Travis Dykes Reveals His YouTube Growth Strategy | Bass Player

Meet Travis Dykes, musician and YouTube creator, as he breaks down his journey from being a bass player to building a presence on YouTube, what actually goes into growing as a music creator, and how consistency, positioning, and content strategy play a role in long-term success.

If you’ve ever wondered how musicians can grow on YouTube, whether it’s possible to turn music content into a real opportunity, or what separates creators who gain traction from those who stay stuck, this conversation dives into the reality of building in a competitive niche.

In this episode, Travis shares how he approached content early on, what changed as he started gaining momentum, and the challenges that come with trying to stand out as a musician online. We talk about the balance between creativity and strategy, how to think about your audience, and what actually drives growth beyond just posting consistently.

We also break down what it looks like to evolve from just uploading videos to building something more intentional, including how editing, structure, and retention play a role in performance. From content direction to execution, this conversation gives a real look at the process behind growing a channel in the music space.

We also discuss the mindset shifts required to stay consistent, how creators can avoid common mistakes early on, and what musicians need to understand if they want to treat YouTube as more than just a place to upload performances.

Travis Dykes is a bass player and content creator focused on sharing his musical journey while building a growing presence on YouTube.

Whether you’re a musician, creator, or looking to grow a channel in a competitive niche, this episode is for you.

Learn more about Travis:
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TDykes-227018020695843/timeline
Instagram: https://instagram.com/tdykes
Twitter: https://twitter.com/TravisDykesJr

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Most people think success in music comes down to talent alone. Travis shows there's a completely different approach behind it. In this episode, he breaks down how he turned his experience as a professional musician into a content-driven business. What actually makes music content perform online today, and how creators in the music space can build an audience and turn it into real opportunities. Travis, thank you so much for joining us today. And just like the first question that I usually like asking is just like, I ask my guests to introduce themselves. So just who are you? What do you do? Pretty much.

SPEAKER_01 0:36

So my name is Travis Dykes. I am a musician, been a professional musician for um over a decade. And I'm also a YouTuber, which is always so weird for me to say, but I'm a YouTuber. And uh I'm based out in Nashville, Tennessee, in the US.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Awesome. At what point did you feel like you were not just a musician, but you were also a content creator? Was there a moment and were you aware that you were gonna become a content creator when you started doing this?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

You know, honestly, not really. Um, it really started when I was a kid, I used to always act like um I was like uh doing things on TV, cooking on TV, because I my mom cooks and that's like her passion. And so back when I was a kid, I would used to, I used to act like I was on like a cooking show. When I was cooking with my mom, I'd be like, and then we're gonna put this in there, you know, or whatever. And that was kind of like my um kind of me acting. I like content wasn't really a big thing when I was growing up. Like YouTube wasn't a thing, um, social media and stuff wasn't a thing. And so for me, it was just like acting like I was like one of these cooking show, you know, people, like chefs on a cooking show. And so that was kind of like my um beginning part of like I guess at the time I didn't realize it was content creator or what that would be, that term wasn't a thing. But it was like me dabbling into, oh, you know, this is kind of fun to act like I'm on camera, you know, like and things like that. But then what happened over the years is that you know, obviously YouTube became a thing, social media became a thing, and um I remember I was watching uh YouTube, YouTube was didn't have a ton of videos and things like that, and I saw somebody post something like beast clips and you know music clips, and I was like, huh, I could actually learn stuff on here. And so like I was like, oh, this is so cool, this is so cool. And so I start searching things or whatever. It wasn't a ton on YouTube at the time, but then I was like, you know what? I think I may have an idea of something I could, you know, post, like, or you know, some kind of you know, help with somebody. Because really, when I started my channel, the whole point of it was to help um bass players who uh were in like kind of the gospel world. Um, and it wasn't like that I felt like I knew anything, but it was like something that helped me. Like it was like concepts and things. I was like, man, this helped me. Maybe somebody else would, you know, like this or understand this, or it may help them. And so that was when I first posted on YouTube, that was kind of where it started. It was like, man, maybe if I showed somebody else this concept, they could get something just like I did from it. And so that was kind of like the genesis or the the beginning of the whole you know content creator thing. And now, you know, it's a big part of my whole life now.

SPEAKER_00 3:33

Were you aware that you could make money back then, or was it something that happened later on?

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Honestly, no, not even a clue. It was just fun for me. I was just like, oh man, I could throw you know videos out here, you know, whatever. Like it was I hate to say it. I know everybody has all these crazy strategies and stuff of like growing channels and all this kind of stuff. When I started, there that was not not even a thing. That wasn't that wasn't a thought in my mind. I remember somebody had asked me, um, there were because they YouTube was becoming a more popular thing. There's like, oh, you have a YouTube channel? How many subscribers do you have? I think I posted some videos. I I never kept you know up with my analytics, things like that. And um, I remember I looked on just looked on my page and I was like, oh, I look really quick, real brief, just like pulled it up and I was like, oh, I saw one and a two, and I was like, oh, I got 12 subscribers. Cool. That's awesome. And then um I went back a couple of days later and I looked, I was like, let me just go back to that page and see what you know had in there. I noticed that it wasn't a 12, it was 1.2k. And I was like, hold on, I have 1200 people who are watching my videos. And that was that was the moment where I was just like, hold on, people are watching this? You know, and so and then from then I found out like, oh, I need to turn on because I didn't realize you can make money with it, but something popped up and it was like, hey, sign up for the partner partnership program or whatever. And I was like, I don't know what this is, but okay. And I clicked it and I had money like in my like account and I was or like in my you know the estimate thing. And I was just like, Oh, can you make money from this? And that was like kind of my my thing of like, oh wow, okay, cool. And that was kind of what where I started with it.

