If there is lack of participation then there are reasons.
There may be many reasons that nothing can be done about. "Nature of the beast" so to say.
 
One reason that I believe to be "nature of the beast";
It has a majority of people trying to learn. They get advice from people that are trying to learn.
The advice is generally different - "turn up the bass"...."turn down the bass"....and very often the advice is about something the OP wasn't in question about and made that clear.
 
It's very troubling when one gets advice from another that has posted demonstrating they have the same issues and are asking for advice IF they are looking for more than just participating with peers.
 
It's all much different than having an evaluation of ones material by a professional in a professional listening environment. That is something that I just can't see happening in a forum over the internet.
If one truely wants to learn about mixing they'd be better off sending high quality files to a pro, which may be a member, or a song writing forum...specific forum for specific interests.
 
What does one expect to achieve from Song Forum participation and can that be achieved there?
Lack of participation supports that it doesn't supply what many are looking for. For whatever reasons one may want to believe.

As a side note, I'm in several forums including a couple that are not music related and it's been noticed in all of them that participation is down.  

Personally (and I know this may sound a bit trite), I just like listening to what other people are doing.
 
I don't particularly want to offer mix advice, but will if something leaps out at me. I'm more interested in the writing, the playing or the arrangement really. Likewise I don't really mind if no-one offers me mix advice, but once I've finished a piece of music, I want people to hear and hopefully enjoy it, otherwise, there wasn't much point in doing it.
 
I just find it a bit curious that a forum which is all about recording music, has (seemingly) so little interest in listening to music created by others with the same software.
 
At the very least, there's inspiration to be drawn there.

jamesg1213
.... I don't really mind if no-one offers me mix advice, but once I've finished a piece of music, I want people to hear and hopefully enjoy it, otherwise, there wasn't much point in doing it.

bapu

jamesg1213
.... I don't really mind if no-one offers me mix advice, but once I've finished a piece of music, I want people to hear and hopefully enjoy it, otherwise, there wasn't much point in doing it.

Agreed 

A lot of you know me.
 
I was a pretty frequent poster and commentator in the songs forum. When I first joined a lot of folks took exception, even umbrage, to the way I was critiquing their tunes. I would really listen closely and point out the spots that irked me sonically and structurally, and offer suggestions. After giving so much advice and seeing it unheeded, it dawned on me that many posters just wanted a pat on the back, and that was really it. But that wasn't what I went there for.
 
My home got hit bad by Hurricane Sandy, and in the last 16 months I have barely participated at all. I actually had plenty of time but little desire.
There are a few jerkoffs who end up causing a lot of discord over there, and it really got me bothered to be spending so much time there with so little reward. Along with:

• The incessant "Work In Progress" songs that never progress...
• Too many lousy recordings...
• Too many LOUSY songs, where folks are barely trying to get better...
• The lack of real good competent listeners who can provide solid feedback...
• The lack of willingness of the actually good competent listeners to provide solid feedback...myself included...
• Thin-skinned posters who cannot take honest, thoughtful and insightful pointed commentary without going into fits of rage...
• The voluminous and obligatory "sounds great, thanks for sharing" posts...while nice, this gentility, in effect, neuters the dynamic so much. And encourages more of the same.
• Posters who have rather long conversations with themselves. And mostly about themselves.

Maybe things will change...I hope they do. That place used to buzz with great creative energy. Now it is mostly a mausoleum for the stymied dreams of middle-aged men.
 
 

"Now it is mostly a mausoleum for the stymied dreams of middle-aged men."
 
thanks for your incredibly insightful comments James-will be interesting to check in on you in 20 years when you are also middle-aged,but then you are probably too talented and successful to end up being "stymied" like us especially with your good looks and apparent prodigious talent.
 
was almost tempted to post some concert footage or press photos of myself when I was your age but that would be pandering to my own egocentricity and that would be hypocritical as I am now an old man-wouldn`t it?  
 
 

webbs hill studio
"Now it is mostly a mausoleum for the stymied dreams of middle-aged men."
 
thanks for your incredibly insightful comments James-will be interesting to check in on you in 20 years when you are also middle-aged,but then you are probably too talented and successful to end up being "stymied" like us especially with your good looks and apparent prodigious talent.
 
was almost tempted to post some concert footage or press photos of myself when I was your age but that would be pandering to my own egocentricity and that would be hypocritical as I am now an old man-wouldn`t it?  
 
 

No need to be a jerk about it, Webb...I am most certainly middle aged (48 this year) and place myself in the same mausoleum. Amazing how people mis-interpret universal commentary as private put-downs, but they are gonna read what they wanna read, no? 

I just don't feel right about a music environment where I can not actually say what the mix was suppose to be.
Perhaps the artist intended it to be that way - say the bass is too loud or some other part that seems not right to me.
I just can not tell anymore, so actually I can not add anything that much if at all that would be useful.
That is music! I think the performer or artist knows what he intended the song to sound like.
I feel useless to try and critique the intent of music I can not know, but just listen to.
obviously my comments may mean something but the usual "It sounds fine" just seem to get old to put down on.
Obviously I do not like all the music I may hear and think it sound repetitive to other music, but then again, I think that I can not really say anything bad about it, after all if the mix is close, I can not tell how it was intended with the mix, then I feel it is not my place to say anything bad about it. I guess I lack the words to comment any more about any song.
??
And after-all I have made some comments where I thought the mix was wrong but henceforth have changed the way I think about any song - I can not tell what the artist intended so I just have no comment I can give.
It would be like asking the person putting up the song:
Is that the way you intended it to be?
If he states in the first post that it is, or he still working on it, then what??
I am at a loss then as to anything to say.
Perhaps I need a speech writer, but then that is not going to happen.
 
All I can say is that the next song and some old songs I have done - you all should love!

Well, I will leave now, because actually I feel I could do better with some and probably all of those to have began with.
 

jamesyoyo

webbs hill studio
"Now it is mostly a mausoleum for the stymied dreams of middle-aged men."
 
thanks for your incredibly insightful comments James-will be interesting to check in on you in 20 years when you are also middle-aged,but then you are probably too talented and successful to end up being "stymied" like us especially with your good looks and apparent prodigious talent.
 
was almost tempted to post some concert footage or press photos of myself when I was your age but that would be pandering to my own egocentricity and that would be hypocritical as I am now an old man-wouldn`t it?  
 
 

No need to be a jerk about it, Webb...I am most certainly middle aged (48 this year) and place myself in the same mausoleum. Amazing how people mis-interpret universal commentary as private put-downs, but they are gonna read what they wanna read, no? 

I'm ready for this Juan