GOLDEN BULWARK: Let's start right away. Are streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music and Co. having a positive or negative impact on the music world?

Deniz Türkmen: Well, streaming services are of course perfect for musicians who don't have contracts with famous record companies and sponsors. In the olden days, you had to sign an important deal to get a spot on those coveted CD shelves. Now you can remain independent and be heard in the world, streaming services are also good for musicians who have very little income from concerts or projects. Of course, headphones cannot replace a concert hall, a freshly tuned grand piano in a historic hall with fine acoustics is a completely different atmosphere.

G.B.: Are the concert halls emptier since streaming services grow more and more?

D.T.: No, not in the classical music branch. On the contrary, it is very often sold out, especially when you have lesser-known composers from the 19th century in the concert repertoire. People who listen to classical music are generally willing to spend more because they love the atmosphere of the concert hall. They are people for whom culture plays an important role in life. Any streaming services do not quench the thirst of these music lovers. However, in the other music branches, such as rock, the concerts are getting emptier and emptier.

G.B.: What about CDs? Are they dying out?

D.T.: No, not in the classical music branch. I own a lot of CDs and old LPs myself, and every younger and older classical music lover I know too, some even have an extra room with huge shelves and sound systems. Like I said, the classic lover is willing to spend more and loves the art and culture, but for many other genres of music things are rather dusty. That's why fewer and fewer CDs are produced and concerts are held from year to year for music genres such as rock, hip hop or pop.

G.B.: Are people who listen to rock, hip hop or pop, for example, more stingy?

D.T.: Not stingy, but for these people, art and culture don't play a major role in life. Now that sounds arrogant, but it's the mass taste of shallow people who just follow the herd because everyone is doing it. Where most people go to a burger or coffee franchise, the cultured person wants a nice atmosphere and is therefore looking for a good eatery or café in the area.

G.B.: Now to a question many aspiring musicians are asking. What is the competition like on Spotify, for example?

D.T.: The competition on Spotify is very fair, especially when you record, for example, late romantic composers who died very young, such as Lekeu or Stanchinsky, two geniuses who have unfortunately been forgotten, but with recordings you can bring them back to life and let the world hear it. These recordings are then presented to specific audiences on Spotify, an audience that listens a lot to "Various Composers" for example. Of course, there is a difference if you have a big and well-known record company behind you or if you are an independent musician. Nonetheless, pianists who have themselves won major piano competitions around the world and signed contracts with famous record companies are even drowning in the crowds sometimes. It has to be unique and very interesting for the listener.

G.B.: What do record companies do differently?

D.T.: Well, there are playlists from Spotify with many followers, these record companies have contracts with Spotify to put their artists in these playlists. But the fact that an artist has a contract with a famous record company doesn't mean anything and can backfire. Ultimately, the listener decides what he wants to hear and what not.

G.B.: I saw that you are also in popular Spotify playlists like "Relaxing Piano Music". How did you get in there?

D.T.: Quality is everything, it has to be unique, then Spotify's editorial staff will take notice. Of course, a lot of patience is also required. It was always important to me to remain an independent musician, and it also works without a big and well-known record company. I am the proof! The best of all, it leaves more of the cake for myself as these record companies take a big chunk of it.

G.B.: Creating something unique is the best move?

D.T.: Absolutely! I have arranged Turkish and Azerbaijani art songs for the piano with a touch of Chopin's style. Something like that is unique and very interesting for the listener. Things that have been recorded so many times are difficult to enforce. It doesn't have to be your own composition either, there are so many lesser-known composers from the 19th century. If you do want to record stuff that has been recorded a million times before, such as Chopin's Nocturnes, then by all means try not to imitate legends like Horowitz or Rubinstein, play it how you feel, I don't know how many pianists trying to imitate them, it's annoying. In short, make it special.

G.B.: Do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

D.T.: The untalented musician criticizes others. The talented musician criticizes himself. The greatest virtuosos like Beethoven, Chopin or Rachmaninoff had a lot of self-doubt. Desperation is the best teacher. It guides you to your first masterpieces.

G.B.: Thank you for the interview!

Additional questions from readers:

What are monthly listeners on Spotify? Are they very important?

D.T.: A monthly listener is someone who has heard you for at least 30 seconds in the last 28 days. Active listeners, i.e. fans, are much more important. There are artists with over 50,000 monthly listeners, but not even 100 fans. If you're wondering how these artists get such a high number of monthly listeners, I can tell you that they are randomly suggested by Spotify Radio. The number of high monthly listeners and few fans shows that most people are not interested, and that's not a good thing. Fans hear you very often, many almost every day. Among my fans there are people who listen to me at least 30 minutes a day, that's over 14 hours a month. Having fans is the most important thing. One-time monthly listeners who do not follow you as a fan are of no use. You can see it as if someone just looks at your store's window and walks away after a few seconds.

Are streaming services an important source of income for you? What is the income from streams?

D.T.: No. I run my own music school. I also lead various music projects with my artist group GOLDEN BULWARK. Well, what I earn from 200,000 streams is my music school's earnings in just one day. Streaming services are a good side income.

I've always wondered what goes on in the brain of a classical pianist. Are there differences between musicians from classical, jazz and other musical genres? Are there any studies on this?

D.T.: Yes, there are many studies on this, classical musicians have the most complex and defined brain processes, and are also more finicky. Classical pianists can also play other styles of music such as jazz without any problems, since the technique is more defined and by far the most mature. If you look at the spectrum of classical music, you can see that there are thousands of, let me name them, musical patterns. For example, when the classical pianist prepares a new piece, certain bars are repeated several times until the desired structure and dynamics are achieved. You can think of it as mixing a color, for the classical pianist there are different colors of red. Here we come to the jazz musician, the process in the brain is similar, but not nearly as complex and defined as with the classical musician. Jazz pianists have some trouble playing classical works because they don't have such a wide range of musical understanding and technique. If you look at jazz music you can see that it always stays within a frame, the patterns are always similar. For example, when the jazz pianist plays something, he doesn't think so much about the interpretation, to put it simply, there is only one color red for the jazz musician. And finally, the so-called other musicians in rock, hip hop, pop et cetera, with these musicians it's like painting by numbers like in kindergarten. Nothing difficult, simple melodies and chords that repeat. To get to the point. The classical musician paints a landscape. The jazz musician draws a sketch. The rest leave the paper blank.