SPEAKER_00 5:26

And how many subscribers were you able to do this full time? Do you remember?

SPEAKER_01 5:31

Ooh, really, honestly, um full time. I honestly don't feel like well, I guess, yeah, yeah. When I had about a hundred thousand subscribers, that was when um I really the commitment level went from like um this is a hobby to this is a career. Like I was like, okay, because for me, I I didn't want to call myself a YouTuber, and I didn't want to do all these things because I was like, ah, you know, it's not making enough money for me to really call myself that. But then when I hit 100,000, it wasn't not like necessarily that the money just went crazy or anything like that. Um, but it was it was enough to where it's like, okay, I could start saying no to some other things, like in my life. And and it's not even like because most uh I've noticed most people who really can make a full-time, full-time living on YouTube is like about, I think around a half a million subscribers. It just depends on the niche or industry you're in, because sometimes your CPM rate or RPM could be like super high in a niche. I know people who are like under six, you know, figure subscribers and they make over six figures, you know, in the finances, which is not for me, the music niche isn't that, you know, exactly. But around 100,000 is where I was like, 100,000 subscribers is where I was like, you know what? I think I can really you know make a living doing this. And that was the time um I just pretty much committed, and now it's I've started developing revenue streams from different sources and things like that. And it's not just AdSense, because I think some people think, oh, it's just AdSense that pays, you know, you to be able to do this. No, it's a lot of things that you build outside of it. So, but yeah, that's about probably around 100,000.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

In the music industry, what are the opportunities on social media to make money? Is it sponsorship? Because I know you just mentioned it's not only AdSense. What are if there's anyone watching and they actually want to get into this and they want to do music on YouTube, how can they make money?

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Honestly, there is a lot of niches. Like it depends on what you are known for on in content, you know, on your content. Some people are known as a personality. I know a lot of people who are um great on camera, they're hilarious. You could put it doesn't titles and thumbnails don't even make the as big of a difference to them as far as like um capturing people as much as they're just their personality. Like, there's a musician I I um I watch, and literally his thumbnails are like, eh, but his personality is crazy. And so it's like so much fun. You want to watch all of it's kind of the Emma Tra Emma Chamberlain type thing where she's like, she's like, I'm making food today, you know, and that's the title. And it's like, what? Um it it depends. This is the way I think about monetizing is um is like what is the thing that you're known for? Like for me, it was education. I was educating people on um bass and music and things like that, and I'm still educating people. And so with that, I have a little bit more of authority in my niche. You know, I have a little bit more of like a um, especially with bass and things like that, people will listen to my recommendations if I say, hey, this is the best bass under $500, or this is the best, whatever. And so the way that you can do that in my case is like um by thinking about um, okay, maybe I can make some money by recommending things that I truly like. So like affiliate links, affiliate links and affiliate marketing is one way that I make money because I can because then of course it has to be stuff that I actually like, you know. I'm not gonna just, you know, people are just not gonna just you know reach out to me and I'm just gonna say yes. But that is a huge part of the monetization process of like, you know, educators. It's like, hey, I'm gonna make recommend this book. And you know, when they click that link, whatever purchase they make, you get a little commission from it. That is a huge one. And then um another one that for musicians as well, that that like specifically for musicians is like presets and like effects packages and things like that. So when I say that, it's like um there's like pedals and things like that that are digital that you can create your own effects for, like your own like preset where it's like a certain effect that you use that you've really spent time to dial in that you use or whatever. And you can sell that, and that is a great way, especially if you're somebody who performs a lot, or if somebody um who people really like your playing of, which for me, um one of my biggest videos, I think it's still my biggest video on my channel, is me playing uh a bass cover. And so for most of my channel, a lot of my channel I have a lot of videos that are uh bass covers that um that people will watch for the performance aspect. And so when you have something that's performance aspect, then presets and things like that, that's a great way of monetizing. If it's education, affiliate marketing is a great way. Um and so it's finding for musicians, it's finding the the things that you're good at and finding the things that people follow you for, and finding a way to uh monetize uh kind of what are already the content is leading them to, you know, with education, it's leading them to want to ask you for advice or for recommendations, but if and also for performance, it's asking you to, oh, I want to sound like him. And so how can I sound like him? Oh, presets, you know, things like that, tracks, ways that you could practice, you know, that and that's how you start to think about ways, at least for me, the ways you monetize um what you're doing, you know.

SPEAKER_00 11:25

Is there like any specific moment for you that things changed completely like overnight? Like one video that you posted and you woke up and then everything was different for you on social media.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

