Welcome to Why Make Music.., a podcast where we dive into the world of creativity and inspiration,
Hosted by ThinkTimm.. we're broadcasting from the Planet Earth
Now without further ado, lets to think, to talk, and to explore…
Why Make Music...
Hey, hey, hey, hey,
Welcome, welcome to Why Make Music dot dot dot.
I'm your host, ThinkTimm. That's T-H-I-N-K-T-I-M-M.
For those who are just tuning in for the first time,
allow me to introduce myself.
I am what you may call a ThinkTimm.
I am a creator of sound, a musician of sorts,
a creative entity that loves and embraces
the beautiful thing called music.
Welcome to the podcast, Why Make Music dot dot dot.
It's the question, the answer, the solution to everything
that you hear, you feel, and create.
Welcome to episode twenty-four.
Now, what is so special about episode twenty-four?
Hmm. Could it be that it's one more than episode twenty-three?
One better than the great number twenty-three
is the number twenty-four.
Divisible by three, it would give you the number eight,
and you turn the number eight on its side,
and it is the symbol for infinity.
So, welcome. Today on Why Make Music...
we are going to talk.
We're going to chop it up a bit.
We are going to have a good old-fashioned therapy session.
We're going to dig into the minds of the things that baffle me
as a creator of music, a maker of sound, as a independent producer.
There are so many of us that we can never,
and we'll never get our shine unless we sell our soul to the devil,
meaning that we make compromises that will put us on top.
The reason I say compromise is because based upon the research,
there is so many independent projects existing that it is so hard
for a producer that's not attached to a label that's not attached to the right artist
that does not necessarily have the right visibility
that he or she may never get there just due.
When you're going into the thought of wanting to take your material public,
meaning that you want to share and distribute your music to the listening audience
that you want to make it accessible for anyone to download your music
without your curation of playing.
That's the risk you take. I say risk that you take because
there are so many great unknown creators that
where do we begin to even listen?
I know it seems as though I'm saying a lot,
but I'm being as real as I can. Realistically think about it.
I have goals. I have aspirations of greatness. I have aspirations of
creating a community where everybody knows my
music, they know my sound, and it's not like it was
say 20 years ago, 25 years ago, 30, 40, 50 years ago.
We have the internet. We are not selling music to a recreation center.
We are not selling music out of our trunks.
We are not DJing parties. We are not doing block parties.
We are playing to the internet that everybody with a connection
with a smartphone can access and the question I have
other than why make music dot dot dot
is what are you going to do to make yourself stand out?
What are you willing to play compromise?
What are you willing to do to get that opportunity to make you
better, more accessible, more appealing to the average
general listening audience?
Why do I say average general listening audience?
I chose those words purposely because
the average general listening audience doesn't listen.
They don't pick the music that they want to hear.
They pick and listen to the music, the artists, the videos
that are put in front of them on their smart devices.
They frequent the top 200, top 40, top 10, the countdown,
the list, the whatever's popping at the moment.
And is that proper?
It could be if
you're one of those people in that selected category.
Now, as a creator, the question is, do you want to be popular?
Do you want to be at that peak?
Are you working for that?
Or are you just doing what you do and you're trying to share?
Now, don't get me wrong.
I would not turn down anyone that would approach
ThinkTimm T-H-I-N-K-T-I-M-M with a deal and offer a split.
I've said it once before, 10% of nothing is nothing.
I am not greedy by any means, but I do realize
like playing any game, like making a goal,
like scoring a point, like winning the lottery,
winning at bingo, like getting a participation
award.
We need motivation.
My motivation is to crack, crack the code,
to take a unknown order.
I'm not young, I am old.
I am over the hill.
I am past my prime.
I could be having a midlife crisis as
I speak to you currently, but I'm not.
I'm just being honest.
I'm being me, because that's all I can be.
I make music, because that's what I do.
Now, would I say that the music that I'm making
is unnecessary?
Am I saying that the music I make is not
worthy of being shared?
No, by no means am I implying anything of the sort.
What I'm saying is that to put your
music onto the internet, on streaming platforms,
on social media, on YouTube to be shared,
to sit down and be 24 episodes into a podcast
that is not cracking the top 1,000 podcasts
that may not be talking to anyone but myself.
It is part of the game that I want to play
to somehow grow organically and deliver a sound
of music that I created to people to listen to,
because I originally wanted to, when I was younger,
make music not knowing that this was a viable income,
because it was so hard to share music with people
you did not know.
I say people that you didn't know,
because there was not an internet,
there was not, excuse me, there was not a easy upload
to create an avenue for your music to be heard.
To even be recorded properly, it took money,
not money to buy equipment, money to, excuse me,
to go into a studio and pay by the hour,
to at times come up with an idea,
to master a sound. What we're doing here
with technology has simplified, it has evened
the playing field, it has made it so much easier,
so easy
that thousands of people do it daily.
