I Can't Be The Only Person To Find This A Bit Of A Conflict Of Interest? Sweetwater v. Guitar Center
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- Yeah, I'm NOT the type of channel to start stuff but man, this was just sort of over the top.
I have zero problem with Sweetwater. I have zero problem with youTubers that have channels sponsored by Sweetwater. This is NOT the issue.
The issue is that I think common sense and decency says that it's uh, problematic for me that it did not cross anybody's mind that Sweetwater sponsoring a video about how awful Guitar Center is... a touch of a conflict of interest. At best.
Some videos you just don't need to make. IF you want to keep up the APPEARANCE of integrity.
It's of course all done under the guise of looking out for the little people, and "using the influence he has" to "hold Guitar Center's CEO accountable""... but dude... YOU ARE LITERALLY being paid by a company that benefits if Guitar Center continues to struggle. Sure, sure... yep got it... you're "trying to help Guitar Center"... But ethically, this is not a convo or more appropriately, a video that YOU should have made. It bugs me. It reeks of slime.
I just could not hold my tongue. It's not a life or death issue.. and Barry may very well not have really understood how bad it looks... But it's out there and now every Barry video in which he recommends gear is tainted. Yup.
this is my opinion, and MY ATTEMPT to hold a public figure accountable. Barry, if you get this far and see this... Hi. Sorry but I think it was a shit move, and the comment section of your video was not enough of a platform to discuss it.
-Marty
They don’t know how to market so they use the easiest way of getting attention: negativity
I felt bad making this video because it’s pretty negative, and confrontational… but man I’m just so sick of it. At the point where idgaf. Thanks for watching g and commenting! -Marty
@@SHUTUPANDRECORDI think you’re just stating facts, nothing wrong with that 🫡
I've noticed that guitar and studio CZcams is no different than the music store employees back in the day. Some will give you great advice. Others will push the gear that gives them the biggest commission.
Yep. Nail in the head! Thanks for watching and commenting! -Marty
People aspire to be professional CZcamsrs so they can be independent, self-employed mavericks who don't have to work for 'the man.' Then they do the things they need to do in order to succeed and, if they succeed, one day, they realize the truth: "I now am the man."
Yeah, I have friends who had big success as musicians and realize because they built their life around a temporary thing, they have to either abandon it and give up the life… or become a caricature of a previous self.. and essentially be a cover band for a paycheck.
No shame, no judgement, but definitely some feeling bad for them. Stuck.
There’s a bunch of good guys balancing relationships with gear companies/retailers and not being totally useless sellouts.
It’s just a mess when you even see Reverb and Sweetwater collaborating now.
As long as people remember to keep looking for and supporting g the weirdos and holdouts… it’ll all
Be ok though.
I WANT cool, smart, entertaining guys to be able be able to be full time CZcamsrs… without having to do a dance to please the corporate entities currently in charge of what gets seen and what gets buried.
I’m really encouraged by how many people I encounter who feel the same!
Dude you have no idea how exactly right you are!!!!
When the internet really got going strong everyone was appropriately negative about the various transparent marketing (pop-ups, banner ads etc etc)
Now with social media the marketing is built in to the machine, and some would say it IS the machine- now the same people who would complain about excessive commercialization are like:
“Wait a minute, I can make money and get free gear by making infomercials???? Sign me up!!!!”
Before you know it they are saying and doing things that they would otherwise laugh at as feeble disingenuous attempts by a marketer to get ‘engagement’- “guys let me know in the comments what you think about xyz, I really want to know!”
Don’t forget to like and subscribe, smash that like button and let me know what you think in the comments below!!!!
Exactly! CZcams literally pushes and pushes you to make shorts.. I felt like, ok I can understand it’s like either a little mini version of what you’re doing… or maybe a commercial of sorts for your “real video”… and I made some really good (imo lol) vids full of info and useful info… and got like 11 views… so as a joke …I made a dumb one about Sweetwater sending me shitty candy and it has thousands of views. Wtf?
Then I made one where I said something like “the greatest guitar repair video on CZcams” (or something like that) because I thought it was funny… and it got tons and tons of views… and oh was the algorithm happy…
But the thing that sucks and messes with you is that the views and likes are not by anybody that is actually into the normal content of my actual channel… so you get these views and likes and CZcams pats you on the head and says good job… but even when it brought subscribers, my normal nerdy videos didn’t have any more views at all… it’s just driving views for CZcams that made it “good and promotable”… to CZcams.