Let me see. There was a video, I'm trying to think, uh, I think it may have been my yeah, that so the video I just talked about. Um, there's a video where I did a base cover of a song called uh Love Theory by Kirk Franklin. And biggest, I think it has like over three million views right now. Um and it's just like I it was weird. The whole story of this video was just so crazy. Um, everybody when the song came out, I was around the song when the song came out, um, and everybody who was a bass player or musician was covering the song, like literally, everybody was covering the song, and so like the best bass players out there and all this kind of stuff, and I was just like, oh my gosh, this is so intimidating to try to do it. But it was such a fun song, it was so open and things like that. And so I was like, oh man, I really want to do a cover of this, but I'm really, really nervous and intimidated because there's so many people killing this, and so um what I decided, and I was just like, you know what, I'm just gonna sit on it, sit on it. And so it gotten to that point where the song wasn't really even new anymore, and everybody's done covers, and I was like, you know what? I need some content, let me just do this. This just seems fun. And so I sat down and I just kind of like started uh fiddling with it, you know, just kind of playing through. And I was like, okay, cool. I think I I'm just gonna play this like if I recorded the bass on it. And so that was kind of like my mindset. I was like, okay, if I record the bass on this, this is what I'll play. Literally sat down, and most times when I do bass covers, it's multiple takes, it's like maybe six takes or seven takes, whatever. Um, because I just like I'm really meticulous and I want things to be perfect, you know. I play I that for that song, I sat down and on the first take, I was like, huh. I think I got it. And that was literally the first take is what I posted. Uh and and that video took off. And I remember I I was I was looking at it, and it was one of those things too, where it's like it was when the copyright stuff of YouTube and stuff was like starting to to come up. And so I it was monetized for like maybe like uh an hour or two hours, and then and then got you know copyright, you know, infringement because I was playing like the original track or whatever. And so I never never actually made any money on this song, or not a song, but uh on this cover. Yeah, but but I remember that video did man, I think I had it was the first time I it was I was it was before I had uh 100,000 subscribers, and so like I think that video hit like 50,000 views in like a day, and I was just like, what is going on? And I remember looking at my analytics and I was just like, why am I getting so many subscribers? I remember from that video, I think I probably got 40 or 50,000 subscribers from that video, like from that video alone, which is just to me, is just so at the time it's like so so wild for one video. And the reason I knew that is because I wasn't getting those subscribers before that video. And I was also looking through some of the back end of the uh the analytics and stuff, but yeah, that was the video that over time I'm still getting people who do covers of that video, which is so wild to me. Because now I don't even look the same. That was like a hundred pounds heavier, and I don't even live in the same place anymore. And so, yeah, that that was a video that really was like a very impactful video.

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Like, whenever we're talking about creating content, it's just so easy getting into like this algorithm and being obsessed with all of this. Like, whenever you're creating some sort of cover or just like any content that you create, uh, do you see yourself more as a content creator or as a musician? And how easy is it for you to get lost between those two things?

SPEAKER_01 15:52

That is a great question. And I think this is where um it has been something for, I don't want to say struggle for me, but something that has been a uh a huge thing in my mind as I'm creating content. Um for me, I'm a musician first. I'm a musician, like professional musician, traveling, touring studio first, and then I am a content creator. Um, because I think sometimes people can be like, oh, this is just the circle I'm in right now, but I don't consider myself a musician first. Now, I will say I the reason why I will say I'm I definitely am a content creator is because I really enjoy making videos. I know a lot of my friends who are uh musicians and do the professional thing, they feel like they just have to make content to get more opportunities in music. For me, I genuinely just love making videos. And so that helps me to kind of like stay encouraged, stay, you know, doing it, even when it gets tough. But um the balance of that for me is like who is who is watching me? Like musicians are watching me, professionals are watching me. It's crazy now, like when I travel, I almost every time I go somewhere with an artist, the people like all the other artists is like musicians know my channel because the niche and the audience that I'm that I'm attracting are ones that um who are actual musicians. They're they're ones that are that like they respect me in that way. And so because of that, I have to like that's the reason why for me I can't let go of the musician side because I love music. Music is my first love when it comes to you know art and things like that. But that's the reason why I you can't let go, I can't let go of that. And that's music's always gonna be there. Um, but having the balance between the two is is very um, it's something that I think every creator who wants to get into music has to think about. Because if you become a creator, the the issue is for me, is like if I become a creator first, then the music suffers. You know, it then what starts to happen is that I I started off as just a professional musician first and then creating creating from that. And so that's the reason why with lesson videos, things like that, uh, when I teach bass or teach music, these are things that I've learned and things that I do currently, um, versus like, oh, this is a concept I heard of, which I think there's people who are like professors or theorists, I would say, where there's like, oh, this is the theory, here are theories, but I don't use any of these because I don't play. That's not that's something that I always try to be be aware of and not, you know, um make my content and make my you know personality because I want people to realize or you know, see me as a musician, as an artist first. And then the content is created from being an artist. You know, it's like, okay, I'm going on tour with this artist and I'm doing doing this thing, you know, I'm going whatever. I'm just giving you a peek in my life versus like I'm creating something to be entertaining, you know. Which I I mean, some of my current series, I'm creating something to be entertaining, but I'm it's coming from a place of um, I'm a musician, professional musician first. And that's always kind of been like you can see it throughout a lot of my content, like beginner versus pro or um guest the pro musician, things like that, because this is the stuff that I'm connected to. So I think having a balance between that is important for anybody who's wanting to be a uh uh a music creator, and so understanding that because I think some people think um it's like I need to be a content creator first and then a musician second, but it really is dependent on how you want people to see you, how you want your reputation to be in the future, because sometimes you can lose respect if you if you go all in creator and negate the music side of it.

SPEAKER_00 19:56

Yeah. For you, like what was the biggest opportunity that showed up in your career after you started posting on YouTube?

SPEAKER_01 20:06

Ooh, in my career, I guess with music or just like with music, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:11

Like how how YouTube helped you with your music career? Like, what was the biggest thing that happened that you're so thankful for?

