Atsym Sknyfs
Superstar
@producingfire Do you sell beats to artists you feel are wack? Like you hear their material and say to yourself, i cant give him this beat, this shyt fire
Your online production business is your Business
- Thread starter producingfire
- Start date
Short Version- Yes
More Detailed version
I do sell beats to artists that aren't as developed, if they have the budget to do so, Any artist can come to my store and license material. After all, the beats should be used. Especially if the artist is willing to invest in themselves and I, by spending their hard earned money. Most artists that purchase a lease, won't have the ability (system wise to push there record where it needs to be, that's commonly what separates the different artists. As far as technical skill, every artist is in constant development and if they don't have the talent to take records further than necessary by commercial standards, and they still want to invest in themselves, who am I to stop them. Especially with licensing, I can't lose, and if they magically have a 4-5 figure budget to invest in exclusivity, by all means.
There are a lot of talented artists that never get heard, because they don't get systems and tools in place to help them. Then you have artists, who aren't lyrically or artistically inclined that have a budget to pay you, and they do, and they push their music they often have the ability to sell it themselves and make their money to a certain extent, but they try to take it broader, and no one get's behind the music, and it ends for them the same way, but that's because at the end of the day, money or not, you must have people get behind the work and be willing to buy it. If not, then it isn't music business it's just music, and that's fun as well. But it's difficult if you're trying to make a living off of it.
Edit: You can always refuse to take on certain exclusive projects if you want to be selective with who you work with, especially if you feel like working with a person will effect your brand perception. So you have to figure out what works for you. There are tons of people that started out working with everyone, but then when they established themselves became selective, and that's ok to, it all depends on the person's situation.
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Atsym Sknyfs
Superstar
@producingfire explain to me your licensing a beat vs selling .. Does licensing give you the right to license or even sell the same beat to someone else?
Think i was asking if you feel a beat is to good for an artist or if you feel the artist wont complement a certain beat..
and i guess it can go the reverse where an artist feels his lyrics are to good for your wack beat.
hmmm
Think i was asking if you feel a beat is to good for an artist or if you feel the artist wont complement a certain beat..
and i guess it can go the reverse where an artist feels his lyrics are to good for your wack beat.
hmmm
If I License it to you non exclusively then you can go out and record on the beat, and even make some money with it. How many units, views and purchases are dependent upon that particular producer, but with a non exclusive license, a producer can sell that or license it to as many people as they can get it to.
Now with exclusive purchases are basically saying, I want to be the only one long-term to make money with this beat, I want this apart of my catalogue on an exclusive basis and I want no one else to be able to come to you later and buy an exclusive license.
purchasing non exclusives are great for up and coming artists because they are budget friendly typically
purchasing exclusives are great- for artists that want to market the song in the long-term and use it as a part of their catalogue forever. Perfect for artists with investors because they can market the song and push it without having to go back to the producer later, or worry about other artists marketing the record long-term, as often these artists won't be able to, or willing to push the record. with a lease, they can sell a certain number of copies, downloads, etc., but it's all capped in the production agreement between the producer and the artist.
the way streaming is popping right now, its best to get exclusive rights to beats.
If affordable for the particular artist I definitely agree.
Awesome Wells
The Ghost of Jack Tripper
This is true.
Problem is, a lot of indie artists can't afford the rates we ask for exclusive rights. So they usually walk. I don’t sell beat licenses. If I sell a beat, it's always exclusively for the artist. But the climate has changed so crazily over the years, a lot of artists try to lowball you for beats or expect free beats. With there being so many people making beats, a lot of people are more focused on shopping around for the cheapest tracks, rather than the best tracks.
definitely that's why I always say theirs a market for everybody, there's the leasing market, that many producers swim in, and there are a few successes, but then there are a lot that fail, but that's no different than any other industry, personal fitness trainers, affiliate marketers, ect.
That's true too.
but I feel like it ultimately comes down to what the producer and the artist are trying to do. Me personally, I've made lots of friendships with producers over the years (especially from here) where we'd do whole projects together for free. We'd sell or stream the finished product and split it in half. We just wanted to make quality music and create an audience. There's so many talented producers just sitting on fire ass beats that will prolly never see the light of day or get rapped on because they don't think their beats are good enough to sell or they aren't serious about selling their shyt. Then you have a bunch of less talented producers that make decent shyt, but sell there shyt and for a decent coin as well. Add in the real dope producers that sell their shyt for a high amount and boom you have a flooded beat game where the value for beats is all over the place. The cheap track could very well be the best track. It all comes down to how you navigate and what you want. That's why networking and building relationships is so crucial.
