The thing I don't get about people complaining about "music these days" is that they always seem to tunnel on the mainstream. Like, you know that's not all there is, right? There are vibrant scenes of underground music with people doing cool, interesting things.

Asking my drum students “what song do you want to learn” is when they light up and is where you find the spark that stays lit.

as a young musician and music enthusiast, I actually totally understand why he's saying the things he's saying. I think if you interpret his points as broad generalizations, they obviously fall apart. Most generalizations do because the world is nuanced. In general I've seen how young people interact with music and it's primarily superficial and bland, skipping to the next 1-2 min song till they find one that tickles their ears. I can confirm that with my experience, and I'm not talking about the dedicated music listeners or the musicians/composers. I'm talking about the general population of young people I've interacted with, not all young people my age but a lot unfortunately. He's saying normal kids in high school 50 years ago used to buy records and CDs, now kids take for granted the abundance of music we have a streaming platforms. When you bought a record in the 60s, you cherished it to pieces. Now, we can listen to whatever albums we want, resulting lower appreciation for music in general, albums just don't mean what they used to and I would generally agree. I would say that everything has changed, people still care about music obviously. It's just in smaller communities and not a broad general population only buying the records that are in the record stores. More things are independent and there are more demographics than there were 50-60 years ago. I mean look at the Glastonbury Coldplay concert, over 100,000 people there for... music. So I would conclude by saying, people care about music in different ways than they did back then. It looks different. and one can make the argument that since more people have access to music nowadays... a larger population of people care about music. So I mostly agree with your points, but I also understand where he's coming from.

The only reason for searching for ‘music’ in de 00’s was the infinite search for illegal music in a world before Spotify and other streaming services 😂

I was honestly scared to click on this video but after seeing your story on instagram i came over.. I am a long term subscriber of Rick, probably from like 2017ish.. And right off the bat i want to point out that his videos back then were extremely valuable to me.. I still think he is one of the pioneers of music education on youtube.. However as you definitely know, over the last couple years I have also found a lot of value in channels like yours where you are teaching a very different aspect of music that is music production and music making on Ableton that has helped me equally, or maybe even more than Rick's videos from back then.. I think many of us old Rick fans are also fully aware that after the first few years Rick went in a very different direction that we almost sweep under the rug and don't talk about or maybe occasionaly meme about.. what I would call the rant era/top 10 spotify era.. I personally don't watch most of his videos anymore but there are a few good ones he does every once in a while, especially the ones where he interviews other artists.. in my heart he will always have a place in my heart, and so will you Taetro.. I just hope this does not boil over and become a big beef or anything.. In fact the happy ending i would hope for is that both of you get together on a video and discuss ideas.. deep in my mind, i have a slight shimmer of hope that Rick will understand that he is wrong in saying today's music sucks which is undoubtedly wrong.. ya that was my rant i guess..

Rick's trick is using hot topics and emotion to grab more eyes, maintaining his exposure and sales on his ebook/tutorials etc, being objective is not the first priority. From this content creator perspective of view, he is right everytime 😅

The fact that Google Trends only goes as far back as 2004 also means that any super broad search term like 'music,' 'car,' or 'art' is always going to start off at 100% (or close to) in that year anyway. It's just such a baffling and disingenuous take. It's nice to see someone with a bigger channel call him out for his awful opinions though. I think part of the reason why he gets away with this over and over again is because there's no one to really rebut any of his absolutely demented takes.

Oh man I didn't expect these two streams to ever meet.

elitism/gatekeeping gets to me on a visceral level. being able to freely create what you like can be so gratifying and the concept of people taking that away from others and create artifical scarcity only to make themselves feel better - is really fucked up I will always champion creating is for everyone. not for a select chosen few

Great points raised ! Very thought provoking. I am self taught and hence don’t have a basis for comparison as to what a formal music education is like. But it seems to me that the enjoyment for music and passion for creating is independent of what kind of education you get, or how good an instrumentalist you are. That comes from somewhere else

There is an absurd amount of elitism in music these days, im a bass player newbie with just a few years under the belt and im a part of a few music and bass groups on Facebook and yes i just dated my self, but every time some especially new to guitar or bass ask a totally ok newbie question like "what should i look for for my first own bought bass" and the amount of people telling them nothing under a fender American will do and many of the same people will often shame people saying more modest answers like "go try a lot of different model, but a good Harley Benton or Squier will do you fine until you find your sound", and sadly it seems they are the very large majority when it comes to music artists

You crack me up! You should do more of these.

