Welcome to Why Make Music… a podcast where we dive into the world of creativity and inspiration,
hosted by ThinkTimm. We're broadcasting from Planet Earth now, without further ado, let's embark on a journey to think,
Why Make Music… Welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome, welcome to Why Make Misic…
Yo, we're back, it's 2025, this is episode 18, fresh for 2025. I'm your host, ThinkTimm, and I am here.
With the podcast, Why Make Music… Why Make Music… Is a podcast that's made for the creative mind,
and for I ThinkTimm T-H-I-N-K-T-I-M-M, welcome, welcome, welcome.
Let me start by telling you that this is what we do. We ask the great question of Why Make Music…
It's a statement, a question, and something that should be asked to everyone who creates.
Once again, let me begin by telling you that I am not affiliated with any, any official label,
no official sponsor. This is just something I do out of my home as a independent creator.
If you're new to the podcast, I have been doing this for a few months, and I've touched on the creative process.
I spoke about social media, trying to market independently without breaking your bank,
without spending money, without trying to sell yourself out. My background, I'm a hobbyist musician.
I've lived my life already, and now I am full-fledged into my creative stage.
By my creative stage, I mean that basically this is all I do. I spend my time with my family.
I spend my time making music and other creative things.
But this episode is going to dive into something that I came across on YouTube, and I thought it was something worth talking about.
I've come across a situation where a lot of creative producers are talking about, I guess,
ageism when it comes to music production. I say that because they're saying that producers over a certain age just stop making music,
just stop making beats, stop trying to get their soul beats there, R&B beats.
That's ridiculous. How can you tell someone to not be creative? Now I do understand completely that everyone should move forward
and keep all genres of music growing. But with that being said, I'm kind of thinking that maybe
it might just be a hip-hop thing. I say that because only in hip-hop are we concerned.
We're concerned with this age thing. Like, the younger is the better. I don't understand. I don't get it.
So, there's no shame in my game, so I'm going to keep it real. Keep it real. I'm older. I'm an older guy. 50.
Am I concerned about what's going on in music around me? I am.
I listen to what's going on, and I have a great deal of respect for all the young producers that are out there making music
and making beats and changing the dynamic of how music is put out in the style that they're using.
And it's growing the music. It's growing the sound, and it's trickling into other facets of music.
Now, I don't know if videos that I saw where people were saying that it's a young man's game is relevant.
I say that only because it's common sense that with age comes experience.
With age comes the growing knowledge of life.
Now, don't get me wrong by any means, because these younger producers are hot. They are doing things that are amazing.
They are selling and musing music, and it's great. But I don't think they're the ones.
I do believe that we live in a society where we tend to eat our own.
And what do I mean by that is we as creatives always tend to somehow want to pull each other down.
This is not Highlander. There can be more than one. There has to be more than one.
I say that because if only one person, one producer, one style is allowed to take the top spot,
everything will sound the same.
Just for example, we long for our great producers like Dr. Dre, Dj Khalid , Swiss Beatz, Timbaland, Rockwilder,
hip hop producers Hank Shockley, Teddy Riley, Kwame.
We have producers that are of phenomenal skill that age.
Why do we want to even have a conversation about isolating the great minds that have come before
in lieu of the new talent that is coming in? Whatever happened to the master apprentice relationship?
Whatever happened to... Oh, I can learn from the past.
Now, don't get me wrong. Can you imagine right now in 2025 cutting reel to reel tape and editing that way?
No, we don't have to. We have technology. We are no longer recording by means of analog recording.
The average person can have basically a home studio that's equivalent to having what was one of the better
or if not the best or greatest studio in the 80s or 90s or the 2000s on their laptop.
It's amazing. So why can't all producers just support each other?
That's a good question. The reason why I ask that, the reason why I say that is...
Why Make Music…That's it.
Earlier in our earlier episode, I went over all of the numbers, the stats of Spotify, Apple Music, all the streaming platforms.
And it was a ridiculous, unbelievable amount of music that is released daily.
Over a hundred thousand songs are released via the internet, via independent distribution into the world.
I'm sure some of these producers are teenagers. Some of these producers are senior citizens.
How can you put a limit, a time limit on creativity?
I'm not just saying this because of my age. I'm saying this because my love for making music
is greater now that I'm older than it was when I was a teen, when I was in my 20s,
when I was out playing with bands, when I was trying to get music heard before the internet,
before you could post. I remember being in a studio with a gentleman from Philadelphia
working on an Apple Square box computer and having a conversation.
This was in 1992 about what we're doing today about putting music on the internet,
about making a song, releasing it and remixing it and re-releasing it the same day to the masses.
It seemed amazing at that time because the internet was a baby.
Now we're living full-fledged in it and I can make better music at home than paying.
You folks have no idea going to a recording studio and paying by the hour
and trying to create as your bill ran up.
Not unless you had some type of deal, some type of manager that was covering the bill.
