Being a YouTube-Drummer

Since YouTube started in 2005 it evolved to become one of the most important platforms for musicians all over the world. Sharing your videos and music has never been so easy. But what does it take to produce good videos and also reach a lot of people?

To answer those questions, we met the German drummer Tobi Derer. His project UMC is well known for covering Pop songs in a Metal context and producing high quality videos for YouTube.

Since his former band’s breakup, Tobi is doing everything on his own. From playing all the instruments to filming and editing the video, it is a one man show.

Talking to him made us realise how many different skills are needed to create videos like he does. In only two weeks time he rearranges the songs, tracks all the instruments, mixes the soundfiles, and films and edits the videos. Due to that his days are packed and he is always working to get it done. But even after releasing the videos the work is far from over. Marketing, advertising and networking are just a few of the things that are necessary to make a project like UMC work and grow. Those aspects are all covered by himself as well.

To create the best possible working environment, Tobi also built his own studio for all his needs from scratch. Having a well planned recording space with good acoustics and enough room for lighting, camera and audio equipment helps his work a lot.

He also told us that everything in the studio is set up to help him be creative. When he gets an idea for video or audio production, everything is at hand to fulfill those plans.

But in the end a good video is not just about high quality visuals and audio equipment. In Tobi‘s opinion it is all about the basic idea and the musical message that underlies the video. If you have great ideas and a smartphone or any cheap camera, that can be enough to film great content.

So just get behind your drumset and start recording yourself. Put your smartphone somewhere and check out what ideas come into your head. Upload those and you will see that after only a few videos you will experience some progress in your playing, your creativity and your sense for camera angles and lighting.

Tobi states that all YouTubers once started like this!
Go ahead and try it yourself!