Tycho: “The online world has become this ugly, funhouse mirror of what people are really like”In 2025, it’s never been more important for artists to cultivate a dedicated social media following to maximise their music’s reach. And while the goal is to attract engaged fans, putting yourself out there always comes with a risk of being the target of negativity.
While he admits that the negativity levelled his way has been minimal compared to some artists, producer Scott Hansen – aka Tycho – even set up the Tycho Open Source Community in 2022, as a way to mitigate the negative online experiences on his pages. Here, fans receive exclusive access to new music and content, as well as early ticket and merch sales.

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“Being an artist and putting yourself out there these days… That’s been an interesting thing to watch shift,” he says in a new interview with MusicTech. “Just to see the dialogue change over time on those platforms.
“I feel like [the Tycho] fan base is so cool and accepting and understanding, and they’re just along for the ride. But on other people’s pages and on YouTube, I see people paring things down, and being so opinionated and so negative. 
“It makes you start to believe that the rest of the world has this negative tone. But then you go into the real world and talk to people, and people are really cool, kind and caring. So [the online world has become] this ugly, funhouse mirror of what people are really like.”
Tycho explains that the nature of the advertising-first business model of the top social media platforms has damaged emerging artists’ ability to access new fans.
“The ability for individuals, especially artists just starting out, to access those audiences is becoming less and less because the platforms are essentially becoming like networks to serve advertisements and boost things that already have legs and not really helping develop new ideas or new artists.
“I’m not saying that’s something they’re supposed to be doing, but that’s what you used to be able to leverage these tools for. I just feel like you can’t do that in the same way you once could.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Tycho reveals what he believes to be “one of the best soft synths ever made”.
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