Taetro Rant IS BACK

Perfect response to an ill-thinking that has plagued art for far too long. Really glad you are among the ones to speak up. As someone that is trying to make a name for himself with modern electro/techno/metalcore I am tired as hell of gatekeepers. Also nevermind the angry mob. We will scare em off with our piercings and black nail polish.

Videos like these are why i'm not just subscribed...it's why I've joined your channel. I really appreciate your take. I'm a recovering gatekeeper, and I don't know when that changed for me (maybe after getting really burnt out in music school...), but it's not the attitude to have.

Yes TEATRO! Preach! I always love your perspective and take! I have learned more music theory from you in the last 2 years than my decades of being a drummer that dabbles in other instruments. Your “do we actually need music school” video was equally inspiring. In regard to beato: what is really confusing is I actually just watched his interview with Tim Henson from Polyphia and Rick praised Tim for a bunch of his unique production techniques using Ableton warping, quantizing and even prompting with AI?!? I am an elder millennial trying to push myself in music production with the same passion I had jamming with shitty equipment in friends garage we when I was 13. I often catch my friends saying things like “kids don’t have it the way we used to…the scene…the drive…things have changed. Yeah it’s been 30 years…I would hope things have changed. Maybe it’s my zen side coming out…but I think 2 things can be true….and also, our parents did not understand why music was only good if Matt Pinfeild told us so on 120 min or Steven’s untitled rock show…”these kids and their MTV”. Change, embrace…keep on making shit and block the noise. Much love man. Thank you for your candor.

Loved it. The roast and also the research you did. Google trends 😂😂😂😂 “music” :))))

Thank you for making such an important video! It should be watched by many musicians I know personally!

I’m 45 ish, and I thought Rick’s take was WILD. 😂 Thanks for making this video. ❤ Also: I spend a lot of money on independent artists on patreon.

I am one of beato's subscriber and most of beato's videos are music analysis, Interviews, music lessons, sound engineering etc. Only few are antimodern music rants. But its worth subscribing his channel. I learned a lot from his channel. Taetro is my favourite music lesson channel for now. Taetro's lessons on music production are so clear and helpful and above all so honest, sincere, easy to understand and relatable.

I think an interesting point you made, how gatekeeping Rick was being. I work as a toddler teacher and one thing they teach about child development and creativity is that if children were exposed to very good artists at a young age, they would improve much more rapidly. I mean look at Ellen plays and Rick’s own son. Another point that no one really hit on is, there was crappy music in Rick’s time too. He is just cherry picking the music he loved. There just seems to be more crappy music now because we have more access to it.

I grew old before my time in my 20s and became a music elitist. Grunge had supplanted hair metal and I was pissed. In my 50s, my favorite stuff to listen to now is all the stuff I hated on back then. Resolving mental health issues is a worthwhile investment of time, effort and carefully spent money. I enjoy everything about music a lot more these days. The only thing worse than an old man shaking his fist at the sky is a young man shaking his fist at the sky.

You're usually such a sweetheart in your videos. It's refreshing seeing this side of you as well

What I personally learned is that with making good electronic music has gotton more tools over the years making it in general better. Alot of old house music sounds dull now because the makers didnt use alot of tricks and techniques to make it sound more intresting. Now with all these tools and the bar that has gone up the electronic music has alot more depth and qaulity. I started a bit of the rabbithole of making techno and at first it sounded like 1995 harder trance only to find out that you have to learn many many techniques to make kicks, bass lines , toms intresting for todays standard. Music is a neverending evolving art which learns , improves ,steals from music made before turning in something new which sounds awsome to its audiance.

Rick did a very poor job proving his points. His receipts were minimal, with no real analysis at all. For instance, is the search of “music” an aggregate of all searches that pertain to music, whether it be specific artists, soundtracks, instruments, etc. If not, then it’s useless. As you have pointed out, people find music in different ways now. The suggestion algorithms for music have become much better over the years. So I can just tune into a specific artist in youtube, then follow the rabbit hole. There also music from games. Fez for instance, beautiful music which I doubt Rick would ever consider. Or the game Inside. Are people searching very much anymore, or are playlists or suggestions on Spotify or other platforms playing a role. TikTok definitely has resulted in various newer musicians getting attention. And what about the possibility that there could be demographics involved? Rick didn’t even suggest that the bulk of the population is aging, and maybe not as musically motivated as they used to be. I’ve always been keenly interested in music, but it was more so when I was younger. I seeked it out more online, went to more music festivals, etc. There’s more ways to look at this too. Rick just did a poor job digging into it, and I have to question his conclusions.