Did you feel comfortable where the money wasn't coming out of your pockets?
Now think for under $2,000. Let's just say $2,000.
Laptop, PC, Apple desktop. You have the new Apple Mini 4 with the new processor based model 599.
Logic Pro, Ableton, FL Studios, Reason. Starting price under $200.
A MIDI controller, a decent mic and you're off to the races.
Why Make Music… dot dot dot? Tell me, why would you not make music?
Why would you not be creative? Especially if it's something you always did.
Don't get me wrong.
I still get down on the bass, the guitar, keyboards, but it's so much easier with the technology we have.
Why would I stop just because I'm older? Do you hear the music in the background?
That's my music. Things that I've done in my home without conversation with other people, without having to debate or to discuss or pay money out the behind to record it.
It's me. I will do this forever.
And I think it's so crazy to have a conversation asking why would you make music as you've gotten older?
Crazy, crazy. I don't get it. Why would you stop making music only because you're older?
Now, playing devil's advocate. Now, is it wrong to stifle a young person's creativity?
Because as a older producer, you don't necessarily do or create the sounds that are going on currently.
But that's music. Music is just that. It comes in all genres. It comes in all styles.
You, anyone can create a song, a piece of music that sounds like the future, the past, the present.
It should be a situation where the conversations even had that an older producer should stop.
I don't think you, meaning the average listener, if you don't understand how everything works, everyone learns from somebody.
Everybody learns from someone else.
Now, the question is, do you give that person the credit? Does that person come from the background into the forefront and take their bow?
Example, nothing to take away from.
Who do you people consider to be, I guess, the reigning genius of all creative music that will drop the world if they release something?
Kanye West, he's very innovative. He's very creative.
But working with Kanye West is Mike Dean. Now, do you know who Mike Dean is? Mike Dean is one of the architects for Southern hip hop music from Houston.
I do believe he worked with a lot of people back in the day, and now he is still a great producer.
But do you hear his name thrown around? I'm sure Mike Dean could leave the house, go to the market, live his life, do his things.
But he's making money, and he's older, and he's living his life, and he's teaching younger producers.
Timbaland had people underneath. Swizz Beatzpeople underneath that learn. Dr. Dre, Hank Shockley just like R&B producers.
Quincy Jones passed knowledge down.
When the great Quincy Jones passed away, no one said, oh, that dude was past his prime.
No, you have great rock groups, great pop producers. What's that guy? Bob Baccarat? Carole King.
Does that name even have a name? Carole King. Diane Warren. Writers that are still writing.
A couple years ago, we had the Grammy salute of the older artists, and it's great that they're still around.
The other day I was watching on social media, Sheila E was behind the drums at her church.
You understand, Sheila is 60 plus years old. You can't discriminate against creative people because of their age.
Now, was this something that was said just to possibly get a rise out of the listening audience?
Possibly. But my hands up. I don't know. I really don't know. Because I didn't take offense to it.
Because I do what I do and I'm not going to stop the knowledge I have. I pass it on to my children.
I share it with anyone I talk to. There is absolutely no shame in creating.
Just recently, I have put out tons of music. If you look below, there are one, two, three, four, five
projects that I've put out in the last six months. Each project has 26 tracks. That's 130 tracks.
I'm not going to stop making music because it's something I love to do. No other reason. It's like therapy.
It gives me a good feeling to be creative. I don't know what genre my music fits into.
I'm not all that concerned. If it wasn't for filling out paperwork, I could care less.
The only reason is because when you go to put your material on streaming platforms, they ask you for a genre.
I think it's music. I think all music is nothing but music. You listen to it. You love it. You hear it.
I tell you over and over again, ask someone Why Make Music….
It's the one question that will spawn the greatest conversation you will ever have,
especially if you care about music yourself. Seriously.
Think about it. 18 episodes ago, I decided to do a podcast about Why Make Music….
And here I am, months later, still finding interesting, extremely interesting reasons
to discuss Why Make Music…. It's crazy. Crazy, crazy, crazy.
Because I can't get enough of doing it. You understand? I'm not getting any younger.
I can't turn time back. I hear new songs every day, every single day.
And all it does is inspire me to do more. It inspires me to create, to share, to make music.
Think about it, people. Why do you do what you do?
Do you do it for yourself? Do you do it for money? Do you do it for fame?
I ain't gonna lie to you. If financially this will make my life a little better, my life's not bad.
But I'm not gonna turn away, because I know the commodity of music.
Because not everyone can do it, but those who can do, and we will, and we will do it forever.
We will never stop being creative. So once again, I wanna thank you for tuning in to why make music.
This is ThinkTimm T-H-I-N-K T-I-M-M.
And remember, be creative, be wild, and create. Don't ever stop. Don't ever stop.
Pick up all of my music, streaming on all social media. You know it's there. Demotional.
Beatanical, SuperLaBass, LoFication, and PeriHopic, you got it. More to come. Peace be wild.