12gagedan
275 posts
Aug 17, 2013
11:01 PM
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So, I've gotten several requests from JP Allen, to buy my YouTube Channel. I finally responded that I didn't think he could afford it. The whole thing makes me feel weird and almost dirty. Anyone ever hear of doing this or have thoughts on the subject? My gut says, "no way, man!"
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12gagedan's YouTube Channel
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SuperBee
1374 posts
Aug 17, 2013
11:08 PM
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Geez Dan I dunno. A guy wants to buy your brand? That sounds like a bad idea unless you don't plan to do anything else with your name for the rest of your life.
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JellyShakersFacebookPage
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Chris L
4 posts
Aug 17, 2013
11:19 PM
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I have watched both channels. I would say go with your gut. Although, those harmonica struck chicks......
Just kidding! Go with your guts, Dan. BTW: Thanks for the low hanging fruit! One of my favorites!
Chris
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Kingley
3022 posts
Aug 18, 2013
1:35 AM
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Very bizarre indeed Dan. I don't think I've ever heard of someone wanting to buy a YouTube channel before. Mind you if he can afford your price it might be worthwhile selling it. There's nothing to stop you starting a new channel and making more great videos.
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tookatooka
3448 posts
Aug 18, 2013
3:09 AM
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Weird. Can't see how how he would benefit unless he wanted all your personal video content too?
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Rarko
30 posts
Aug 18, 2013
3:47 AM
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...he will buy it and then what?
He will record video lessons and say: Hello, I am Dan Gage...!?! LOL
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BronzeWailer
1116 posts
Aug 18, 2013
4:33 AM
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It does seem odd.
I see you've got about 12k subs and he has about 8k, Dan. So he can more than double his subs. Your most popular vid has 2m plus hits, and his most popular has about 500k or less. It seems he is aimed at the beginner market, although I may be wrong. Guess it would depend on what he did with your content, non-compete clauses etc. If he offered a ridiculous amount of money it could make for an interesting conversation...
BronzeWailer's YouTube
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kudzurunner
4202 posts
Aug 18, 2013
4:47 AM
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If JP made me the same offer, I would politely decline. I wouldn't come to this forum and say that the offer itself made me feel weird and almost dirty. I'd view it as a prospective business deal, and as a courtesy I'd exercise my discretion and grant him--or Dan, or David Barrett, or whomever approached me on such terms--anonymity.
But that's just me. That's how I do, or don't do, business.
I also haven't monetized any of my videos. A few of them have been monetized by copyright holders--the owners of the copyrighted music that I've periodically used in the teaching videos.
If I were interested in buying Dan's channel, it would be because I note that at least one of his videos has two and a half million hits. If I had harmonica products or services to flack, I would be interested in how many hits that video and his other videos are getting on a weekly basis--not just for the monetization money they could potentially bring in, but for the fact that, if I owned them (as part of a channel purchase), I could put my own URL (bluesharmonica.com, for example) in the video description or even IN every video as an annotation.
This is the world we live in. It leads some people to think through issues in that way. There are indeed deals to be made, and pioneers like Dan (and Ronnie Shellist, and I) will surely find such offers headed in our direction, sooner or later. It's to Dan's credit that he was there early on, willing to show people stuff in a friendly and informative way.
I understand Dan's desire--one I mostly share--to keep a significant element of amateurism (something done for the same of love) in his YouTube ministry. That's how this whole thing started for most of us: we wanted to share our passion and clear up a few mysteries. By the same token, the world of YouTube has changed around us as we did that. So I don't find anything wrong with JP exploring potential business opportunities.
Last Edited by kudzurunner on Aug 18, 2013 4:52 AM
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Frank
2626 posts
Aug 18, 2013
4:54 AM
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Here is some info? Be wary of scammers of course too...
Terms of Service
Last Edited by Frank on Aug 18, 2013 4:55 AM
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12gagedan
276 posts
Aug 18, 2013
9:30 AM
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I see your perspective Adam. If I was in this for the money, then perhaps I would entertain the idea. However, this YouTube harmonica lesson world is not about money for me. I made a decision a long time ago to keep music fun. I've also applied more energy into my career as a scientist. Sometimes I regret that. I ask myself if I could make a bigger name in the blues world, or I lament that I can't find the time to go to more harmonica events. I always come back to Rod's advice years ago. It boiled down to the idea that he has to keep playing, and there is no retirement plan for him. If I could do both, then all the better. The YouTube lessons started on a lark; I wanted to join the conversation and to help instead of being down on growing harmonica players. I never expected the hits. If I had, I'd probably made better initial vids! What happened, was that YouTube became this hugely positive thing in my life, offering me access to the harmonica world and great opportunity to interact with so many people. It's been amazingly valuable to my mental health.
As an aside, I started monetizing on a lark, too. Then some money started coming. The money did not impact my life, except I think of it as rationale for putting some money back into the videos. My harmonica models video was made because I could buy a bunch of harps I didn't need.
Anyway, the idea of selling my channel hit me on an emotional level. It made me sum up the whole experience and take stock (today). If I was unprofessional to post here, so be it. It's like someone asked to buy a piece of my soul, and that didn't feel good.
Here's the other positive: I'm getting close to being settled in Boston finally. I'm hoping to be more balanced this fall. I have a dozen videos floating in my imagination. JP's request makes me want to wake up and start contributing again.
Thanks all for letting me vent. I mean no ill will to Mr. Allen.