I completely understand his frustration as a musician myself my father told me I need to evolve with the time!!! I follow both of you guys for different reasons!!! But I definitely have some similarities with his opinion!!!

1:12 and you already have me dying hahahaha

His commentaries are kinda frustrating, but he has some great interviews. I was surprised by the recent turn of his last few posts. I admit to watching him, but he's been interviewing people I listened too when I was in my teens and 20s (The Police, REM, Collective Soul) but this was nuts. I love your point about his google trends. There are so many reasons why those terms could fade out. The dates he's looking at - new to the internet users would search for simple terms, but now many more people know how to use the internet, they're not going to go to google and type 'music' they're going to type 'iTunes' or 'spotify' instead, or they just don't search on it anymore, you use an app on your phone, the search isn't going to google it's going to the app store of the device.

To what degree do you think some of this data is a factor of population increases? Does much of this account for per capita interest?

I am subscribed to both you and Rick, so I've seen all three of the videos in question (Rick's 2 and your 1). First, about me. I'm a boomer who has been using FL Studio for about 5 years, leaning to create and play original music. I think you can see why I'm a target audience for both of you.. I "sense" Rick is right about some things, but I also "sense" you are, too. Music is always changing, both the style and how we end up listening to it. I listen primarily to contemporary mainstream "pop" music (Dua LIpa, Imagine Dragons, etc.). I think it's great, but (uh, oh, he said 'but') there does seem to be -- among the sliver of music I hear -- a default to 808's and the like that can come across as "we just need drums in there for a dance beat. don't think too long about it." Of course, 60's - 80's had their own tropes for sure! It's why someone can parody them so easily. So, and again, I am simply talking about the sliver I listen to on a mostly daily basis -- I think what is missing are those odd innovations that seem to come out of nowhere. And, since even *I* can now sing in tune with autotune (Hey, I'm not knocking that benefit), I would just like to feel I know a singer is actually singing with their voice, so I can think "Wow! That's so amazing!" Anyway, I wanted you to know I hear you. I value your opinion. And, even though I could tell you were, shall we say "upset, you did your research and I appreciate it.

Dude! Your channel keeps getting better. Keep it up. Rick has some cool vids/Interviews, but it be smart to stay in his lane. Or?! He could open up to learning about all the exciting communities growing and innovating around music technology. Or music around the world?! Much love

Nice data to support your point, as one get old the brain's cortex degenerates and the loose of empathy is usually a symptom of this degeneration (some scientists believe it's only affection empathy that degenerates, so if one has great cognitional (rational) empathy its all good), thats one of the reasons old people are ranty and angry. Great shirt btw

Great take, man! I used to watch Rick a lot a few years ago, but always had a kind of love/hate relationship I couldn’t quite describe. I’m realising that his takes silently kill the joy of creating for me. With Rick, unless you know the fretboard, all the scales and modes by heart and have great ear to transcribe songs instantly, you don’t even get to make anything. I think it’s easy to be wrong for him because tons of people around him (ie. other boomers) will agree with him.

After watching the third video in Rick’s series, I understand where he’s coming from. Not so long ago, a surprising amount of dedication, unwavering attention, and sacrifice of time and money was required to produce and consume music. That came through in the music that was produced and consumed. Today, far less is required, and that comes through in the vast quantity produced and popularly consumed. You would agree that the music industry has undergone revolution(s) in the past few decades. It’s fair for Rick to wonder what motivates dedication, unwavering attention and even some sacrifice, for production or consumption, in the modern age. Your work and the virtuosity of the young people in Rick’s videos provides some answers. Your dedication, attention and sacrifice comes through in your music and videos. Your recent guitar basics video was an incredible eye opener to me. And I thought myself reasonably well educated in music theory. I hope both of you keep up your great educational work and don’t succumb to producing or consuming clickbait!

I told YT to stop suggesting videos from his channel. He drives me crazy. A friend who was also into guitar playing suggested him and it was during his “top 10” whatever series. Every single top ten list had to have something from the Beatles in it, and often more than one. The guy is ridiculously infatuated with the Beatles and old stuff. Oddly, we are close in age and (AFAIK) hail from the same metro area.

I´m 48 music is sharing it is just a matter to accept how the world is evolving.We need to keep on being creative and ourself with what we have.

Please make another bedroom music producer video. I want to get started but I want to make sure all the information I get is up to date.

