GHP, I wouldn't look into it too much. I'm all over the place with these instances and thoughts. But in the end, you ARE making good music no matter what the attention span is for others. I have posted 100s and 100s of videos and audio tracks over the years and I see it too. I can spend 6hrs on what I think is an incredible improvisational tune, including visuals and it might get 23 views in a whole year but I post a folk song recorded with an iphone that mention's God and it gets 55K views. Weird. That's why I post my music anywhere I can post it so if it gets 2 more views because of me doing so, then it's a win. Music is meant to be heard. So record it. Do you. Post it. Repeat. LOL!

I used to think songs, tunes with words connect with others, better than instruments. Answer: It depends. Depends on what, I don't know? I've done all the hints, where I add all the meta tags, include all the suggestions recommended on YouTube for more hits. Sometimes it works, sometimes not.
Conclusion: This is from Rick Rubin: if there's a decision to create or not, do make stuff. Make it as good as you can, that particular day. The other thing he said, I sorta forgot. He said: Make it for yourself. You'll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out others.
When I post, it's mostly a sort of archive. I started converting stuff to mp3. In a year, I have about 300 folders/directories, each are dated. Three or four years worth, archived locally. I thought it would be too much for YouTube. Well, there's folks that have hundreds of files on YouTube now. I could just store them there in the unlisted. If nobody finds them, I'm good with it. They wouldn't be hidden.
Sounds like I got it dialed in but, I still fall into the "social currency" trap, sometimes. Keep on doing stuff, and making stuff. Then you die. You know I think of ol' Fuger (jerry) and I think of ol' Pogo. We can look back at their posts, and they live again.

Youtube views seem to depend mainly on two things: 1) the familiarity/unfamiliarity of the title - if someone recognizes the title of the song or tune, they click; otherwise, they don't; 2) the dreaded algorithm - no one will even see the title if youtube buries it. If it's any consolation, I've seen youtube videos of big stars that only have a couple of dozen views.

I'm not so sure its a "natural thing to want to share your music" (with the general public). I played music for my own enjoyment and curiosity, and in my younger days i spent hours in my room trying to learn to play guitar and banjo. When I got good enough I was amazed that people would pay me to do this - no more mowing lawns, clearing driveways, or selling shirts and sweaters in a mens clothing store.
I've probably played more notes for more people than many here, and appreciation from an audience was gratifying, but still my interest was my own satisfaction, and the great fun (and sometimes a thrill) of playing with other musicians.
I don't play much these days, but I have no interest in playing with myself in the basement, although I have the equipment. I've never posted anything on YouTube, and don't know how. My only public archive is here on my music page, which gets a few plays. My current interest is getting one phrase of "Midnight in the Water" so it sounds close.
To answer your question, people like what they know, and the number of people who want to hear fiddle and banjo music is very, very small. Maybe you should include "Amish sister wife" in your titles somehow - that seems to be popular these days.

Hmm, although this is a nice topic, I'm not subscribed to it but am getting the notifications...!!!????

Lee, I have accidentally subscribed to topics on here, somehow, before. It'll drive ya nuts until you unsubscribe...lol. Even if I am interested in a conversation...I just hate notifications.

Well I've spent many hours growing up as Doug says, by myself working out how to play instruments and how chord progressions, harmonies, etc. work. I'm not talking about that though...I'm not even complaining that I rarely get that many views on my YouTube channel.

My point is that I don't get what people like. To me...a simple fiddle tune can be pretty awesome and at least from my perspective here and now, isolated as I am, it seems that it takes a Bob Dylan song or John Denver song for anybody much to pay attention. I don't care that much if people pay a whole lot of attention or not...there's absolutely nothing in it for me, except the happiness if somebody told me they played along...lol. Then, ok...I was jamming with...somebody somewhere. But all I'm saying is it's kind of confusing to me to figure out what kind of music people are into.

I didn't notice this sort of thing the few times I did have to play FOR people...in the overly-mentioned Steak House...or for weddings or street festivals or things like that...it seemed people equally responded to something, something radio...lol, for lack of better description, or some old murder balled or old tunes...I didn't really do too many fiddle tunes back then because I could never manage to get myself a fiddle of my own. I did the ones you can sing to...like Soldier's Joy/ Love Somebody, yes I do...etc., those kinds. But I never noticed much difference in apparent interest in whatever kind of tunes. On YouTube I notice a difference.

I'm not good with computers, as should be obvious...lol...and we have switched computers and had them mess up on us and stuff...so I don't have mp3s of my recordings...just a small handful on a thumb drive...that's it. So...well I've worked hard to make time and get the technical issues together and had a lot of fun playing them, but they will be lost from me if anything happens to YouTube (ie., Elon buying it and probably charging people to use it? Maybe?) . I wouldn't want to lose them, but as I said I do have a handful on a thumb drive. I have loved doing them whether anybody ever could listen or not, just for the sake of the music for myself. But also, being a temporal art, I think the natural instinct is, as I said, not really to perform...I mean, maybe, but mainly to share...share with the guy at the post office who has a banjo (not in my world...lol...just as example) or somebody. Whether that's performing or just messin' around with anybody who wants to...sharing is sharing. I do think it's a natural thing...like if you have a big chocolate cake...I think the natural thing is to have somebody else to enjoy that with, not really so much just eatin' all by yourself. Maybe that's just me though. I like community.

