Music vs. Marketing

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Just quite discouraged.

I wrote 13 songs in the past year since starting.
In that time another band in our music writing group wrote only 2.

I performed 9 of those 13, never playing anything exactly the same way twice. They always have at least a major remixing work done on them before replaying in another concert, and sometimes complete reinstrumentation.

In an ensemble I play with, one of the 13 songs was also played in a classical ensemble setting after I did an arrangement of that song for the ensemble.

In almost every single concert our music writing group plays in, my songs rank in either the top or 2nd most liked places based on audience feedback. That classical arrangement one also ranked #2 of all the musical pieces played in popularity, beating out some very famous tracks, even the Princess Mononoke theme (by Joe Hisaishi). There were even some people grumbling that a student was allowed to feature his own composition in a concert like this - that my lack of 'rank' as a composer made it almost as if the standard of the ensemble was reduced.

I ran for student conductor of the ensemble and was rejected, even though my tonal accuracy is second to none in the ensemble, and my rhythmic accuracy, while not perfect, is better than the current student conductor (he accelerated the ensemble to hell in the first concert he conducted us in, which pissed me off to no end). But I was never really very popular among the people, probably because I stick my head out too much. In countless songs, I had to make modifications to the original arrangements in consultation with the resident conductor, because the original arrangements were wrong - the notes didn't belong in that key, for instance - and nobody else other than me could hear that they were wrong. But protesting against errors in the score doesn't exactly endear yourself to others, so I sacrifice personal popularity for the sake of the music, as it were.

However, the other band, who only played 2 songs, and played one of them 5 times for different concerts with zero modification, and which don't exactly get rave reviews much, is the one for which people turn up. They have, like, 10-20 supporters among them depending on concert. I usually have 2 - my parents.

I recently held a solo concert, in which nobody who promised to turn up turned up. Though people I didn't know at the venue stopped to listen for half an hour before their lunch period ended and they had to leave mid-concert.

I've multiple sources of information all pointing to the theory that my music is appreciated by people who listen to it. However, I don't have popularity, exposure or people who invite me to play for gigs. It seems like the social element is largely missing, and it is that element that actually governs exposure, not the quality of your music.

Should I just give up inviting people to come for gigs, and just focus on projecting all my efforts into reaching complete strangers? Since it seems, after all, that complete strangers support me exponentially more than the jokers who call themselves my friends do. It seems more like my 'friends' only want my support, and never give any of their own in exchange.

Previously, a musical composition tutor encouraged me to write for the music's sake and not for the audience, because you can't control their response. But it seems to me that perhaps, I won't be making waves any time soon. I'm not sure if it's because I have ASD, or because the people I know are ASDF - anti-social dumb f***s.

Just ranting, in a way. I suppose you can imagine the feeling when you finally get a concert in which you can play solo, nobody shows up, and you realise that actually, nobody loves you.

See if you can record some tracks and post those online and build up a following there. If your music if good and you can get someone to listen to it you should be able to build up a following even if you aren't popular.

The internet is killing the music industry. most traditional bands wont survive unless, the masses suck it down. Like some pop band
I think this is why most albums get pulled off youtube, (the labels dont want you to listen to the record for free) They want you to pay for it

You don't know what you are talking about. It's not killing the music industry, just the recording industry. Bands are going anywhere as the Internet hasn't been killing them anymore than the recording industry already was, and here is why. Bands exist to play live, not to be recorded. That niche still exists. If the recording industry hasn't killed it the internet won't. All that's changing is how recordings are being distributed.

I would love to hear some of your music, it sounds like it's my style

While it might be extra publicity to link it, I'd like to keep my Wrong Planet account separate from the rest of my online presence. No anti-discrimination laws here, so I'd rather not be linked so explicitly to my real identity, or things might get very bad for me very fast.

And my music and all that is linked directly to my real identity. =P

The internet may be killing the production side of the equation, but it and computers are the only reason why I can exist as I do in the first place. In a place where the industry either doesn't exist, or in this case is hostile to new bands, it's only because of the internet that I could get any exposure at all. I'm looking at working with independent game designers to produce soundtracks for their games at the moment, in addition to the limited exposure I can get via the Twitter/Facebook/Youtube/Soundcloud channels.

It isn't looking good though. Looking into moving to Japan soon. Writing music in Singapore looks like a sure way to starve to death.