I am a older person, not as old as Rick. But I think not just music, but everything is better today. As Newton said, "If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants." And this applies to everything, the knowledge base is always getting deeper, but the tech is also far more advanced. They remaster the Beatles for a reason, because those early productions are poor by modern standards. Nobody is hard panning drums to the left or right today. But that is what Martin decided to do with that new stereo tech, because he could get more money for stereo recordings in the USA. And the mixing desks back then only had three settings for pan control; centre, hard left and hard right. Music is better today, art is better today, film is better today, animation is better today, technology is better today, communication is better today, science is better today, medicine is better today and education is also better today. It is a ridiculous premise to say that communications was better 50 years ago, you would get laughed out of a room by everyone for suggesting such an absurd premise. And it is surprising that Rick has found himself backing an equally absurd premise. Sure we have a lot of poor music today but we have a lot of music. I think the current number is that 123,000 new tracks are released every day. Compare that to 4,000 albums released in the whole of the 1970. So lets be kind and give a generous 20 tracks per album that is no more than 16,000 songs for the whole of the 1970s. Divide that by days and the real number would be far less that 5 songs per day getting released 50 years ago compared to 123,000 today. To suggest the quality of all of them are poorer is stupidness - that all that music is bad and getting worse is daft. It would be safe to say maybe 1 in 5 was a good track in the 1970s compared to 1 in 100 today, then that may be a fair thing to say - even 1 in 1000. But he isn't saying that, is he? He isn't saying the ratio of good music compared to bad music is off the scale. But that still means that a lot more music is getting made that is musically and technically better today. We just have a lot more people making music that aren't highly talented at making music, and that is just because of a democratisation of the creative music making process. If you had an album out in the 1970s it was because you had learnt an instrument, studied music, grafted for years to then hire an expensive studio and engineer - and you had gatekeepers. Today anyone with a laptop can make a tune and release it for free.

Well said

There is so much preference in music to defeat any elitist stance - my first day of school as a 4 year old I remember I sang America from West Side Story. I am told I followed it up with "the wheels on the bus" (sigh)

Rick is just another grifter on the internet tbh

agreed with everything.. except for the last point where you say that you can't objectively say music is better than another.. it may be a complex thing, but you can definitely definitely tell if one piece is better than the other just like you can tell one painting is better than the other..

I thought this was a video about Al Pacino when I saw the thumbnail.

I’m an old fart. Not exactly boomer, but almost…in this regard… back in my youth we would PAY for our music. It wasn’t “just” content. It was the MAIN thing! It was all we lived for as teenagers… we really did dive into the music albums much more, because we would have to pay a fairly large part of our disposal pocket money for them. And obviously I am biased and I do prefer songs like they used to write them back when I grew up, but new music can be good as well. Of course! Your point about the concerts, however, doesn’t entirely hold water. Today, live events are the only way any act can make money. So, yes, music lovers today spend large sums, because live events are almost rip offs. On an overall annual measurement, they may spend more, but only on larger names. Up and coming acts are struggling. What I imagine Rick Beato means, is that the whole vibe and feel around music is gone. It is not cherished and paid for, like it used to be. And that’s just a shame! Things always change between generations. Music means something different to the younger generations. Fine. But the industry suits on the executive boards certainly make no effort to make it any easier for creators, and pop chart music today is literally made by less than 50 people globally. The diversity is completely gone.

Thank you TAETRO. For standing up to his bullshit. Rick's views and opinions are rather unhealthy and toxic for the music industry. Of course, one is always entitled to their own opinions and preferences, but with such a large following, Rick might be doing more harm than good. He brands himself as an "Educator", the "good guy" and then he attempts to imprint his own ideologies and preferences onto others. He uses the term "good music" to describe music he likes and presents it as an undeniable fact. He fails to understand that everyone has their own version of "good music" and I believe he suffers from a lack of empathy. He also has the audacity to decide for people that they don't value and appreciate their music because they listen to it on spotify and not vinyl. He uses his platform and authority as an "Educator" to decide what people should and should not like. It's all good to have your own tastes and beliefs as long as you don't force it on others, but I just feel that the way he presents it is dangerous, especially to people who might not see through his shenanigans. The music industry and music as an art form is changing and evolving over time. It never stops changing. And you know what doesn't change? People. People like Rick. While the rest of us are pushing boundaries and exploring new possibilities, people like Rick are desperately trying to make it stay the same. The world will move on and they will get left behind. We should just go on our merry way and not let them affect us. Rick exists simply to remind us not to be like him in the future. It's very easy to fall into that trap of comfort, of being stuck in "the good old days". Rick is a great reminder of what happens when you fall into that trap.