SPEAKER_01 20:20

You know, it gave me in music, it gave me a little bit more of a respectable name. Uh, because sometimes things are hearsay, you know, when it comes to doing music in a in in the music industry, it's like, oh, well, this person play for this person, this person, this person, this person. And it's like, oh, cool, they have names under their belt, but I don't really know if they're actually good. You know, like just because you've played with a whole bunch of people doesn't necessarily mean you're actually a good musician, good good hang, you know, whatever. Yeah. And I think what giving a sneak peek into my life and kind of being a little bit more transparent is giving respect in the way and giving me opportunities from people that they were just like, oh man, you know, I think I could trust this guy because I see the way he is, just like with this content through this content. And so I've had uh a few opportunities from like people reached out to me on my website or on Instagram um asking me to play with them or sub in for you know whatever artists it is, and it was Grammy award-winning artists, like huge artists like that I was able to I've been able to play with because they've seen my content, they saw my content. I remember this uh guy reached out to me and he was just like, Hey man, I've been following you for years, and dude, I would love to get you to play with us with um uh there's a there's a group called the Gaither Vocal Band, which they're like a huge um southern gospel, like it's a little niche, it's a little niche, but they've they've won like multiple Grammys, tons of Grammys and stuff, and they Wanted me to come play on a recording that was like a it was like a video shoot but recording um thing for them and it was like what I didn't know anybody in this crew I didn't know anybody like and it was based off of the content that was that I I've been creating over the years and so that's you know this is the the beauty of it um of being of doing these kind of things is like and also it could I kind of also could be the scary thing of it is like people can know who you really are a little bit you know um which I mean some people put on a face but anybody who knows me or met me in person knows that like what I am on camera is literally what I am in person so what is what is that experience like for you like when people come up to you and people know who you are like how do you do you deal with this parasocial relationship you know honestly some people have a hard time with it and I mean I'm uh let me just preface this I am no celebrity like I'm not like as soon as I leave my house there's paparazzi everywhere like this is not not that at all but um but sometimes I I've gotten to the point now when I go into like a music specific location like music uh music store like guitar center or something like that almost every time I go into a music store I'm nip I'm recognized or if I go into on on tour or anything somebody recognizes me from YouTube just about every single time now um but what I I honestly I've learned and I think I've just learned from people that I know who because I've played behind a lot of celebrities like musicians and things like that and um seeing them and how they handle fame and how handle this the parasocial relationship of it uh has helped me to understand like okay you know this is a part of this do you truly want this you know because I think sometimes people get especially in YouTube they're like oh yeah I'm just doing this to make a living because I don't know what else to do and then they don't realize hey when you do this actually you're gonna have people kind of like know things a little bit about you you know or like want to take a picture with you a lot in public and things like that. And so for me I enjoy it um because I know what comes with this. And I think sometimes people are like oh my gosh why don't take a picture with me whatever but I realize with me I'm like okay this is I ask for this you know you know by putting myself out here I'm asking for this and I and I realize that so when people do come up to me sometimes I could be tired. I've had there's times where I've been in other countries and like I've been like super bombarded with a lot of people you know and things like that. But I realize that this is something like for them you know for me it's just a moment like I'm in that moment but for them it could be everything is like this the their only chance that they you know see somebody from YouTube in person. You know and so for me I I I'm very grateful for it. And so I try to you know not be that that person where it's just like no I don't want to take any pictures blah blah blah blah just because I just realize they're the reason that I'm even paying my bills right now. You know what I'm saying? You know so that's yeah I would say that that's the way I at least think about it. And so I enjoy when people you know come up to me in per in public.

SPEAKER_00 25:27

For you like what separates uh being a creator uh from um you know just like what I'm trying to say is let me try to rephrase this but um do you think most musicians actually misunderstand how content works and how much of it do you think should be personality too? Or do you think pure talent is enough?

SPEAKER_01 25:53

Like if you're good you go in front of the cameras you play the bass and then you're gonna do amazing you know what I I think talent is only a small piece there's too many people that I know who are in music especially who are so so so talented. I live in Nashville there's a you pretty much everybody in that like most people in Nashville have some kind of musical background because everybody lives here to you know have a career in music. Yeah um but the people who make it are not the people who are just talented there's so many talented people but it's the people who work hard and are diligent in their work. As far as like people who are musicians trying to create content um it really takes a lot more work ethic than I think musicians think. Like they because what they're really what they're trying to do is boost their their you know their career they're trying to get more opportunities to play on gigs, tours, sessions, all this kind of stuff. But then what happens if you're just doing it for that when those start to come your content career just go because that's not like because you're not being diligent in it you're just like oh man open a door cool like they open some doors okay cool but then what happens later if you're not careful and you're not you know working towards a bigger goal is that you start to lose opportunities or you're starting to want you to retire and things like that and you can't because you didn't keep this up you know you didn't keep and that was part of the reason why I started one of the reasons why I got serious about my channel is because I was like I am going to do music to the day I die. I love music it's my heart but I want to have the choice on what opportunities I take. You know what I'm saying? And so like for a lot of people who do music full time they have to um accept things based on just the money and not because of the you know I want to play this music I want to go in this thing or whatever. They're just having to say yes to it even though it may suck. You know what I'm saying? And so with me that's part of you know this idea and this whole thing of like I'm trying to give myself more time taking you know more more time to choose and not have a always have to have a yes season because I think sometimes people when you start on something you have a yes you have to have a yes season because people got to know who you are you've got a good experience. But then eventually if you're growing in the right direction it becomes goes from a yes season to a no season. And so for me what that that arc looks like is like okay I I've gotten to this point place where I've like I don't have to depend on every opportunity so I can start saying no to the things I don't want to do and yes to the things I do want to do. And so I think whenever um people are musicians they're trying to be content creators they don't think about the the future like that. They just think about the immediate in the now and uh and they don't think about how to how do I sustain this they think about oh how can I just blow this up as fast as I can I think that's a lot of people really because there's like how can I blow this up as fast as I can but they don't think about why why you know why why am I doing this? What is my goal in the future and so I definitely say if there is a um a thing that musicians could really I guess could help them to do better is um is to realize okay why am I doing this take a deeper think of like why am I doing this um why am I creating content and because then you won't be let down or you won't be you know like you won't you'll know what success looks like because I think sometimes success to people look different looks different. And so you have to determine that at the beginning and then create content from there.

