We’re getting up, close, & personal with a powerhouse BBTV creator, MC Jams – the mastermind behind popular Minecraft YouTube channel MC Songs by MC Jams. In his interview, he offers a window into the hard work that goes into keeping his channel a favorite mainstay with Minecraft fans. With over 900,000 subs and counting, we can all learn valuable tricks of the creator trade from MC Jams. Check out our interview below:
Hi Dwayne, you’ve previously mentioned that your popular channel MC Songs by MC Jams was inspired by your son’s love for Minecraft. Can you explain why you decided to make a music channel centered around Minecraft? What is it about music that works so well with the Minecraft universe?
Yeah that’s basically how I started. I saw my son listening to Minecraft songs over and over all day and watching videos. Since I have been a musician and music producer all my life I knew I could do that and do it pretty good. So I produced my first song and made a Machinima to go with it and put it up on a channel that I named Minecraft jams. I did not think it was going to take off like it did but I’m pleased that it did.
You’re consistently uploading new content to your channel with a weekly post and sometimes even a few times in one week. How long does it take you to create a video from concept, to animation, to composing the soundtrack?
At first it took a couple months because of the animation. Animation takes a long time. But now if everything goes smooth we can produce a song and animation in 2 to 3 weeks.
Songs you usually take a day or two to write the lyrics and then another 4 to 5 days to get all the instruments mixing and production finalized.
What does your son think of MC Songs?
Hahaha… of course he likes them and he gives me his honest opinion about what he thinks is wrong. Most of the time he is right about what I did wrong and I take his advice. He still plays an important role in what I do.
What’s the most significant change in your life since you launched MC Songs by MC Jams?
That is a good question. Basically I went from writing music all day everyday to writing music every few days and overseeing animation production the rest of the time. But like a lot of YouTubers it’s still a 12-hour day at least every day. A lot of people don’t realize how much time it takes to produce a YouTube channel.
Who came up with your MC Jams channel name, and why the evolution from MinecraftJams?
The honest answer to that one is Mojang (the developer of Minecraft) made me change my name. Hahaha – They didn’t like the name Minecraft to be first in my title. And since everybody pretty much knows what MC stands for it hasn’t affected me.
You’ve collaborated with YouTube cover artists to recreate popular hit songs like Justin Bieber’s “Let Me Love You”. Is this a new direction we’ll be seeing more of in the near future?
A: I certainly want to. We are trying to get things situated so that we can do more of it. That will happen when the psycho girl channel gets more efficient.
What or who inspires you most when looking for new video content and song topics?
That of course is the most difficult part of this gig. When you have been writing music as long as I have it’s not really about inspiration it’s about just going to work. I don’t get inspired and then work. I work and then get inspired. I just try to mix good songwriting principles with having fun. That’s pretty much my formula in a nutshell.
What’s the one song on the radio right now that you just can’t help but belt out when it comes on?
Hahaha… believe it or not I don’t listen to the radio. People like me that do music for a living find that listening to music is more work than pleasure. But that is not to say that I don’t enjoy listening to the radio or Spotify and hearing what’s going on in music today. And I do enjoy it.
You have tons of engaged fans. Is there a specific positive interaction from a fan that has motivated you to keep your channel as awesome as it is?
Well basically when they’re giving good comments I’m cool. When they don’t like something they don’t hesitate to tell me it sucks and I listen to that. The fans control the direction of the channel for sure.
Lastly, tell us about the Psycho Girl character who is a recurring cast member in your videos. She’s launched her own channel recently, yeah?
Yes. Erica was a singer I hired. She saw what I was doing and basically volunteered. She has proven herself and become part of the family now. I’m very proud of what she is doing and her hard work. The channel has taken off nicely and has a great future.