I say that again, thousands of people make music daily,
but what are their intent?
Me, I tell you, I'll say, my goal
is not to be a household name.
The music industry is a multi-billion dollar industry,
meaning the names you know, the people you like,
the reason that the average general music listener
listens to music is because
they hear what the music industry
puts out for them to hear.
They see what the music industry
wants them to see.
Now is that a good thing?
It could be, obviously it is, because
a few weeks ago, I'm sure we all knew and heard of
the person that did a show at a major sporting event
months ago during Christmas holidays,
another well-named performer
performed at another sporting event.
If that person was equally talented,
but not known, would you have watched?
There is a system in place that allows
familiarity to become the normal accepted route to take.
What if you don't want to be that?
What if you are just wanting to make music?
Why did the majority, and I mean all,
of the nominees for best new artists
at the 2025 Grammy Awards
all have an average of years in the business
of at least six or seven years?
I do believe the minimum years out
has been three. The maximum years in existence
in this machine called music business
was 13 or 14. One artist literally
was on their fifth album, nominated for
best new artist.
Did that artist deserve to be nominated?
Yes, because the record music business
just accepted her currently.
Another young lady was quoted in Rolling Stone
this week to say,
I'm paraphrasing, but
I've been doing this. Where were you?
You are just catching up to what I've been doing.
Do you understand the work ethic that these artists,
these creatives put in to get to that
mountain top?
Work, time, effort put into it
when no one's watching, when no one
is listening. They are working.
We are working. We are putting together
material with no audience to listen to.
The music that we create, does that mean we're crazy?
No, that just means that we love what we do.
Do you understand when was the last time
you as an average music listener
did something forever, for a long time,
that had no promise of an immediate payoff,
or no promise of any payoff?
Do you know what it takes to write a song,
put it together, make it sound as perfect
as you wanted, and not have an avenue,
an expectation, a map, a roadway, a path
for it to travel? But yet you work that hard
because it is self-satisfying.
It is self-fulfilling.
I say that because I understand
that journey. I understand that work.
You have to love what you're doing,
what you're creating in order to do it.
I have a vast catalog of material.
I literally, within arm's reach, have
cassette tapes dated 1998,
dated 1992. I was not famous.
I was not anything other than a
creative person wanting to make,
wanting to share my music,
my creativity with my friends around me.
Have you ever played a sport?
Have you ever played basketball?
Do you know the time it takes to
become great and good enough
to compete in the NBA?
Under 5,000 professional basketball players
have played in the National Basketball Association.
Everyone on a team is the best from where
they come from.
From the number one player to the 12th man,
to the D. Lee, to the G. Lee,
to the college recruit,
they have worked and sacrificed
to have the opportunity
to play on the biggest stage ever.
Why am I segueing to basketball?
Because this is episode 24.
Do you understand the significance
of the number 24?
One of the greatest players with the greatest
work ethic, war number 24.
Do you understand what it's like
to work hard, to work harder,
to outwork, to become legendary?
And if it didn't work, would the work
the person put in stop?
That's the question you must ask yourself
when you're putting in that work.
Are you prepared for the outcome?
Are you prepared for
the time that you must show and prove
that you are better, that you deserve to be
where you are?
That's Why Make Music dot dot dot.
That is the reason, that is the answer,
that is the passion that if you ask
any person that does something that they
love to do, why they do it, they will
tell you, yeah, it would be nice
to win a award, it would be nice
to be compensated, but I do
this anyway. This is what I do
because this is who I am.
This weekend was NBA All-Star weekend.
This weekend a young man
won the slam dunk contest
for the third year in a row.
He has a two-way deal.
What does that mean? That means that he
does not even hold a guaranteed spot
on a major
NBA team.
His salary is
five hundred and some odd thousand
dollars a year.
What's your salary?
You would not be able to name
this young man unless
you were not the average
general watcher of basketball.
Do you understand
what it is to work
hard? Do you understand the point that I
am making?
You must do
what you do
and you must do it
because it's something that you want to do.
It is something that you want to
personally achieve.
Something that you find as
a point of satisfaction that no one
can outwork you. No one
can outdo you and no one should have
to usher you in through the door to
make you complete your goal.
That's why I make music. That's why
I want to make any type of
financial gain from this because it is
here. It's like finding a treasure chest.
It's like finding a
old book. Music tells a story. Music
transcends time culture. It is a
mental exercise. It is a stress reliever.
It is a workout partner. It is the sound
of life, liberty, love.
It is the sound of your thoughts.
It is everything that
ever should be can be
relayed and put to music.
Do you understand music notes? Transverse
the universe. Music notes is akin to
physics, mathematics, reading,
literary, literally
everything, literature,
life, science, history.
When people marched into battle
they played music. When people won
battles they played music. When people die
they play music. Long after you're gone
they will play your music
and praise you for being you.