SPEAKER_00 29:43

Have you noticed any difference in approaching this said success on different platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Instagram is it the same audience do you approach it the same way do you have a different uh expectation for each what is it the process what is the process like for you?

SPEAKER_01 30:04

So I think every platform has um different audiences or different content that works for that platform. For me I used to try to splice together things from well not even splice together really just take like little clips from YouTube and just put it on my social media and they would just it would be like oh man this killed on YouTube. And then so I put it on Instagram and it just flopped. It was like what what is going on? But in the way is what I started to notice is like if you are a user of the platform then you have you have an understanding of what is capturing to people and audiences. And so for me I think about myself as a you know on Instagram what what do I what content do I like on Instagram? What makes me stop? And so once I start to figure out okay what makes me stop on Instagram versus YouTube or versus Facebook or versus TikTok then it's just like huh okay this is the reason why this is too long but it needs to be instead of like for YouTube 30 seconds 25 20 to 30 seconds is what your intro you need to hook them in with that first 20 30 seconds. On Instagram it's the first three seconds you know I'm saying one to three seconds. And so knowing that change is like okay I can't I need to splice something that's going to capture them in the first second you know versus you know oh I've got to wait you know 10 20 30 seconds before I get you know to this place where it it's it's interesting. It's like no no no you got to capture them hook them in right there. And so for me that's kind of how um I approach it because my audience on on uh Instagram is a little different in that sense because now like my bass covers actually this is a great example my bass covers I used to do them on YouTube and you know do a whole little three four minute whatever the entire song is but once I started stopped or once I stopped doing bass covers on um uh YouTube what I started doing is taking just snippets of me playing songs and just put posting it on Instagram because people like that because then like because on Instagram when you're scrolling and you see like just a clip of the good part that's all people really want nowadays. They don't want the entire thing they don't want to hear you know oh wow how you got from the beginning to the song to the end song like that they could just be like just give me the part where you do the slap thing you know like and so I started noticing that audience on my Instagram was different than my audience on YouTube. My YouTube audience was like hey I want to sit down learn something be educated be entertained and then on Instagram is like ooh I want to be entertained in a way that's like um that's just the good parts I don't have to sit down and be here for a long period of time. I just want that and so I noticed on Instagram covers do way better than like snippets of covers at least do way better than on uh even YouTube and Facebook and certain things which Facebook actually is the same it's it kind of is very related same as uh Instagram in that way but but yeah I would say the audiences can be a little different because they they have a different uh avenue of the way they're getting their content.

