamSliger]

Yes Charles Entertainment Cheese

[@VictoriaWhitlock]

@@AdamSliger lol they were wrong for shutting down the robot band

[@AdamSliger]

Facts

[@GdpJapan]

The ADHD producer here. Concerta kills my creativity. Thinking about quitting Strattera as well. Have you noticed any changes in creativity because of Strattera?

[@AdamSliger]

never took strattera personally

[@theinfamousarmyof1band481]

Haha all my songs are bad but they are done!

[@MaxFury_Official]

I don't know if i want to produce music for a living. I like creating music and especially when the lyrics get's good like Famous & Smarter (Than you), but helping others sometimes with tips and tricks i've learnt the hard way i'm fine with. I just like watching your content. You're a chill guy. #nohomo

[@MediaMusik777]

Sync licensing is like winning the lottery your odds are about the same, but if you are a KZbin influencer your odds decrease

[@AdamSliger]

What makes you think this? I know so many people who make money in sync and I know 2 people who won the lottery lol

[@MediaMusik777]

@@AdamSliger I have never known anyone who has been successfully at those things , I have never won anything in my life just hard work. I went to school for audio music production too, made many great songs including my hit “fly away” but sync boys didn’t want the songs.

[@CricketStyleJ]

Biggest artist of 1980 might be AC/DC

[@AdamSliger]

Well, they had a good mindset then. “It’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock n roll” is a healthy attitude

[@daynemin]

No idea why I'm here lol, but what is sync/sink? music?

[@AdamSliger]

It’s music that’s played inside tv shows, movies, commercials etc

[@daynemin]

@@AdamSliger ohk cool. Good luck with your channel!

[@AdamSliger]

Thanks!!

[@Peaceful.Protest]

If you are making product, you have moved out of the space of artistry and are acting as an artisan. That’s when you start to hate your work because it no longer really differs spiritually from any other day job. People need to get clear on what their goals in music are. Are you an artist or are you an artisan? If you’re an artisan then you’re just an employee building someone else’s vision; so you need to accept that. If your an artist then make art and find a day job that makes the most financial sense. If that day job is producing shitty bands then so be it too; your alternatives will suck in their own way too.

[@AdamSliger]

yeah no shame in having a 9-5 and a 6-10

[@Peaceful.Protest]

​@@AdamSligerEven as a full time artist you end up with a day job; marketing.

[@sophiepooks2174]

Don't worry about it too much, better off selling most of the gear, keeping the basics and doing something else, AI and the big corporations will soon make it impossible to make money out of music unless already famous. Human made music and art will be a thing of the past, or something everyone does for themselves and their family and friends for an UN-payed hobby.

[@LearnCompositionOnline]

A producer has to be able to read music. Otherwise he takes too long. Change my mind.

[@AdamSliger]

Ooo this’ll be a fun one

[@carlosaguilar9091]

Do you consider Rick Rubin a music producer?

[@AdamSliger]

@@carlosaguilar9091 that's a loaded question lol

[@yisroeagleberger2013]

Aren't they just gonna use AI now?

[@AdamSliger]

The exact opposite for the most part

[@coreyroberts47]

@@AdamSligerhow so? I plan on doing a similar thing but I’m wary of ai so I’d like to know what you think, I also think it’ll be the opposite from what’s expected but you’re more versed than i