I was face to face with: make stupid shit to get promoted and grow so I can be “monetized” or say fuck it and keep doing what I do.
Safe to say I am not anywhere close to being monetized. Haha.
I have a huge collection of screen shots of the stupidest video
Cover pictures that I have imagined I might make a funny video out of, illustrating how pathetic these people are, but I didn’t want to be seen as a negative/mean spirited thing.. I really just want to talk about the past 30 years I’ve spent making records and being a gear nerd… but I also just don’t think I can suffer through the stupidity anymore… so I may drop a few more commentary vids in between talking about gear everybody else is too cool to use because it doesn’t LOOK like a famous classic piece… and they can’t buy them from Sweetwater. Ha
Bro…. I would love to buy you a steak dinner and drinks! Not sure where you are located but I have agreed with you on so much of your stuff. I am a full time audio engineer for 38 years and people tell me I’m crusty, or angry… but I’m not. I love the industry and what I do but the new younger guys coming up have no clue about good gear, Why Guitar Center is now a joke, CZcamsrs, etc……I agree with you about Barry too. I think he’s a pretty good guy but something’s he does irritate me… Andrew Masters is another guy I can’t watch any more…. That guy is too wishy washy…
CZcams is over saturated and naturally everything is turning into a big commercial to make up for the lack of income that used to be provided by CZcams during it's growth phase. Small channels have a snowballs chance in hell of being discovered as advertising is top priority
your on the money! I think thats why artists like Gran who make songs about plant medicines and animal folklore don't stand a chance no matter how cool it is, I'll get a link if your curious cause I can't spell his last name haha czcams.com/video/qJpGCoZ4dts/video.htmlsi=dOrAqIHzxpw-Xg4q CC is English! Cheers!
Appreciate ya Marty. I don't need more channels dedicated to instilling gear lust. Creative solutions to gear I already own or is easily obtainable? Learning from peering over your shoulder at whatever projects you have going on when you can? That's what's up. I don't even know who this Barry guy is, but I know SUAR!
Awwwww mannnnnn! Thanks!
Love your honesty! Thanks for saying the quiet part out loud!
Thanks for watching and commenting! -Marty
This video is so appropriate today
The guitar (and other hobby) CZcams environment is just this consumeristic juggernaut
In the 80s and 90s people were aware that they were watching infomercials- CZcams guitar channels are simply modern day infomercials disguised as ‘content’
The manufacturers gain a tremendous marketing campaign for a paltry ‘investment’ of free gear, and to get that many eyes on your products in the 80s and 90s would cost an exorbitant amount of money and would only be accessible to corporations that are large enough to have a marketing division
It must be a minor hell for some of these CZcamsrs who get some success and they are then placed in the devil’s handcuffs- they must keep producing infomercials for guitar companies as nobody really wants to see actual guitar playing advice etc to nearly the same degree as they want to see gear ‘reviews’
This creates an unhealthy guitar culture that is primarily obsessed with acquiring gear and people are not content with using what they have and are getting their dopamine hits from gear pursuit rather than playing the actual guitar
10000000%
I really do feel bad for a lot of people I’ve watched it happen to.
I think the pendulum is going to swing back though as channels come out the other side of the machine.
Anyway, thanks for watching and commenting! Much appreciated! -Marty
Thanks for the video. I wish more channels like yours would show up in my algorithm. S.U.A.R.!!!
Thanks a lot! -Marty
I agree! yess yes brother!
Thanks! Thanks for watching and commenting! -Marty
It’s definitely a lot different than it used to be. I’m sooooooo sick of being fed so much garbage in my feed. Drivel, and obviously corporate sponsored stuff.
Whats weird is I’m sick of the low level no name channels popping up in my feed. sweetwater sponsors all my favorite channels
What’s a low level no name channel? Do you mean channels you haven’t seen before?
SUAR 😂
I subscribed to your channel because most smaller channels are more honest and genuine to me. But most of all because I like your content 😊
Aww! Thanks. I’m just old and grumpy… and can’t be stopped! Haha. -Marty
I have cheap gear and i have expensive gear. The listener/ artist can't tell the difference when they get the finished product. At the end of the day 1. Does it sound good? 2. Does it get you from point A to point B
Sure, most people feel that.