In public I'd rather play a tune I love rather then a popular tune thats not so engaging. But if you're getting paid, well you gotta feed the masses. We play 'Night Music on the Streets of Madrid", a Boccherini piece, almost every show because people ask for it. Its nice. But I'd rather play many of the Scottish tunes we also do.

Peggy, I've looked and looked and don't see an UNSUBSCRIBE option anywhere..

I've never made much more than a few pennies playing music, and I simply don't have any urge to make the proverbial farthing or buck doing it now. No matter what instrument I sit at or pick up, I attempt to play whatever piece of music suits my fancy at the moment. If there's somebody within listening range, fine. If not, that's fine, too. It's the music itself that floats my boat. Nothin' else.

Tuneweaver - Do you see the "Subscribe to this topic" checkbox below the quick reply box? I sometimes check it by mistake. Just uncheck it to unsubscribe.
Peggy - Do you know that for about $25 you can get a little adapter that will allow you to access the hard drive of a dead computer just like an external hard drive? Very useful and easy to use. I don't know why people save their precious work as .mp3's. Storage is so cheap today its silly not to use .wav or similar format, unless you don't really care.
I have no idea why people might prefer one YouTube over another, unless its just what is fed to them. I have a YouTube account, but keep my watch history off to minimize tracking. But I get the most outlandish suggested videos anyway.
Our band spent so much time together that we accumulated a little stock of silly sayings that we thought were funny (or not). One was the old adage "Fast and loud pleases the crowd, soft and slow, watch them go."

You get outlandish suggestions because they are the popular videos and since you have no history, you get the "cream of the crop" so to speak. I mostly get soccer, old time fiddle and things from my subscriptions. The occasional thing I'm uninterested in I do not watch.

Doug, no, "subscribe to this topic" does NOT appear..That is the problem..and neither does "Unsubscribe" appear..

I looked around.. on other forums/topics the subscribe option is available as is the unsubscribe, but on THIS topic those options don't appear... I've been on the Hangout long enough to know that "That  ain't right"...I contaced the moderators.. maybe they can straighten this out.. It isn't critical and I'll sleep well tonight but it IS just a little interesting.

I see the subscribe right before the last post which happens to be yours, Lee. Weird that you don't see it. I took a screenshot but it isn't in the proper format so ...

What I see is three options "new topic" "reply" and "subscribe" each with its own little icon of different colors.

There's also a question mark and a green rectangle that says "link to group"

Well Peggy, maybe it means that people like your singing?

And for me, I like hearing a familiar old tune/song done a new way…so If I recognize the title of something I like, I’m more likely to click and listen. And if something starts getting more clicks, it’s more likely to be offered via the algorithm…so there is kind of a snowball effect at work…

I don’t really care about playing for audiences…I make music for myself for own enjoyment. But the “positive feedback’ I get is when other players at session ask for the names of the tunes I played, and learn them! That makes me so happy…when one of my favorites get picked up by the other players.

In my experience, this is what I've found: There's no comparison, playing solo verses playing with others. Playing with others is an order of magnitude better. If you're better than the guy or folks you're playing with, grow some patience and compassion. You may earn some respect.
You don't have to teach. But you don't need to make it more difficult. I'm not pointing a finger at anyone in particular.

The other thing I've found is that there are people that absolutely love the live music. Mostly elderly because they remember it, and it must have played a large part in their past. Iowa is full of dinosaurs, like myself. A fifty year old farmer is a young farmer. For most of my life, a telephone was nowhere to be found. We also knew our multiplication tables. No, I'll stop there. If you've ever seen the face of someone when they hear a song they haven't heard in fifty or sixty years? Why wouldn't you want to make somebody's day? The guys I play with, love to play together. The folks we play for, love to listen.

The recording and archiving is just icing on the cake. A writer writes because he or she must. A musician plays because he or she must. A dear friend has driven big trucks all his life. He still loves it. He's a truck driver.

This kinda reminds me of a funny part of the ol' steak house...lol...there were two guys who owned it and ran it with their own ideas, neither ever having run a business or restaurant, but they sorta had money in their family and decided to try this. It really was a great success because it was the only place in the county with really good food and nice atmosphere (they built the building and made it look pretty homey just with their own imaginations, really)....anyway, the locaation as the last exit in KY on i-75 made it an instant stopping point for travellers, and with Cumberland College having lots of visitors, poets, scientists, lecturers, etc., the place was always booming. Anyway, one of the owners was our state representative too...he was sorta the big boss man there...so if I was singing in my little corner and I saw him approaching, I'd have to do whatever possible to avoid eye contact with him...lol. It was hard to do. Why did I avoid eye contact with him whenever I was sitting with my guitar and mic?

Because if he got my attention even for a second, he would kind of snort and say, "Hon, play Bridge over Troubled Waters, " or else, "Hon, Play Puff the Magic Dragon." Lol...omg I really cannot stand to sing either one of those songs. I just can't sing either with a straight face...they just aren't genuine me...lol. So, Yeah I saw him comin' I tried to seem focused on something else...lol. Didn't work most of the time, but I was always hopeful I could get out of it. I always prided myself on getting through the four hours without repeating a song unless somebody asked for it. But not those two...lol...I just don't like 'em enough to sing 'em.

Well as I said...I'm not a technical person...I don't know anything about saving wav files or whatever...they just get lost soon after I do 'em. Except for a handful I was lucky enough to get before the other computer crashed on me. I would rather be playing with a bunch of other real groundhogs, but glad to have my imaginary ones at this point.