PSA: One rude comment from a fellow creator made me rethink my whole channel

I was at a small creator meetup in Portland last spring, maybe 15 people in a coffee shop back room. There was this one guy with about 50k subs who kept making jabs at smaller channels like mine for using free music. He said straight to my face, "you'll never grow if you keep using those cheesy tracks from the free library." It really stuck with me because I put hours into picking songs that fit my video mood, not just grabbing whatever. He didn't offer any help or alternatives, just talked down to me in front of everyone. I walked out of there feeling pretty small, but it pushed me to learn about Creative Commons and find better quality free stuff. Has anyone else had a creator with a bigger channel treat you like you didn't belong?

2 comments

2 Comments

aaron_ellis421mo ago

50k subs and he's gatekeeping free music like he's some industry veteran?

mark6761mo ago

Hate when people act like they're too big for the small guys. Honestly, 50k subs isn't even that many in the grand scheme of things. Gatekeeping free music just looks petty, especially when you probably started out needing the same kind of exposure. Tbh, it feels like some people forget where they came from once they get a little attention.