YouTube Millionaires: Dan Bull’s Rap Videos Provide A “Confidence Boost”

By 03/10/2016
YouTube Millionaires: Dan Bull’s Rap Videos Provide A “Confidence Boost”

Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.

This installment of YouTube Millionaires is brought to you by Epoxy. Epoxy-Logo-grey-text-40X120

The man featured in today’s YouTube Millionaires column must feel very Bullish about his online video presence. His name is Dan Bull, and thanks to his raps, he now has more than one million subscribers. In his videos, Bull often touches on current events and digital media issues, but he’s best known for waxing poetic about video games. No matter his subject, however, he always matches his sharp lyrics to an aggressive, fast-paced flow. Here are what he shared with us upon reaching his seven-digit milestone:

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Tubefilter: How does it feel to have one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?

Dan Bull: It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was eagerly counting down the days til I would hit 100,000 subscribers. Having ten times as much as that actually doesn’t feel much different — I suppose numbers become abstract after a while. I find it much more satisfying when I have a conversation with an individual fan who tells me how my music has affected their life.

TF: How did you get started with rap?

DB: To celebrate reaching a million subscribers I made a video showing a bunch of recordings I’d made at the beginning of my “career.”

Like most middle-class white rappers of my age, I was heavily influenced by Eminem, an interest that led me to explore and discover many more incredible hip-hop artists. I like to think that’s what sets my channel apart from other “comedy rap” channels — that I grew up absolutely obsessed with rap and have been practicing and trying to improve since I was about 13.

TF: How long does it take to make one of your videos from start to finish?

DB: Occasionally I’ll see something in the news that I know I need to say something about straight away, and in those cases I’ve been able to write, record, mix, edit and publish a video all in the same day. That’s pretty hectic though, and it usually takes me about a week to finish a particular video. A week’s work for me is rarely a 9-5 scenario. Sometimes I’ll work from dawn til dusk and other days I’ll mess around playing games.

I’m currently trying to make a more regular publishing schedule on my channel so I’m looking to collaborate more with videographers, animators, etc. so that I can focus on the thing I’m best at, which is making the music itself.

TF: What’s the most significant way you think YouTube has changed in the time you’ve been making videos?

DB: Aside from the sheer scale, I would say that it’s become a much more hostile and corporate-skewed environment, both in terms of copyright and in terms of the success of videos and channels. I remember how annoyed I was when VEVO was introduced as it seemed to be very explicitly about creating a “caste system” for musicians on YouTube where the elite would have a well-backed and promoted VEVO channel while the rest of us independent creators were left to fend for ourselves.

The very worst development in terms of creativity on YouTube has been Content ID. So many of my creator friends have horror stories about Content ID being used and abused and getting in the way of their work and earnings. I don’t think I know a single YouTuber who claims Content ID has helped them.

I did a poll on Twitter last week asking fellow creators whether Content ID had helped or hindered them and the results speak for themselves.

TF: On a similar note, what’s one change you’d like to see on YouTube?

DB: The copyright claim system should be adjusted to reflect an “innocent until proven guilty” attitude, rather than the opposite. It’s a fundamental of Western civilization!

TF: You’ve released a lot of albums. In our world of digital distribution, what do you see as the value of an album?

DB: I think the importance of the album has lowered in the age of instant streaming. I’m very much into playlists these days rather than albums, though I suppose you could call a playlist a “dynamic album.” However, for me, it feels like an achievement to publish a set of tracks that have something in common, and I look back on each album as a little milestone of where I was at in my life at that time.

The other benefit of releasing music like that is that it provides an extra revenue stream on top of YouTube revenue, and tends to be more stable than ad-based CPM. The price of a record doesn’t fluctuate much.

TF: You’ve been open and honest about your personal struggles. What has been the hardest obstacle you’ve had to overcome?

DB: That’s a tricky question. I have suffered from 3 or 4 pretty life-changing afflictions and they’ve each taken their toll. But I have also learned to adapt and cope with each of them. The one I’m struggling with most at the moment is my mystery ear condition, where I hear and feel constant popping and cracking sounds in my ear, and have painfully sensitive hearing. Not ideal for a musician at all. When I was growing up, the thing I struggled with most was the social issues that came with being on the autistic spectrum. However my achievements in my YouTube career have given me a huge confidence boost and helped me to accept that I will always be a bit odd, and that it’s fine.

TF: Is there a game you’ve wanted to make a rap about, but it hasn’t worked out for whatever reason?

DB: On my desktop there is a folder with hundreds, if not thousands of unfinished notes, demos, and one-line ideas for videos. I’ll probably never get around to finishing them all and it infuriates me. I remember Matt Groening saying his best advice is “finish your ideas” because an idea is only valuable if you do something with it.

TF: What’s next for your channel? Any fun plans?

DB: I’m always looking for ways to branch out, and I’m turning 30 this month which comes with a lot of self-reflection. Aside from making music I have a few long term goals and dreams that involve writing a movie, building a company, and doing more to help people and animals in need. The question is how to do all those while keeping my fans on board!

On Deck (channels that will soon reach one million subscribers): 8choKsFreakWhatElseperxitaa

Epoxy-Logo-grey-textThis installment of YouTube Millionaires is brought to you by Epoxy, the premier company that helps multi-platform creators and digital networks distribute videos, engage with fans, measure success, and grow their communities across the social web. Check out Epoxy’s new Sharing Studio, a place for quickly creating and distributing native social content from your YouTube channels.

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