I've been calling Beato's channel "Old man yells at cloud" for years. I'm in my 50s but I know there's good new music. MOST of the new music isn't my scene, but I'm not going to tell anyone "music is bad now" just because I don't like what's on the pop station. Outside of pop there's SO MUCH good music today that I can't keep track of all of it. And a lot of the the music I love has been quantized since the mid-80s... I've never subscribed to Beato but I just subscribed to your channel.

Hi Taetro! I'm subscribed to both you guys for great content. I'll just say this. To some people hip hop died when tupac and big died, and absolutely nobody alive can live up to those standards. But that's not being right, it's you getting old and not listening. You who thinks this! You ain't LISTENING anymore buddy! Respect to those who keep their ears and minds open as time goes by. What really infurated me was saying that music is easy to make these days. C'mon, stop being prick, go back to being rick, mr beato

The thing that makes me mad at Rick is that he doesn't consider ANY modern music whatsoever music. Like yes, obviously it is great when people play instruments in a time where a lot of music is based out of technology, but at the same time learning how to produce is just as challenging as learning an instrument. You are making music one way or another, and it is going to be challenging. There has always been bad popular music in every decade, you just have to dig deep to find good music sometimes. It really is NOT that hard.

Skipping your video not gonna listen to call someone old over and over. One time was enough. Like you know what your talking about.

Collaboration within Rick?

Get off my lawn! I'm kidding, you're doing great. I'm going back through your Ableton tutorials as I write this. People have been hating on previous generations since the beginning of time. It's how you know when old people are old 😉 I'm a boomer, but I'm trying to stay somewhat in touch. I work with high school kids at my church and they joke about older generations and "the good old days." The thing for us older folks to remember is that TODAY will be somebody's "good old days." May as well be mine too 😃 Keep up your great work @Taetro!

@daniel.muntean 2 minutes ago I wish people would stop with the "old man talking about how things were better in the past" argument. This is the most lazy response that I hear constantly throughout all of my hobbies: music, synthesizers, sports cars, movies, etc. As well as other industries like art and architecture. We should listen to experts from each of those industries, with decades of experience, that not only have the technical knowledge which surpassed the Dunning-Kruger competence threshold, and a very important zoomed-out grasp of history, but also have the patience and the wisdom to differentiate between objective and subjective truths. And guess who fit that description? Yes, old(er) people. Are they also fighting with their perceived irrelevance and mortality by going against everything that's new and unproven? Maybe. But that shouldn't take anything from their wisdom. And it doesn't mean they are not right when saying things were better in the past. Because quality-wise, they were.

The way we consume, produce and learn music has changed since Rick's time (and mine, to that effect). And that's a good thing. Music *must* change. As we get older we tend to equate unfamiliar with bad, while the truth is it's just different. When I was a little kid, my first cassettes (!) were Oxygene and Equinoxe from Jean Michel Jarre. Everyone over 40 around me couldn't stand it. Was it bad? Just unfamiliar and too "new" to them. As was the technology behind it (the synthesizer). We should avoid falling into the same trap. We don't need to like all new music (and we didn't even like all new music in our youth), let's just accept that it is suitable for audiences with different experiences.

I look forward to the upcoming Octagon Stream of Beato vs. TATERO! Round One! FIGHT! 🤣

Excellent response to Beatos recent videos. What Beato is a master of the KZfaq game he really know how to work it. He knows his demographic which is mainly young wanna be shredders and Prog fans and has build a huge follow with that crowd. Like all the young musician in his video are all known for their shredder chops. To me shredders are boring and Prog bands are just a collection of shedders. Beato says he's current because he listen the top whatever playlist on Spotify, that doesn't make you current Rick. For those of us who have been around the music biz longer that Rick, yes I'm outing myself, his idea of the music biz out of date. The data you showed and used was from just some search engine word games. So yes you did a excellent job making your points Now thinking about the reactions to multiple recents Beato video that are bothering people I think the master of KZfaq side of Beato might be thinking lets me stir the pot the some more and get even more people talking about me, it's good for the Beato brand.

Rick is the classical Gatekeeper with a capital G

Hip Hop started sucking when they started holding guns sideways. :)

I first watched one of his videos years ago and it was all clickbait with no substance. It was awful but I was intrigued by the subject matter and hope that he would get on to offering something of value. He never did and I’ve been having to dodge him ever since. And he seems to continue to grow success for whatever it is he’s known for. And I get even more irritated having to avoid him. Seeing this has confirmed my suspicions that I made the right choice.

All the statistics point to the fact that interest in music has dropped dramatically over the last 20 years. Beato is right on this one.

