Jack Conte

Jack Conte (/ˈkɒnti/; born July 12, 1984) is an American musician, singer-songwriter, disc jockey, entrepreneur, and filmmaker. He is one half of the band Pomplamoose, along with his wife Nataly Dawn, and CEO and co-founder of Patreon.

Conte has recorded two EPs—Sleep in Color and Nightmares and Daydreams—and released them along with the compilation VideoSongs Volume I through the iTunes Store. Conte's use of Electro-Harmonix audio equipment has been featured by the company in several videos.

Conte's first notable appearance in mainstream media was as a voice actor for The Sims 2.

He gained widespread attention when his video Yeah Yeah Yeah was featured on YouTube's main page. The video, animated in stop motion, has over one million views as of August 2020. The majority of his new music is released as singles posted to YouTube. These mostly take the form of "VideoSongs", a medium he defines with two rules:

1. What you see is what you hear. (No lip-syncing for instruments or voice)
2. If you hear it, at some point you see it. (No hidden sounds)

Conte formed the band Pomplamoose with Nataly Dawn in mid-2008. The band's presence is primarily online, having only performed a handful of live shows. Nevertheless, the collaboration has garnered significant fan support. Fueled by the feature of their video "Hail Mary" on the main page of YouTube, Pomplamoose's channel has 1 million subscribers. The duo produced the third studio album released by Julia Nunes in 2010.

On May 7, 2013, Conte announced the launch of Patreon, a crowdfunding venture, together with co-founder Samuel Yam. According to Conte, the startup is "like a kickstarter for people who release stuff on a regular basis."

Jack Conte is the keyboardist and founder of the funk band Scary Pockets.

Jack Conte has been identified as a "Young Global Leader" by World Economic Forum in 2020.

Much of Conte's work has been met with positive reviews, citing evocative lyrics in Sleep in Color, creative delivery of his videosongs, and the tenacity to create a niche in the Internet music market. However, Conte's music was reviewed less favorably by Amplifier magazine: "Hints of Conor Oberst, Radiohead, Patrick Watson, contemporary punk rock (screamo), radio power pop, and incalculable other singer songwriters are more than borrowed, making for a short mishmash of electro rock."

Conte grew up in Marin County, California. He studied music and composition at Stanford University, graduating in 2006. Conte and Nataly Dawn became engaged in January 2016, and the two were married in May 2016.

Albums

• VideoSongs Volume 1

• Release date: August 29, 2008
• Label: ShadowTree Music
• Format: Digital download

1. "Push"
2. "Eat"
3. "These Days"
4. "The Giant"
5. "Lonely Ghost"
6. "Flavors"
7. "Passenger Seat" (featuring Louis Cole)
8. "Yeah Yeah Yeah"
9. "Hail Mary"
10. "Be Still"

• VideoSongs Volume 2

• Release date: August 15, 2008
• Label: ShadowTree Music
• Format: Digital download

1. "We Grew Up So Well"
2. "Kitchen Fork"
3. "This Disaster"
4. "Ten Thousand Feet Per Second"
5. "Out of Nowhere"
6. "Trains and Window Collection"
7. "Impression"
8. "On Planets"
9. "Gulf"
10. "I Know"

• VS4

• Release date: March 23, 2011
• Label: ShadowTree Music
• Format: CD, Digital download

1. "Make the Grade"
2. "Time of Your Life"
3. "Sinking Feeling"
4. "The Time Has Come"
5. "Off With His Head"
6. "Long Long Time Ago"
7. "Mercenary"
8. "Away"
9. "Only Dreaming"
10. "Get It Out"
11. "I Would Be Happy"
12. "I Wonder Where the Moments Go"
13. "Mister Money Bags"
14. "Push It"
15. "Reprise"

Extended plays

• Nightmares and Daydreams

• Release date: May 21, 2007
• Label: ShadowTree Music
• Format: Digital download

1. "Starlight"
2. "Tick Tock"
3. "Yeah Yeah Yeah"
4. "Unfrozen"

• VideoSongs Volume 3

• Release date July 13, 2008
• ShadowTree Music
• Format: Digital download

1. "The Way It Was Before"
2. "Freaks and Clowns"
3. "Bloody Nose"
4. "Get Happy"

• Sleep in Color

• Release date: September 25, 2008
• Label: ShadowTree Music
• Format: CD, Digital download

1. "Hollywood Endings"
2. "Like a Match"
3. "The Greatest Hoax"
4. "Now That's Sacred"
5. "Carousel Waltz"

• Conte

• Release date: 2013
• Label: ShadowTree Music
• Format: Digital download

1. "I Know Better"
2. "The World Is Easy"
3. "Pedals"
4. "Real DJ (V1)"

Music videos

• "Yeah Yeah Yeah"