Why is no one interested in Song Challenges anymore?

[Jagwah]

I don't know whose fault it is but when we find out I think we should go and get them!

[Jagwah]

I've only partcipated in two of them, the Spectra one and the Word of the Month (january).

[joeyluck]

I've only partcipated in two of them, the Spectra one and the Word of the Month (january).

I guess if strictly speaking of community-created challenges. On the other hand, you've participated in and won a few competitions such as Algoritm, WaveMaster, and others

[Quarmat]

I guess if strictly speaking of community-created challenges. On the other hand, you've participated in and won a few competitions such as Algoritm, WaveMaster, and others

Yes I was referrig to the Challenges only, not the Competitions To my understanding this thread was referiing to the former (which are more than often promoted by Tritone)

[Quarmat]

You're right Jagwah...

and the ACID techno challenge!

(I enjoyed that one!)

[Jagwah]

Seriously anything that will help encourage people to join competitions / challenges I am all for it, helps us to get work done and can be inspiring and great for the community.

[Quarmat]

and the ACID techno challenge!

(I enjoyed that one!)

Speaking of which, I just made a video for my entry in that challenge. I think some of you guys that played games on PS1 in the 90s might enjoy this one.

[Auryn]

As some people here may know I love the Song Challenges here at RT. It’s been my favorite part of the forum. Sadly I’ve noticed a clear trend. And that is for each year the engagement in these challenges has decreased A LOT. The overall pattern is the same whether there is a chance to win products or not. Less and less people are up for a music challenge.

Look at this old thread for example. No competition, no prizes, yet people were super engaged and created complete EPs. That’s EPs! Today most people aren’t even willing to create one song for a challenge.
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=7497676

Why is this? What happened?

I have my own (very pessimistic) theories on why of course, but I’d like to hear what you guys think.

IMHO song challenges are organized around new RE synth releases, which are a bit rare these days.

I don't usually participate because
1> I don't really excel at songwriting/melody writing, I like sampling and that's usually not allowed
2> I'm not really a competitive person anyway

I'm always up for more collaborations/remixes/etc though.

[joeyluck]

and the ACID techno challenge!

(I enjoyed that one!)

Speaking of which, I just made a video for my entry in that challenge. I think some of you guys that played games on PS1 in the 90s might enjoy this one.

Hell yeah! This sounds awesome!

When I wasn't at home playing Wipeout, I brought the game disks with me in my car to play the music in the CD player lol. That was a nice feature of PS games.

CoLD SToRAGE is/was a Reason user. But I guess the games predated Reason...

Something like this would make a fun challenge or community album — music inspired by Wipeout

[Jac459]

I would be interrested on participating but users on RRP are kind of automatically disqualified...

[Jac459]

No that's impossible. Then we wouldn't have anything to talk about. What are we supposed to do then? Make music? I mean come on.

If there was a challenge "joke of the week" I would have voted for this one...

[TritoneAddiction]

To my understanding this thread was referiing to the former (which are more than often promoted by Tritone)

I suppose I wasn't very clear with what I meant exactly. With "Song challenge" I meant both competitions and all other challenges where there are no prizes. First and foremost I view them all as a fun creative undertaking. I just like whenever I feel a sense of creative spirit around here. The gear related stuff is fun too, but for me it's always secondary.

[Popey]

I would be interrested on participating but users on RRP are kind of automatically disqualified...

Hi,

Most times you will find RRP users can enter these comps as long as all the rules are followed. Most times I have asked this question and been allowed to participate.

The more people take part the merrier so would hate for you to think using RRP in another daw prevents you.

[Jac459]

Hi,

Most times you will find RRP users can enter these comps as long as all the rules are followed. Most times I have asked this question and been allowed to participate.

The more people take part the merrier so would hate for you to think using RRP in another daw prevents you.

Thanks, good to know

[Jagwah]

Speaking of which, I just made a video for my entry in that challenge. I think some of you guys that played games on PS1 in the 90s might enjoy this one.

Hell yeah! This sounds awesome!

When I wasn't at home playing Wipeout, I brought the game disks with me in my car to play the music in the CD player lol. That was a nice feature of PS games.

CoLD SToRAGE is/was a Reason user. But I guess the games predated Reason...

Something like this would make a fun challenge or community album — music inspired by Wipeout

Love that track Quarmat!! Cool video too those graphics still look cool today and I really think there is something to having visuals with music, but I guess that's old news

@Joeyluck Yes that sounds fun I am up for something like that especially if we could do it as one of the dj mixable challenges

[hassanizhar]

There could be several factors contributing to the decrease in engagement in song challenges over the years. Here are some possible explanations:

Change in user demographics: It's possible that the user base of the forum has changed over the years, with fewer people interested in participating in song challenges. This could be due to the rise of other social media platforms, changes in technology, or shifting interests among online communities.

Saturation of the music market: With the rise of streaming services and digital music distribution, the music industry has become more saturated than ever before. This could make it harder for aspiring musicians to stand out and gain recognition, leading to decreased motivation to participate in song challenges.

Lack of incentives: While prizes and competitions can be motivating factors for some, others may participate in song challenges purely for the enjoyment of creating music and sharing it with others. However, if the challenges lack incentives, it may be harder to attract participants who are only interested in the potential rewards.

Creative burnout: Writing and recording music can be a time-consuming and challenging process, and some participants may simply experience creative burnout or a lack of inspiration, leading to decreased engagement in song challenges over time.

Other demands on time and attention: As people's lives become busier with work, school, and other obligations, they may have less time and energy to devote to creative pursuits like music. This could be especially true for those who participated in song challenges in the past but have since moved on to other interests or priorities.