There's a lot of holes that can be poked into Beato's rant. He uses anecdotal information, and context that may be obtuse. There's a lot of holes that can be poked in this rant as well. For example, the expected increase in profits meaning that music means more to people now doesn't account for the cost of concert tickets and the like from one time period to the next. We also don't get into what profit is realized by owning a catalog (older music) and the creation of new music. I think anyone that doesn't take someone's take on something as subjective, like Beato, is either dumb or dishonest. I'd argue that mainstream music isn't as good as it used to be due to it being overly homogenous compared to the past, that the songwriting isn't as interesting, etc etc...yet, that's my subjective take on it. The idea of Rick using younger musicians as a token is laughable though. Beato caters to people who care about music the way he cares about music. Also, as a Gen X'er, I have to laugh at a millennial being ageist as you too, soon enough, will be lumped in with the boomers. You can shake your fist at the clouds with us when the time comes, it's OK.

This should be on a shirt “ Google Search Music” hahah

I mean, I have never been able connect with "computer" music as much as with real instruments, played and performed. When a song is done mainly via MIDI and VSTs? Sure, can be excellent and fun, I enjoy all kinds of those things. But in my books, the more you remove the humane, raw element from a song, the less interesting it is.

You showed 💯FACTS!!! I've learned that "older people" tend to hold onto whatever it is they grew up with or were taught to believe since childhood. Somehow they have lost the ability to be open minded and accepting of new and/or different ideologies than what they are use to. SAD. I believe they have gotten comfortable with what they know and how they do things and something new and/or different takes them out of their comfort zones. They flight that change. KEEP STANDING UP FOR WHAT'S RIGHT AND JUST👏👏👏 Love you to the moon and back my friend❤(not in a gay way😂😂) Don't waste your time with the haters. Remember you're community and supporters will continue to follow and support you. BELIEVE IT🤜🤛 TALK SOON. CHEERS 🥂

When you expect all the music we have access to now, to be as good as the songs you remembered from your (Rick) teenage years you will guaranteed be disappointed. Even tho it is easier to access and make music, talent is still required to make music that will attract a lot of listeners. Anyone can appreciate good music and can try to make it, but most won’t make hit songs. But who cares my 3 songs on Spotify have just a few listeners, so I know that for maybe 2 people my music is great. For the majority tho my music is boring or would never even be recommended, so it will never be considered good.

Well said. I'm late 40s and I think Rick's take was awful. It's fine that he likes intricate harmony, complex instrumentals and meticulous engineering. But instead of diving more into all of the new music that has those qualities (there's so much), he mostly seems mad about what's at the top of the charts these days. His takes on how easier music making is a negative is laughable, and he clearly isn't in touch with how much young people love music. Music is *everywhere*.

Shots fired!!! Also, you’re right

I'm convinced he's just a form of rage bait. Obviously works for him financially, says a lot about him and his relationship to music

Taetro , 100 percent correct ! Not a big fan of cocky rick !

You cannot stop evolution.

I’ve found my people! I hate that guy! So glad to know there are others like me. ❤

Rick's *elitist* _opinions_ are bound to the *traditions* of _his_ generation; *ironically* the generation that dispise _those_ traditions, welcome _modern digital effects_ that emulate the _nostalgic_ synths and effects of Rick's generation, but they're _cleverly_ hidden from Rick's _generation_ through *DAW* based plugins, and _menu diving_ through _modern_ *hardware pedals* 😅

well i'm going to make more music

Thanks for pinpointing and articulating so precisely the issues I had with Rick's bs line of reasoning when I was watching those videos. The elitism is real, and it's annoying as hell.👍

These diss tracks are getting wild

I'm a quiet subscriber here to both Rick’s and this channel slso. I appreciate the content on both. I may relate more to Rick's only cause I'm closer to his age and therefore I'm can relate more to his experience of music consumption and creation but I also like Taetro's channel for the gear. Regarding Rick's rant I don't agree with him to me he sees things with a conservative lens. He tries to be relevant and cool but it can only take him so far, far enough to yell at clouds.

Bro you killed this video!!

I’m younger, but I don’t like much past the 80s. The 90s had some good stuff, but past that it went down hill unless you’re into electronic music or rap (which I don’t). Then again, there are some amazing musicians now like Billy strings and Molly Tuttle.

