Why I, who was resistant to posting online, started uploading performance videos

As someone who graduated from a music college and is involved in the so-called classical music industry in Japan, I feel that the way the industry works and how classical musicians market themselves have changed significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020.

When I was in music college, social media platforms like YouTube and Instagram were growing rapidly, and people around me started posting their own performances and acts here and there.

After graduating from college, I finally started getting performance requests from professional orchestras as a freelancer, but then the pandemic hit immediately.

Concerts were canceled one after another, and almost all of my work was wiped out.

The traditional concert format where audiences gather in a physical venue was replaced by a new style where people watched live streams from home, often without an audience.

Around that time, I think the number of musicians doing live streams like 17LIVE or uploading performance videos to YouTube increased considerably.

As for me, although I thought, 'Everyone around me is actively posting on social media, so I have to do something to keep up with the times!', I was still worried about what others would think and couldn't quite bring myself to be proactive.

I did, however, change my Instagram to look more like a professional musician's profile, and I would post photos saying things like 'I'm performing here!' or 'I performed on this day!' just to keep it going and show people that I hadn't quit and was still active.

Back then, I was afraid of what people might think and couldn't find the courage to post performance videos online.

But when I tried to recruit students for lessons, I realized that people who had never heard me play would never want to learn from me.

When I was looking for a language tutor during the time I was planning to study abroad, the one I chose out of many was the one whoposted a video of themselves actually speaking fluently.

It’s like the saying 'seeing is believing'; I realized that rather than having someone read a fancy profile in text, it ismuch more effective to have them listen to a performance video to convey my appeal in an instant.

I took the plunge and opened a YouTube channel, and for the time being, I uploaded just two solo videos, thinking they could serve as a resume on the internet.

When I linked it to my other social media, for some reason, I started getting inquiries for lessons from people who had watched my performance videos.

I even received direct messages with kind words like, 'I listened to your performance, and your tone is so wonderful that I contacted you because I really want to take lessons!'

The student who sent me that message has been coming to my lessons for five years now.

I was worried about what others would think, but since it led to work in the end, I really think that action was for the best.

It took a long time to take that first step, but I thinkit is important to keep up with the times even if you feel resistant.

Since the beginning of this year, I've had to undergo oral surgery, which made me realize that you never know what might happen, so I've adopted the mindset of doing things while I can.

In my case, due to a combination of various factors, I have been posting performance videos more actively lately, and I am truly glad that I took that first step.

Recently, several videos I posted on Instagram have beenviewed over 100,000 times, and my followers increased by over 1,000 in one month.

In this day and age, posting on social media might be the quickest way to let people know, 'There is a trumpet player named Maruyama in Osaka! This is how I play!'

From an era not long ago when you couldn't even get your existence known unless you spent a huge amount of money to make a CD or became an artist who appeared on TV, to the present day whereanyone can instantly spread the word about themselves to the whole world for free.

If the only reason you don't post is that you're worried about what others think, I think that's a huge waste.

I don't think life is long enough to worry about such things, and I want to continue posting while I still can.

Of course, I have received strange comments, and there are times when I get hurt.

But first of all,I'm not posting for you, the person who made that comment, and I try to think that if there are haters, it means my performance is being spread to and heard by that many people(laughs)

I'm not naturally a positive person, and at first, there were times when I felt it was tough and I held grudges, but you get used to anything (laughs).

Andbeyond that, I receive happy comments, get work, and the visibility needed as a musician should also increase.

I think this era of dizzying and tremendous change will continue, but I will keep posting while thinking that I want to ride the wave of the times and keep taking on challenges.