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12gagedan's YouTube Channel
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12gagedan's YouTube Channel
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robbert
237 posts
Aug 18, 2013
10:33 AM
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I think its great that you asked the question complete with feelings and confusion. That's what the forum is for I think, and I was appreciative of all the answers, as well. Interesting stuff.
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kudzurunner
4203 posts
Aug 18, 2013
10:46 AM
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Fair enough, Dan. That's an honest answer, and a pretty classy one, and I appreciate it.
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mlefree
126 posts
Aug 18, 2013
11:23 AM
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Geez, Dan & Adam, you guys could probably afford to retire in an Hawaiian island estate just like JP Allen's if you just sold out (JP Allen ad from Hawaii).
Actually, I'd like to see Hal Walker (JP's buddy) interview both of you like he has been other influential harmonica players and major contributors to the harmonica community.
Or am I just feeling evil this morning?
Michelle
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SilverWingLeather.com
email: mlefree@silverwingleather.com
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Frank
2627 posts
Aug 18, 2013
11:37 AM
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OT...My Wife and I were at the "Kansas" 40th anniversary concert here in Pittsburgh yesterday and a BMI representative was there to give out awards to the songwriters of the band because some of their hits reached the 1 million or more plays on the radio over the years...
The Rep mentioned that Kerry Livgren, an original guitar for Kansas was in a very small group of writers who singly (with no other writers getting credit other than him) wrote many hit songs for the band that have hit the 4, 5, and 6 million mark on plays on the radio...To put that accomplishment into perspective,he mentioned that 1 million plays would equate to playing that song everyday for 5 years straight. I wonder if Kerry became a millionaire for writing those hits?
Last Edited by Frank on Aug 18, 2013 11:39 AM
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12gagedan
277 posts
Aug 18, 2013
2:02 PM
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I sent JP a less snarky response, basically thanking him for his interest and apologizing for my initial response. It was a process. I'm grateful to you guys for helping me work through it.
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12gagedan's YouTube Channel
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kudzurunner
4204 posts
Aug 18, 2013
2:06 PM
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Not to hijack the thread, but there is a heck of a lot of music in the songwriting/publishing side. I heard a story the other day to the effect that Sting makes $2,000 a day in royalties on "Every Breath You Take." I remember that figure because I did the math in my head and told my wife "Christ, he's pulling in $700,000 a year on that one song!"
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1847
988 posts
Aug 18, 2013
2:15 PM
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is that like a dollar for every breath he takes? lol
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master po
i get a lot of request when i play
"but i play anyway"
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Frank
2628 posts
Aug 18, 2013
2:17 PM
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Those hits did indeed bring alot of money his way... Kerry Livgren worth
$10 Million
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12gagedan
278 posts
Aug 18, 2013
4:29 PM
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Just one hit will get you paid for a long time. First, with the months of continuous play. Then, the song goes to adult contemporary for the next five years. Then, oldies stations. I swear I've been hearing the same classic rock tunes my whole life, and they were 20-ys old when I first heard them.
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12gagedan's YouTube Channel
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nacoran
7039 posts
Aug 18, 2013
7:05 PM
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That would be an interesting topic for a thread- how to sell your music and get rich. I like performing, but my whole goal in music has always been to write music for other, more talented performers to perform.
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Nate
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timeistight
1325 posts
Aug 18, 2013
9:33 PM
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"That would be an interesting topic for a thread- how to sell your music and get rich. I like performing, but my whole goal in music has always been to write music for other, more talented performers to perform."
I don't think that happens much any more outside of Nashville, unless you can produce complete, radio-ready tracks.
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garry
425 posts
Aug 19, 2013
6:25 PM
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we saw don mclean a number of years ago, and he mentioned that, unlike many of his contemporaries, he had retained rights to his music. as a result, he basically lived off the income from American Pie, and continued touring and making music just because he liked to.
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nacoran
7043 posts
Aug 19, 2013
6:48 PM
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Timeistight, someone has to be writing all these pop songs for artists who can't string two sentences together.
>listens to radio
Okay, maybe they are just winging it. :)
There are some people out there selling songs to performer somewhere though, who have songs that are more famous when someone else does them? Burt Bacharach types, or does he do all the producing too?
edit- sorry for the hijack. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.
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Nate
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Last Edited by nacoran on Aug 19, 2013 6:50 PM
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arzajac
1129 posts
Aug 20, 2013
7:52 AM
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It's very unlikely that anyone can make a ton of money by playing music. The odds are against you.
The most certain way to make great music is to love doing it.
The most certain way to make money from the music industry is to become a lawyer.
The relevance here is that Dan's YouTube channel is awesome because he had a genuine desire to create and post the videos. His drive was not to generate millions of hits. That's just a side-effect of posting awesome videos.
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Custom overblow harps. Harmonica service and repair.
Last Edited by arzajac on Aug 20, 2013 7:53 AM
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1847
993 posts
Aug 20, 2013
8:45 AM
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master po
i get a lot of request when i play
"but i play anyway"
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1847
994 posts
Aug 20, 2013
8:48 AM
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master po
i get a lot of request when i play
"but i play anyway"
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timeistight
1330 posts
Aug 20, 2013
9:10 AM
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Randall Bramblett plays keyboards, saxophones, guitar, mandolin, and harmonica. He has had a over 30-year career as a session player, touring musician and solo act.
He wasn't just sitting around the house writing songs and waiting for Bonnie Raitt to call.
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