SPEAKER_00 33:19

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SPEAKER_01 34:07

You know this is actually a great question whenever you know YouTube started long form content was like the only thing short form content wasn't a thing but really when you think about it um at least the way I think about it is that um long form content is this sounds so bad but like it's for the future long form content is something where it's a it's gonna last you a long time short form is going to last you a short time you know not not that you can't do like short form and have a great career with short form but for most people who are truly truly making a full-time living with short form they are the top top you know I'm saying like they are like making getting millions of views things like that and that be that's the way that they're able to continue. But eventually what happens with anybody who does short form is that they eventually go back to long form. They go to long form because if you unless you stay at the top the entire time it's going to be really hard for you to create a career in you know doing you know content. And so that's the reason why like okay long form to me is where I put you know most of my time and energy short form I do like focus a little bit of time. I think you do need to have a bit of both because you get a different set of audiences a different set of access um but I will if I if I had to choose the one you know one of the other to focus most of my time on it would be long form. And I'll tell you why you know that is as well is that you can not only do you have casual viewers and um people who watch but you have people who become fans okay because that's that's the thing is like short form content most times you see a lot of stuff and you're just like oh I like it a little bit you know I like it enough to watch it or whatever but I'm not really a fan. But whenever you put give people more time and more access to you you create more actual fans and and that's the thing is like I I've met people before and and they're just like man I've been watching your channel for years you've you've literally taught me how to play bass and I'm like oh my gosh that that's a that's a fan that's somebody who's dedicated that's someone who cares but then I meet people who watch me on Instagram they're just like they're like oh yeah I see your stuff on Instagram it's pretty cool. You know what I'm saying? Like like the difference there is like oh my gosh dude you've been a part of my my life for so long you know I I'm gonna whatever you put up there for me to buy I'm gonna buy it because I care you're giving me so much you know and I care about what you're doing. That's the reason why podcasts are so um great with conversion. Yeah um and that's that's the reason why like with um with long form versus short form it is is if you take the time to learn and really dive into long form that's going to be the thing that sustains you because even with let me give you actually some numbers so like even with the you know I told you with short form it takes millions of views and you know hundreds of thousands of views at least per post to kind of keep you you know getting a good amount of um sponsorship deals things like that and just things like because that's really the way you you you would make it on like short form um but with long form you could be in a niche you could be not have to get millions of views every video and still be able to have a sustainable income. You know and so that's the thing is that it those views are very different because you think about like TV and film the the ones that make the most money are you know the shows and the things that people are re-watching and rewatching. But those are the ones that you gain gain those followers like when I watch The Office or things like that and I rewatch it and rewatch it the that when you create content where per a person has more time with you and more you know they feel like you're a part of their life they're going to want to either buy something that you recommend or you know do something to kind of help you keep going. Now with short form you see there's so much of it now because it's so easy to do I don't feel I don't feel like there's a single short form creator where I'm like I will buy whatever you recommend. You know I I will you know if you release a product or merch I want to buy it. Like there's not a short form creator I personally know that I would do that for but there's long form creators that I've already bought stuff from like there's long like there's there's cooking creators and stuff because I my hobby's cooking I've bought their cookbook all this kind of stuff because I watch it on long form. And so the reason I say that is because a lot of people put a lot of stock in the short form and I think it's it's great to start get your confidence up I think like you know definitely getting yourself off the ground with creating content is great to start with short form but eventually if you put all your eggs in the short form basket you're gonna eventually be trying to um go to long form so I would just say start your with you know long form get it going even if you have short form as well put most of your time into creating long form content that people love and is there any content that you created that you were very passionate about but it didn't work at all it flopped and is there a content that you didn't like that much and it worked really well on social media does that happen often oof that yes that happens a lot honestly there I'm trying to think um well I'm trying to think the uh when I did base covers that was one of one thing that I used to love um to do a lot and it flopped like because the with the rise of short form short form kind of killed covers for me yeah and and also the copyright infringement thing because it used to be where you can share like the uh AdSense revenue that came in with that but now it's just like nothing you get zero you know and so it keeps the it kept the you know even though I love doing them and really have fun playing it was like I can't sustain this over a long period of time. And so that's the reason why the my cover series like when I started doing covers start to go downhill because it was like it's not worth it's not worth my time even though I love doing it. Now one that I that I kind of it was I liked it but I didn't really love I didn't really want to continue it was doing base reviews like or not even base reviews just gear reviews like straight up like gear reviews like hey I'm gonna read this manual and I'm gonna tell you what the exact hertz things are you know all these little details all this kind of stuff it it was cool and I did some videos that you know people still go back to you know they're they're evergreen type videos so people go back to them even years later um but those type videos I just really they were not my thing I didn't really on the on my end of it I didn't really like doing them because I just felt like it wasn't me you know because if I go to you know I definitely go to people when I'm looking up a product and trying to you know get feedback on something learn what something does but for me as a personal you know like is this something that you know makes me feel fulfilled and makes me feel like excited no it was like it was one of those things I did my first one and I was like man this is so much work and I don't I don't really care this much about all these details that don't matter to me. I only care about the things that are actually going to affect me when I get this product. And so that's the reason why now I create a series where if I review a product I use it in the moment and show you how I would use it versus giving you all the details about oh this is you could do this thing you could do this thing you could do that thing you know what I'm saying with it versus like this is how I would use it you know and so that's that's a whole nother thing with um with creating uh series that you want to do you know because sometimes the the audience will want something and you're like oh man it took me forever to do this and I really hated the process and it got views so I should people most people would think oh naturally I should do this I need to continue doing this but you also have to think about the longevity how how long can I do this? Is this gonna make me feel like I'm doing a nine to five job that I hate you know pushing buttons and data entry whatever type of job and it's making me not feel fulfilled you know I'm saying so that's that's something I I thought about and I think in most every creator needs to think about that when it comes to um finding series that worked well versus didn't work well is like finding that um that that kind of side where it's like okay does this fulfill me or is this just a drain to me?

SPEAKER_00 43:18

Are you always checking the analytics or are you mostly just like in stain 10 strategies?

SPEAKER_01 43:25

You know I do check my analytics I try not to go too deep a lot all the time now I do the reason why I have to check my analytics is because I have a a a little small team of people that help me uh with editing thumbnails producing um and the reason why I um I check analytics now is to make sure that we're improving you know it's not necessarily like every video has to be a 70% retention rate you know or anything like that but it's seeing where people where the dips are in the video okay what They start where most people stop watching, okay, is when I did this thing. Okay, maybe we try something different next time. Or, you know, what's my click-through rate? Is my thumbnail reaching, you know, other people in a wider audience? Is this series reaching in a wider audience? Actually, there's a video I just did. I started the series um last year. It's called uh Can You Guess? And basically, I bring in professional musicians to guess uh other professional musicians out of a lineup of five uh musicians that are like on a uh like in front of you. It's kind of like a game show type thing, like the judges and then the the contestants. But they uh I just did one with guitar. It was like, Can you guess the guitar player? Who in this in this lineup of five people is a professional guitar player versus just like a regular guitar player? And um, I remember I looked at my analytics, I've done the series. This is my third video in the series, and it's done well every time. All of them hit over 100,000 views, you know, whatever. But I um this week I was looking because I'm doing something that's outside of bass, and I was like, ooh, I don't know if the audience wants it, because this is just a little something I've learned with this is the audience actually is the person that approves your content. You know, that's you have to that's the reason why it's a big thing is like, okay, does the audience approve this? They are they gonna let me do it? They're they're pretty much your you know, your label or whatever, just like, can you do this or not? You know, and so whenever I put that video out, it it actually, I think it hasn't even been a week and it's already at 137,000 views. And and I was like, oh wow, and this was a guitar one, it wasn't bass. And I was like, okay, so this tells me that the audience wants this. And then also I looked on my analytics, talking about analytics, and it said, it said like a little thing of like, wow, this your video, this is this is appealing to a wider audience than your normal videos do. And so that told me a lot with um with just looking at analytics of like, oh, okay, this is um this series is reaching more than what I normally would reach. And so this is the reason why looking at analytics important, because now it's telling me this series is reaching more than just bass players, is reaching more than just my core audience. And so if I want to, you know, continue to get more impressions and more people watching my stuff that's not in my core audience or the new viewers, um, then I need to be looking at this series for that. And so that's the reason why when I look at uh analytics and stuff, it's for that type of you know, future looking at okay, how can we improve? Where is this content direct? Like, where what's the audience for this particular series or format and and things like that? So I'm I'm not like one of those people who's like, I'm looking at the analytics every single day. Yeah, um, but and I'll I'll say this to end this, but um, I don't think every creator and creators have to create this uh or um realize this about themselves is you have to give yourself breaks. You have to give yourself um lulls away from YouTube because you can get on your phone every single day, scroll through all the comments, scroll through all the comments, or you know, look at the analytics every single day and never have a break. I the way I approach you know having boundaries with um YouTube is that on the weekends I do not check anything for YouTube unless like I have to do something, somebody needs an approval for something. That's the only time, but I really try to keep hard boundaries when Friday night hits, I'm done. Next time I look at analytics would be on Monday if I need to. Yeah. Um because I think sometimes people are just like they have it on their phone and they're just like checking every day and it's just consuming them, consuming them. For me, I have to have a break from it because it it just it could be a weight more so than like you know, freeing to you.

