We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Youngr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Youngr , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

You know what, I actually can’t remember one exact moment. I mean, it’s been ingrained in me since before I can actually remember. I was lucky enough to see my dad have a career in music which means growing up, I thought that being a musician was kind of normal. So, that led to me starting a band when I was around 12 or 13 years old and I was like “well, obviously this is the best band in the world and I’m obviously going to be famous in like a couple of years!” I was handing out my tapes , CDs and posters I’d printed at home and flogging them at school for like £2, then everyone would come down to the gig, about 100 mates through the door. I remember thinking “this is easy!” Then, you leave school and play in pubs in front of five people and start to realise…this is a bit harder. But it was never ever even a question of “is it going to work or is this stupid?” It was just blind faith that music was the only thing I could do because I can’t do much else. I really can’t. It’s just music and that I’m good at. I put the blinkers on and didn’t question it, because I believed it was going to happen at some point.

Youngr , before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m Youngr and I’m a music artist calling in from across the pond in the UK. I guess my first memory of music was my dad taking me to a soundcheck and sitting me behind the drum kit. Watching his drummer play on the festival stage, I became fascinated with the drums and thought they were the most amazing thing I’ve ever heard in my life. And then got my first drum kit when I was 10 years old, then I started taking piano lessons and became obsessed with piano too, specifically jazz piano because of the amazing chords. And I think those two instruments within the basis of what I do now. Everything starts on the drums or with the piano.

I then started producing properly when I was about 17 and I got my first laptop, started using Cubase and producing electronic music. Soon I got into Ableton and that’s when I started getting creative with remixing, live looping and playing all these instruments I’d learned. And that’s ultimately led me to Youngr, which is now an extravaganza of looping and every instrument that can basically get my hands on! As you’ll hear my new album ‘Let The Music Guide Us’ which is a kaleidoscopic portal into some of my biggest sources of inspiration and the progression of the Youngr sound through reimagioned versions of some of my favourite tracks and down right funky originals.

As for what sets me apart? My hair. Most proud of? Again, my hair.

How did you build your audience on social media?

Authenticity is key. Being yourself, not copying trends. Personally, I think that’s something that can lead you down a dark rabbit hole where you copy a fleeting trend and you get big from it, and then you go “gosh, I’ve got replicate that now.” And it becomes a cycle you’ve got to keep up with.

I’m not a social media guru. So, hey, maybe don’t listen to my words. Maybe following trends is how you actually do your thing. But I just found for me, personally, it was doing what I loved and what I showed up for, which was music.

I’ve also found that there’s a lot to be said for not second guessing yourself when it comes to social media. Don’t be afraid if something’s a bit raw, or something isn’t going out at the exact optimal posting time. If it felt good when you recorded it, just post it and just keep posting. I see so many people becoming too precious that their video isn’t perfect. Perfection doesn’t exist. That video you’ve created off-the-cuff that isn’t pristinely edited, might have the potential inspire trillions of people. But if you don’t post it, because you’re too scared of your mates thinking that it’s not cool or it’s not your good side, the light isn’t good, then you’ll never know.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Well, I thought it was going to be the NFT space about two years ago. I thought it seemed like a really promising space to pay artists money for their work, and after dipping my toe in it, I still believe it could be, but I think the ecosystem is still too early for it.

Other than that, I just genuinely think we need to shift attitudes around paying more money for music. I think Spotify is too cheap. If it could be a bit higher, and you could pay musicians more per stream, you’d see way more independent artists thriving.

I used to go to the pub in Manchester to play a set and you’d sell say 10 CDs. Each CD was £5 and you made £50. It’s not a massive amount but you’d cover your petrol and a little bit more. Streaming is so low now, that it’s kind of impossible for a lot of artists to sustain themselves. So, maybe it’s paying more, but it’s almost impossible once there’s been a price set, to increase that. There are platforms like Bandcamp which are great and subscription models like Patreon where you can offer exclusive content and connect with fans almost how fan bases used to be, you know, the people who come to your shows, buy your merch and send you things like ‘Super Thanks’ on YouTube which is like £5 or £10, but it all adds up and means the world.

It would be hard to raise monthly subscriptions and for it to seem fair for most users, but when you think about it like almost every single in the whole world is available to you for just £10 a month, that’s crazy! On the flip side, streaming platforms are an incredible tool for getting your music out there. You can literally upload and someone can play your track from all the way in Australia, so they do support artists with reach and discovery, it’s just how we work together to make it fair for both sides.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.youngrmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/youngr_music
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youngrmusic
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Youngr_Music?feature=shared
• Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5TrkbV9x6OdTBlzWPJeBz5?si=rlpPzqAxRYSv43BsbIBSVw
• Listen to Youngr’s new album Let The Music Guide Us: https://ditto.fm/let-the-music-guide-us