Taetro, usually a quiet commenter, but I'd hesitate to say I am a first-time commenter. When I saw Rick's video today, I said to myself, "Nah." As soon as Google Trends pulled up, I almost clicked away because I knew where he was going with it. I love Rick Beato's content, I really do. I think his best work is interviewing, and back in the old days before KZfaq (really the record labels) began cracking down on copyright, I loved his breakdown videos. Even candidly, I don't mind him listening to the top 10 music and shitting on it or enjoying it. It's fun. However, I completely, wholeheartedly AGREE with your take. In his video, he mentions that video gaming has gone down and the only spike was Minecraft. Yeah, because at the time, kids were learning how to play the game and craft things, so they would resort to Google for learning how to craft! We haven't googled "music" in so long because, as Rick says, social media! I went to the Institute of Production and Recording. I am by no means an academic musician, but I understand where Rick's ideals lay. However, they are truly antiquated. I work with a lot of people, young and old, and I can truly say - even though it's a lot of Taylor Swift - young people care about music. Before Noah Kahan got popular, I knew of a few younger (21 to 25) year olds who were telling me about Noah Kahan. It's a tale as old as time, but Rick doesn't get it. Music is consumed differently. Whether it's 15 second TikToks or some other means, concerts are selling out daily and the demand is high. People are singing every song, they know all the B-Sides. It's truly no different than before other than maybe I heard it through some other means than talking to my friends. Word of mouth will be number one (by proxy, social media). Rick made a video he has since deleted where he had the balls to talk about Hip Hop and Rap today and why it isn't good anymore. He attributed a lot of it to Cicada hi hat sounds and over saturation. Is it wrong? Nah, he is right about that. But to say people don't care about that? Ridiculous. And you won't find that video because even one hour into that video being live, I saw the comments and he was getting destroyed. Love your take, Taetro. I think I followed just before the pandemic. GREAT take. One last thing - Did Beato talk to the kid's parents that actually play an instrument at home in those classes? Did he talk to the parents that DO NOT take classes but play an instrument at home?

Thank you for posting a wonderful video with strong insight. Looking forward to more from your channel.

agree so much!! i'm an old guy who enjoys new jams

It's really unfortunate. Rick is clearly highly skilled and talented, which is why I've always enjoyed his educational content like song breakdowns, music theory, etc. But the rambling is just becoming unbearable for the reasons you mentioned (plus some others, like him equalling music and pop music when it fits his line of argumentation). Sad to see.

There's an old book by Luigi Pirandello called "I vecchi e i giovani" (the old and the young) written in 1909 that describes the ciclical constrast of values between generations. The conclusion is that it is a perpetual cicle, kept in motion by contrast itself. A natural and somewhat healthy way for human culture to evolve and constantly change. I believe younger generations NEED that contrast in order to be motivated to bring forward new sets of values. For anything to be truly new it needs an old mentality to be opposed to... so let the old man raise his fist at the sky. It's natural, and probably will come the time that you and me will feel the same way he feels now about new generations... But for now i find Beato's elitism quite repulsive, and i basically agree with you completely on this one... But hey, at 38 i'm still a boy, right?😂

Great stuff man!

Rick's arguments = boomer tears.

This guy definitely loves himself too much. So does Adam Neely. They all need to grow up and invest in themselves to become more humble. I just can't watch their videos. You are the exact opposite and I always enjoy watching yours - both for great content and because you are not so self absorbed.

I like Rick's channel (and so do over 4 million others!) and being an "old man" myself I agree with much of what he says. It used to require talent, investment and commitment to make music, but now it doesn't. AI apps can make it for you. Loops can be thrown together by anyone. People sample entire tracks, stick a "sick beat" over it and release it under their own name. You don't need to know how to play, or any music theory. The software takes care of it. New uploads to Spotify, circa one track per second! Too many haystacks, not enough needles.

Your counter arguments are legit.

People get too bent out of shape, RB included, about $hi# that’s out of their control. It’s simply not so black & white. It’s music! No one who is making music should be offended. His argument is really a rant against an industry, its algorithms, and the dumbing down of music to get more spins from that algorithm. That affects all music makers. As a 57y/o, I subscribe to both channels and can see both viewpoints. Ask yourself: How many gear-ad-influencer videos on YT have we seen where we are convinced to buy a new box for $800 to get that new envelope filter for the same 4 on the floor kick nonsense or $159 Ableton Plug-in that adds a new ‘siren riser’ that simplifies techno game - neither of which add any new musical difference, just more sameness? Far too many. I like to make house/synthwave, but I need it to be more melodic and chordally interesting, regardless if anyone but me wants to hear it. That seemingly makes me a minority in this gear-driven era where influencers reign. Gear is cool, but challenging musical convention, as a human endeavor, is way cooler to me. Finally, I might add: All influences are relevant to one’s musical development, but not all influencers are… choose wisely. And take no offense of what other people’s opinions are, your true musical path is dictated by your own heart/mind.

