Why Rick Beato is Bad
A lot of people seem to hate on Rick Beato (no, it’s pronounced Beato) for being a boomer and not respecting younger/current artists and music styles. He has a clear skill in classic music production and knowledge of western music theory and obviously, he utilizes these skills and gravitates towards artists who are easily analyzed through this lens.
It’s not my goal here to shame him for this, but I will share one well-done criticism of Beato’s musical close-mindedness https://youtu.be/tODG4Xt45bU
While this person and others are entirely correct to feel this way, that isn’t my beef with him. Beato IS a boomer and is tied up with with certain outdated preferences but I really don’t care what his opinion is.
My dislike of Rick Beato comes from another very specific place. I became aware of his work via the series “What Makes This Song Great,” because I taught similar subject matter. (NOTE: my comments on RB will be limited to his work in this series of videos and not any of his other content).
I had been presenting a series of in-person courses called “Pop Music Breakdown” at the Brooklyn Brainery, in which we examine a popular song from the perspectives of music theory, production, and songwriting…Sound familiar?
So people would regularly recommend his videos to me (“Hey this guy does what you do too!”) and when I watched them, I’d always be disappointed.
If you haven’t seen any of his videos, I will provide an exceptionally brief outline of how they go:
1. “Here’s an incredibly famous song”
2. “Let’s solo every individual instrument”
3. Occasionally say something about mixolydian modes.
4. Wrap it up.
What his videos lack, and what drives my specific annoyance with him, is any kind of answer to the titular question: “What Makes This Song Great.”
He seems to just point out what all of the individual elements of the song are but never provides any kind of analysis as to why those things are artistically good or successful or how they may compare to other more/less “great” songs.
Imagine a video series that offers to analyze famous paintings and then just points out what colors the artist used (Well…I guess this one’s from Picasso’s “blue period” so, I’m gonna say blue?).
While it is not entirely uninteresting to hear the isolated stems for popular hit songs, I don’t think it is too much to ask that he actually add some additional insight. Obviously, there is a large audience who are totally fine with his content the way it is. Tons of people watch and appreciate his videos, so I really can’t fault him for giving people what they want — clearly, I am not his primary audience.
Although, I am not alone in my distaste for RB’s content (not to be confused with Arby’s Content). I recently discovered my most popular song on Spotify now is one I called “Rick Beato Diss Track” from the album Jorts Songs for Jorts People.
I sort of see this as part of a related trend on the internet in general: Social media content, podcasts, and YouTube creators where the user seems to just be reading or reiterating information verbatim from other sources. There’s no original thought or unique perspective gained, yet these are exceptionally popular.
Even in my own forays into making Tik Tok videos, I find the most popular videos are these — including one where I essentially read the Wikipedia entry for The Beatles’ song “Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.”
I guess part of the issue can go to the algorithmic question; why are these platforms pushing these videos over original music or other unique content? Or is the public actually just more interested in these videos than anything else? I think a bit of both is happening but I also believe that the latter is not just an incidental side effect of the algorithm™.
There is something very reassuring about being told what you already know to be true*: This song, which you already know and love, is “great.” Thank you for certifying this Mr. Beato.
*This is like a certain idea I have about The Grammys or the Rock Hall of Fame too, which is that no one cares who wins (unless it’s an artist you already like and then they absolutely deserve it).
There are many other creators (like the aforementioned 12tone, plus Adam Neely, Polyphonic, and more) who are making interesting content, giving unique insights into art, and asking their viewers to engage with the material in a deeper way BUT most people are not out looking for new things. We don’t want our minds to be changed. We want to be told that what we already know is true and feel good about ourselves.
Is that a bad thing? Of course not, but it is incredibly dull.
Rick Beato is not a bad man. He is just boring. All he does is gesture at the history of western popular music and give a hearty thumbs up.
Maybe his videos are turning some people onto new music; showing a younger generation great songs from a previous time that they would otherwise never hear. This must be seen as a good thing. Maybe Rick isn’t so bad after all.
Hey, if you like watching Rick Beato’s videos that is great for you. But if you are looking for an entertaining Beato-Alternative, I cannot recommend highly enough Pat Finnerty’s series What Makes This Song Stink.