SPEAKER_00 48:00

But if you were to give one advice to people to stand out in the music niche, what would that one advice be?

SPEAKER_01 48:07

There's a concept that I've been talking about for a while now, which is like your unfair advantage, you know, which is uh it's a book uh that uh some I can't remember the authors of it, but it's a great, great book talking about how everybody has their unfair advantage be based on like where they are, what they're doing. And if I was to say anything with music, there's somebody who's in music and they want to become a concert creator or they want to create more content, I think with this is think about what you have unique access to that not everybody has access to. For me, I live in Nashville, Tennessee. There is musicians, you could throw a rock and hit a musician, okay? There's Victor Wooten lives here in Nashville, like which is one of the best bass players in the world. Um he lives here in Nashville. So many incredible musicians are in Nashville, and so this is the and I have a lot of studios here, there's a lot of music stores here, there's a lot of access to concerts and things like that here. And and so for me, I'm thinking about okay, my unique advantage is that I live in Nashville. So how can I create content based on this unique advantage I have? You know, another thing is that I'm a professional musician, I travel and I tour and I do sessions, and so that's a unique thing that I have that not everybody has, you know, that I have this unique advantage of like, okay, I can I can show behind the scenes and stuff, but not everybody has those opportunities. And so I think finding uh what is it it that is uniquely unique to you, you know, in your life that you can exploit a little bit for your content can help you, you know, find what it is that you want to do because there's so much in music you can do, there's so much that everybody else is doing. Like, you know, you could just go online and just be like, oh, I'm just gonna copy this person. But honestly, the best way is like, okay, what am I uniquely doing right now in my life? Like, if if you let's say you're in a place that's not in Nashville, Tennessee, like I'm originally from Birmingham, Alabama, and so Alabama, the music scene there is nothing like Nashville at all. But that may be where a lot of people are, you know. And so, like, you could be like, you know, I'm in the music industry in Alabama, Birmingham, Alabama, you know, and be like, oh, cool. Um, this is me doing a gig on the weekend at this bar or venue or whatever. And that that could be your content because that's where you uniquely uniquely are. Because with with me, I'm gonna be on doing professional industry things, but for you, you may appeal to uh an audience that I don't have. You know, you may appeal to something that people who are just like, oh man, I could do that, or man, I could find a way to do that, you know, inspire and create that based off of where you what you're uniquely around and what you kind of have an advantage with.

SPEAKER_00 51:07

Is there anything that you would do differently if you were to start from zero?

SPEAKER_01 51:12

Yes, there would be one thing. Um, and I would focus I would focus more time on creating series than individual videos. Yeah. Um because I think at one time I was just trying to copy what's gonna go viral, you know, what's gonna be like this this, you know, what's gonna get a million views, or what's gonna, you know, get me the most views possible. But later after starting, I started to realize series is what is um is what has longevity and what converts fans and then what also um is what people are attracted to. Because when you look at a TV series or TV show or whatever, that show can be rewatched. People love it if you have such a good show, but bad shows or one-off videos, you don't really go back to most times. Yeah, you know, series you do, like The Office or Modern Family, or you know, all these different ones. I'm like, I'm watching that series multiple times over the years, you know. But for one video, one like uh a key and pill sketch or something, which Key and Pill, I mean they're they have the they're the best sketch, uh comedy sketch people, but I'm not going back to I'm not always going back to a key and pill sketch. I'm going back to a TV show series, you know what I'm saying? And so when it comes to what I would have done differently, I would have taken more time at the beginning and like really tried to hammer out and figure out what series that uh that people are wanting from me in on my channel sooner. Because now I've only in the past couple of years I've been really honing in on that. Um and so that would I feel like if I were to do that sooner, my channel would be like 10 times further than it is now. But but this, you know, it's it is that genesis of and that whole like um transformation of uh of a as a creator, you know, as well as like, okay, you do have to kind of make mistakes for you to actually realize the importance of it. So yeah, I would say that.

SPEAKER_00 53:20

I mean, and also like your name is your own business now, you're a business owner. So I know that the mindset of a business owner is really important for you. You have to always think about that side too. Um, how much of being like a business owner helped you in your career, like on YouTube? And what other things are you doing outside of YouTube that helps in your career? I know you probably like play some gigs and you're always in the studio, but other than that, like is there anything else that you're producing right now?

