Come for the music... stay for the knowledge! Rick Beato's career has taken him on an amazing journey, from the halls of academia, to hits on the Internet. After several years of performing and producing in Atlanta, Rick developed a broad curriculum of training programs that help people of all ages learn about music. This natural inclination to teach, coupled with his extensive knowledge of music theory, led Rick to create a successful YouTube channel that delivers an entertaining mix of pop culture and education to millions of subscribers. Join Nick as he and Rick swap war stories about the early days of grunge, the ups and downs of social media, and building an audience in today's unpredictable online world.
HIGHLIGHTS:
[02:02] Rick explores how an old guy with white hair could create a successful YouTube channel
[03:34] Right after he puts up a video, Rick will check the comments for helpful technical notes
[05:16] After getting a masters in jazz, Rick took a job as an educator on a whim
[06:50] Signing a publishing deal with Polygram in the early 90s allowed Rick to quit his job and become a performer and producer
[08:38] Rick has created several levels of ear training programs, including Nuryl, which was developed at the time for his unborn son
[11:32] Over three years Rick's YouTube video slowly and steadily built an audience, until the breakout success of his first viral video
[12:38] Rick details some of his earlier videos that started getting him noticed, including his now-classic list of Top 20 acoustic guitar songs
[14:25] Rick gushes over the dark yet joyous mood of Alice In Chains' "I Stay Away" and other powerful songs from the grunge era
[18:14] Rick has no idea what's going to be popular, so he just creates content that he likes for his "What Makes A Song Work?" series
[21:16] Creating videos for Rick's channel is incredibly time consuming, from music production to editing to asset management
[22:38] Rick doesn't have a series of episodes planned out... When he gets an idea, he makes a video
[24:37] Thanks to the success of his channel, Rick has gotten to interact with some amazing musicians
[26:28] Rick recalls writing and recording the number one song "Carolina" with country band Parmalee
[29:48] Rick keeps things simple in his videos so that people who aren't familiar with music theory can understand his lessons
[30:24] Rick asks questions with his "What Makes A Song Great?" series, digging into the essence of songs that people love and become big hits
Thanks for listening! Tune in next week and don’t forget to take a minute to review the podcast. In this incredibly competitive podcasting world, every piece of feedback helps.
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Find out more about today’s guest Rick Beato.
Find out more about your host, Nick Terzo
MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE:
@Casey [Casey Neistat... YouTuber]