You young people with your DAWs and your electricity. Pick up an Oboe or a Mandolin and play it naked in the woods to a bunch of squirrels. Now thats music!

Awesome!!! Bang on.

Hi Gen X ( (the one in the middle of Millennials and Boomers that you couldn’t remember,) lifelong musician and teacher her. I think you make a lot of good points. I also think Rick makes good points too. Can we get to a place where it’s not black and white? IMO you are both wrong in your extremes. Just because someone has studied music and appreciates that kind of thing doesn’t automatically make their worldview elitist.” Simultaneously, when someone learns music in non-traditional ways, it doesn’t automatically make them some super open minded forward thinker. I think it’s fantastic that you are teaching non-trad music theory. That’s great.

i blocked rick a long time ago for the same reasons you go over in this video, basic regurgitated takes about music being better in his day. its exhausting.

Taetro, it is a lamentable truth that the music industry today is a woeful spectacle of commercialization and mediocrity. While sales and popularity seldom reflect artistic merit, the commercial imperatives dominating the industry shape the music produced. Major record labels prioritize profit, resulting in banal and formulaic music being celebrated. Technological democratization, while seemingly beneficial, leads to an overwhelming flood of mediocrity, making truly innovative music rare. The sheer volume of new releases buries the gems beneath the mundane. Cultural and generational shifts also play a role. The music of the past often holds deep cultural and historical significance, unlike much of today's transient music. This is not mere nostalgia but a reflection of music's previous ties to social movements and historical events. Once, music served as the single most powerful political and cultural voice of youth, driving social movements and embodying the spirit of rebellion and change. Today, this role has been significantly diluted. Music no longer holds the same central place in youth culture, as other forms of media and platforms have taken over as the primary avenues for political and cultural expression. This shift has left music less impactful and relevant as a force for societal change. Virality and social media contribute to this decline. Platforms like TikTok favor bite-sized, instantly gratifying content over substantial artistic merit. Songs are now crafted for viral potential, reducing music to background noise in the social media cacophony. Yet, amid this bleak landscape, there are oases of creativity and innovation. Beyond the mainstream's commercial juggernaut, in niche and underground scenes, true artisans and pioneers push musical boundaries. While the contemporary music industry faces challenges and commercial dominance, it is not devoid of hope. Discerning listeners willing to sift through the mediocrity will find precious gems that remind us of music's enduring power. Taetro, I respect and thank you for your contributions to my musical journey. However, I must express discontent with the tone of your video. In critiquing Rick's views, you risked embodying the stereotypes you sought to dismantle.

Hey, I hate auto-tune and quantization too, but music is as good and bad as it has ever been. Rick is just having a "you kids get off my lawn" moment.

Ok. That's a lot. I watch Rick. Don't subscribe but I watch it when it pops up. Why? Cuz I'm 57. I relate to some of his stuff, but I don't agree with a lot. Why? Well my favourite band is Kraftwerk and I love Detroid techno. And I'd like to tell you, I learned everything about music production from KZfaq channels like yours. I don't know how to play it single instrument, yet I'd like to think of myself as a musician. At 57 I listen to new artists and bands every month. Rick is making us boomers look bad. I wish he'd just shut up.

I subscribe to both of you. I understand that you don't agree with him and while I can see where you're coming from I can also see his point as well. I'm not sure if this is the way to go about it though it's not like he's personally attacked you or anything. Bedroom producers like us compared to producers like him are always going to have different ways of looking at things it's just a matter of being able to take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Anyways peace and love dude keep up the chill music.

Bro help me to buy laptop pls

rick beat-offo

I enjoy Rick’s interviews with producers and musicians, but his rants about music today are so tiring. Especially listening to the top 10 Spotify lists. It’s just a huge circle jerk in the comments about how shitty and dumb people are because they like pop music. There’s a TON of great modern music out there. Probably more than there ever has been because making music is more accessible than ever before (the horror!). Dig a little deeper than the top 10 songs on Spotify, Rick, and skip the low effort click-bait crap.

Reading many of the comments here it strikes me that a lot of people don't seem to know what "elitism" means, because if they did they wouldn't be accusing Beato of it. If you've ever been around a "classical snob" or a "jazz snob" that sort of thing is elitism, because such people think that their favored style is better than everyone else's. I see none of that in Beato -- he likes styles new and old, all across the board. There are some new styles he doesn't like...so what? I'll bet there are old ones he doesn't like too. Where's the elitism?