SPEAKER_01 53:56

Yeah, so first I'll I'll say this about um being a creator and just being business minded is that you are creating a business. Yeah. And I think people people really separate that or don't like um think about that, but you are creating a business if you are a content creator and you want to do this for a living. Because I'll tell you this if you're not if there's not gonna be any financial benefit for me um in the next, you know, whatever, in the future, then I'm probably uh I'm it's gonna be hard for me to continue to do this, you know. And so you have to be business-minded in this. It's like, okay, all right, when I because when I create series and stuff, I'm thinking about okay, what kind of products could I make from this? What kind of uh things could I could do to supplement outside of YouTube, outside of just like AdSense and things like that, because I want to be able to support my family, pay my bills. You know what I'm saying? From that. So business having a business mind is just part of this. And it's and it's okay if you want to do it for fun. That's totally fine too. Just don't have an expectation that it's going to like, you know, make sure it stays fun. You know, don't think about it like that. But if you want to create a career in this, this is a business. You have to think about it as such. Now, for me, when it comes to financially, like what I do, the things I produce outside of um uh of YouTube to kind of help financially things like that. You know, I know I do I'm a producer, so I record um and produce like music and things like that, help people release stuff, which I've kind of pulled back a little bit on that in recent future so I can put more time and effort towards YouTube. Um but a tour, I tour and I play on gigs and you know with uh artists, things like that. I have I do studio sessions. I do a I have a Patreon, a Patreon live bass class that I do monthly, and I sometimes put some extra content and things on Patreon just um for for people to kind of help them with uh uh bass playing and also just resources that can help them. Um and then I'm also a music director at my church as well. And so those are just some things I do outside of that, and then with YouTube, some things I produce outside of YouTube as well is I have products like tracks. Um I make like practice tracks and things like that um to help people to practice and be able to have something to play with and learn. Um I have a uh a book, a book that I uh a pr published book that uh with Hal Leonard. That's a bass book teaching people how to um uh learn how to play bass without a teacher.

SPEAKER_00 56:46

I'll read that.

SPEAKER_01 56:48

Yeah, yeah, literally. That that's uh that was um a really fun fun book to do because that's how I learned I learned bass without a teacher. And so that's that was uh me kind of putting that together and doing that. Um but yeah, those are just like some different aspects of that I do. And I think people if they want to create if y'all want to create a career out of this, um you have to think about how can I generate money not just from YouTube, but from other places outside of it, because YouTube is only one aspect. AdSense is only one aspect. Um AdSense is not really something I use necessarily to for to push my my my business per se, like I'm not that because that number is fluctuates so so much. Is like you can't there's times where I've like, man, I've got five thousand dollars in AdSense, and then the next month it's like a thousand. It's like what you know, like and so it fluctuates so so much is that it's not really a dependable number to create a business off of. And so you have to, you know, diversify and create a mix, you know, of things to help you push your business, be able to help you hire, you know, think about sponsorships, things like that. And um, yeah, so that's yeah, that's honestly what I would say. Um, and that's what I've done with with my things outside of YouTube.

SPEAKER_00 58:26

And if someone is watching this and they want to do exactly what you've done and they want to be where you are now, what's the first step that they should take? This is my final question, so we can live leave like people a little bit inspired.

SPEAKER_01 58:42

Honestly, get good at something. And and that that means that could I know that could mean a lot of different things, but I think a lot of people online just think you just get on here and you just say stuff and you just you know regurgitate something you heard in a book, and you don't you don't really you know have a skill in anything, you don't have experience in anything. That's because people aren't getting good at things. They're just like, oh, I could just you know act like I'm on a podcast and like turn myself in this direction and record from this direction to make it sound like I'm in a podcast and say something, and people think and they'll listen to me. You know, that's not always the case, and honestly, you will lose people, you know. But be get good at something. If you get good at something, then people will want to, you know, gain knowledge from you. Like for me, I felt like I got good at playing music. That was what I got good at. And then from getting good at music, I became a content creator from that. You know, I started exploiting those things that I got good at. And I think that's the reason why some people don't grow fast because they haven't gotten good at something. And so, whatever it is, if it's music, if it's you know art, if it's beauty, if it's fashion, whatever it is that you're you're trying to pursue, get good at it off camera before you get on camera. And sometimes it doesn't mean you have to be the best at it before you get on camera. You can definitely, I definitely learned over the years um on camera and gotten better every time I've posted, but before I even started, I already had knowledge. You know what I'm saying? And so you have to go out there and get that experience because then not only will you gain the trust of people, but people will actually get something from what you're putting out instead of you know just junk food content, which everybody's putting out, you know what I'm saying? Like you don't want to put out junk food content, you want you want to put out stuff that people can be like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna come back to this in whatever years from now, you know, that's actually good. But the only way you get there is if you get good at something.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:55

That's great advice. And honestly, Travis, thank you so much for doing this. I know it was a little bit of a messy recording process today. We got a lot of technical issues, but you were so nice about this and so helpful. So thank you so much for doing this. And if there's anything you'd like to promote your social media, anything, just feel free. This is your moment.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:18

Oh man. Um, I would say definitely go check out my book. Uh, it's called DIY Bass. Uh this uh in conjunction with Hal Leonard. Um, that's a bass book if you're interested in bass. But something I definitely want to promote right now is I have some new series on my channel. Uh, can you guess the Can You Guess series where I have people guessing musicians that talked about it earlier? Definitely go check out that series if you're a musician. Um, it is a lot of fun, and I would love to you know hear you guys' feedback and just kind of you know showcase that to you guys so y'all can have some fun at home.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:56

Awesome, thank you so much. Yes, sir. There's one takeaway from this video, it's this in today's music industry, the artists who win are the ones who understand content, build an audience, and create opportunities beyond just their talent. Subscribe, leave a comment, and I'll see you in the next episode. Bye.