It's also possible that there are other factors at play that are specific to the RT forum or the music community in general. However, these are some potential explanations for the trend you've observed.

[EnochLight]

There could be several factors contributing to the decrease in engagement in song challenges over the years.

Welcome to RT, hassanizhar! How long have you been using Reason?

[Quarmat]

There could be several factors contributing to the decrease in engagement in song challenges over the years. Here are some possible explanations:

Change in user demographics: It's possible that the user base of the forum has changed over the years, with fewer people interested in participating in song challenges. This could be due to the rise of other social media platforms, changes in technology, or shifting interests among online communities.

Saturation of the music market: With the rise of streaming services and digital music distribution, the music industry has become more saturated than ever before. This could make it harder for aspiring musicians to stand out and gain recognition, leading to decreased motivation to participate in song challenges.

Lack of incentives: While prizes and competitions can be motivating factors for some, others may participate in song challenges purely for the enjoyment of creating music and sharing it with others. However, if the challenges lack incentives, it may be harder to attract participants who are only interested in the potential rewards.

Creative burnout: Writing and recording music can be a time-consuming and challenging process, and some participants may simply experience creative burnout or a lack of inspiration, leading to decreased engagement in song challenges over time.

Other demands on time and attention: As people's lives become busier with work, school, and other obligations, they may have less time and energy to devote to creative pursuits like music. This could be especially true for those who participated in song challenges in the past but have since moved on to other interests or priorities.

It's also possible that there are other factors at play that are specific to the RT forum or the music community in general. However, these are some potential explanations for the trend you've observed.

Sounds like Chat GPT has joined the chat

[EnochLight]

Sounds like Chat GPT has joined the chat

[Aosta]

Sounds like Chat GPT has joined the chat

Time for a song challenge using Chat GPT as a lyric creator based on a theme..

I'd like to hear a melancholy song about losing the screw out of my Subtractor synth please

[mimidancer]

As some people here may know I love the Song Challenges here at RT. It’s been my favorite part of the forum. Sadly I’ve noticed a clear trend. And that is for each year the engagement in these challenges has decreased A LOT. The overall pattern is the same whether there is a chance to win products or not. Less and less people are up for a music challenge.

Look at this old thread for example. No competition, no prizes, yet people were super engaged and created complete EPs. That’s EPs! Today most people aren’t even willing to create one song for a challenge.
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=7497676

Why is this? What happened?

I have my own (very pessimistic) theories on why of course, but I’d like to hear what you guys think.

By song challenge do you mean something like a prompt with restrictions and conditions? If so I didn't know that was a thing. I would totally try one if given the opportunity. As for why, aside from time, many of you that post here are very talented. It is intimidating. For insecure artist (i use that term liberally) like me. One can see engagement but most that look do not respond. That creates anxiety, as I am left to ponder how my piece made them feel, or worse they felt nothing at all. What I do like about this forum,( I hate to leave on a negative note) Is that most here are kind and helpful when users have questions. Lastly Sector 397 kicks ass. I like that 397 is a prime number.

[TritoneAddiction]

As some people here may know I love the Song Challenges here at RT. It’s been my favorite part of the forum. Sadly I’ve noticed a clear trend. And that is for each year the engagement in these challenges has decreased A LOT. The overall pattern is the same whether there is a chance to win products or not. Less and less people are up for a music challenge.

Look at this old thread for example. No competition, no prizes, yet people were super engaged and created complete EPs. That’s EPs! Today most people aren’t even willing to create one song for a challenge.
viewtopic.php?f=59&t=7497676

Why is this? What happened?

I have my own (very pessimistic) theories on why of course, but I’d like to hear what you guys think.

By song challenge do you mean something like a prompt with restrictions and conditions? If so I didn't know that was a thing. I would totally try one if given the opportunity. As for why, aside from time, many of you that post here are very talented. It is intimidating. For insecure artist (i use that term liberally) like me. One can see engagement but most that look do not respond. That creates anxiety, as I am left to ponder how my piece made them feel, or worse they felt nothing at all. What I do like about this forum,( I hate to leave on a negative note) Is that most here are kind and helpful when users have questions. Lastly Sector 397 kicks ass. I like that 397 is a prime number.

Yes it's usually a thread with some creative theme, a couple of rules or creative limitations that people can gather round and create some music. In some challenges there are prizes (rack extensions) to win. But with others it's just for the sheer fun of creating some music and sharing it.
One current idea have right now is to create some sort of challenge thread around the theme of physical modeling synths. Reason Studios Objekt synth is just round the corner and it would be fun to see some engagement around that. Haven't decided if I'll do it yet.
I hear you around the "insecurity" part. Those kind of feelings can be hard to shake off. But I would encourage anyone to focus more on the engagement around having fun being creative and sharing stuff that we've made. The level someone is at matters less.

Thanks for the compliments on the Sector 397 track. I picked an odd number. It is after all a rather odd track.

[LongFist]

I love the song challenges here. Sadly my schedule never seems to coincide with the actual challenges as they become available. I either find out about them too late (like they've already passed!) or just before it's too late, and I'm out of time before I start. Doesn't mean I don't enjoy them, no. I even created a game earlier this year called Stone Soup (originally I called it 'Chinese Whispers') to challenge/engage players to collaborate heroically. (Which I am proud to say they have!)

I'm looking forward to trying to get in on the Inphonik/RX1200 contest here shortly. For once I've discovered it early enough that I might actually be able to make it into this one. Time will tell, of course.