But seriously interested to hear your take on those questions specifically.
But if your clients are serious pros that know the difference, they will care. The listener (John Q Public) has never known or cared about the gear. That’s not their focus or responsibility. It’s the pro audio guy who is supposed to know and care. You can take the same song and play it for people recorded on different gear and the cheaper shit people may not like it as well, but they won’t be able to tell you why… Because they don’t know why. But cheaper is cheaper for a reason. Just like to buy a real race car cost a lot more money than to just buy a grocery getter. If you want the best performance, you have to buy the best stuff . there are no shortcuts
I always found Barry annoying! Thanks for venting.
Solid video
Thanks for watching and the nice comment! -Marty
Bro…. I would love to buy you a steak dinner and drinks! Not sure where you are located but I have agreed with you on so much of your stuff. I am a full time audio engineer for 38 years and people tell me I’m crusty, or angry… but I’m not. I love the industry and what I do but the new younger guys coming up have no clue about good gear, Why Guitar Center is now a joke, CZcamsrs, etc……I agree with you about Barry too. I think he’s a pretty good guy but something’s he does irritate me… Andrew Masters is another guy I can’t watch any more…. That guy is too wishy washy……
Haha.. Awesome. Thanks! I think Im just at the point where I'm so sick of being polite to idiots. I was "lucky" enough to score a partnership in a studio located inside one of my all-time favorite studios... only to discover it's WAY more fun being able to tell people to F off,, than sit there and spend time I'd rather use to make my own records, making their crap record. So yeah, I do NOT have the temperament to be a successful money-making engineer/producer. THANK GOD! or I would be... and I think I would be bitter and angry. Now, I gauge all my "success" on what 15 year old me would think... and he'd be PSYCHED about it. So Im good! It's been really fun to start to connect with people who think along the same lines I do about CZcams and gear companies. In my wildest dreams, we discover/influence enough people to change the way these younger guys think... at least for a few of them anyway.
I hear you on Andrew Masters... Most of the guys who really annoy me are the ones who have gotten themselves into a position where they have to straddle the fence and stay as middle of the road as possible... because they want a "CZcams Career"... and they trap themselves. Cheeseballs. But to A.M.'s credit... when he got that Trident desk, he did come out and say clearly he liked it better than his Warm stuff... which must have cost him some hard feelings from Warm. I had Warm guys all over the comment section of the big vid I did about Warm... They are uh, well... stay tuned.
Thanks for watching and reaching out. Steak night is on the books, date and time tbd.
-Marty
What makes me want to barf about Beato is he whines about music these days sucking yet promotes not one single new undiscovered band that is good.
Love Manny
What's wrong with Sweetwater? I've had nothing but good experiences with that company. Just bought a Schector Omen, had em' set it up, and it plays great. I've never had to wait more than a few days to get my stuff either. I did buy a crappy SSL 2 interface that junked out on me after a couple of months, but that wasn't their fault. The hype on those interfaces is unreal. They're plastic garbage... stay away from them. I doubt people feel they're sacrificing integrity because they're endorsing Sweetwater though. They're solid as they come.
It’s not Sweetwater in and of itself, it’s a Sweetwater sponsored video which attacks Guitar Center, which is shady.
Similar to if McDonald’s funded a newspaper reporter to write an article slamming Burger King…
Just not on the up and up.
I’m not even saying Sweetwater knew ahead of time what the video would be about. Im saying the CZcams personality should have had a bit more ethics in the matter. It was either dumb, or he just didn’t care about the conflict of interest and how it causes a serious reconsideration of this guy/channel’s integrity. 🤷♂️
@@SHUTUPANDRECORD I've never had any dealings with guitar center. I was always primarily a drummer and only dealt with smaller local shops until 2005 or so. I've actually never stepped into a Guitar Center. I thought those places were starting to dwindle.. Like going out of business? I got no dog in that fight.. I've had the same sales guy since 2008 at Sweetwater and they've been nothing but accommodating. I do hear people complaining about them occasionally , but not often. They've got a good formula for being such a huge corporate outlet. It's actually surprising I've never had any problems with them. I've bought a lot of crap from them over the years. I get you though about how everything is turning into a giant commercial on CZcams .. It's annoying as hell. I've learned a few lessons about certain purchases that were obviously being pushed by people here.
shut up and record ✌️✌️