I've seen nikkas sell exclusives for a100 bucks that were every bit as quality as the exclusive another nikka selling for 1k. Then I've seen a nikka give a beat away for free that is every bit as good as the ones that nikkas were selling for 100 and 1k. Game different now. nikkas can get a free beat off youtube and make some shyt that go viral. Some producers prioritize money, some being heard, then some want both. At the end of the day shyt is on some Twlight zone beauty is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to beats.
Agreed. People have different goals, and they always evolve. So it does depend on the person and their current goals and situation. I know when I started all those years ago I wanted to get people on my track. Fast forward, yeah I want to get people on my track, but I need to make a living and pay bill while doing it. but I love it all the same.
Awesome Wells
The Ghost of Jack Tripper
Very true.
I agree that people definitely have different goals. I know dudes who were selling 10-12 beat package deals for $100, just to get their name out there. The beats could easily sell for more, but their focus is on building a brand first. The thing I always stress to other producers is just to never undervalue your work. You don’t have to charge artists a ton of money for tracks, but don’t compromise on your work's worth either. One thing I've seen a lot of recently, is rappers trying to devalue what producers are and do for artists. Or they expect you to give them free beats. Thing is, producers don’t need rappers. Rappers need producers.
So while everyone has different goals, I think producers have to get back to a place where we're all making sure to respect our work in a way that doesn't have us settling for whatever people think it's worth. Building relationships is definitely crucial, like you said. But I also think being selective about who you work with, is too. Your music is your brand today. So everyone should be mindful over who they have on their beats and how they're being used.
Agreed.
As a tech person. I remember when all ez website builders came out, and web designers were up in arms about whats going on, they are trying to get rid of us, and nobody values are work anymore. Now the people that design large scale websites still have a client base willing to pay them, because no matter what's available for people it takes time to learn. People want their main thing to be their main thing, as a result people don't want to invest the time or resources to learn what's in front of them. There will always be work out there. Bringing it back to music, and brands, I tell people music can be part of a brand, but the brand is the person. the individual the group, music is just a well woven fixture of that brand. It's because the brand is the brand that people will pay the money to support someone that may have lower quality music, but a more cultivated support base. or why Jim down the street can get $100 while your favorite "A" list producer Joe Smoe can get 5-10k per record doing the same or less amount of work than Jim." Value is perceived, so when people can effectively communicate the value they provide, money becomes easier to generate for any and everybody.
The bolded is why it always comes down to the goals of the individuals, because rappers and producers need each other. Unless you're some producer that just wants to sell drum kits or stream beat tapes, you'll eventually need rappers, singers , etc.. to get to the next level.
Once people start holding more value over the other, the balance is thrown off and respect is gets lost for both arts. Everybody starts taking each other for granted.
Goals, building relationships, and selective networking goes a long way. I've learned that money is everything, but you shouldn't do everything for money. So there's a balance nikkas have to find for themselves and make that work. I know producers that sell beats to wack nikkas, but then turn around and give discounts and freebies to artists that they actually like and who's music will help build their brand. Just gotta know how to manage your lane.
An update:
one of the artists that first bought a beat from me in 2013- bought 2 exclusives from me last night and early this morning for a combined total of over 2k. If I hadn't provided him a lease all those years ago for dirt cheap at the time time for $30.00 I wouldn't have made over 2k this morning. This goes to show that you can start with low prices and elevate your price, and brand, you don't have to forever be stuck at a low price point.
People can call it luck, but really it's just about putting yourself in position to be sustainable, no matter what "level" you are as a producer. You have to look at your standard of living and develop a clear plan in regards to how much money you need to live, as far as paying rent or mortgage, food and other necessities. The most difficult thing for me to do, was to understand the leasing market at first, and then develop a plan around sustainability. I had the problem originally when starting out where people would buy beats but then those people wouldn't need beats for a while, so I constantly had to invest in marketing and ads, which- is hit or miss at first, when you put yourself in a position of needing things to work right away, it hardly ever works as fast as you want it or need it to. That can also cause people to give up, especially when they don't see the progress.
So to that, I would say set a small goal for instance if you never sold or leased a beat before I would set a challenge to make 1 sell (either lease or exclusive in 30 days. This works because the goal is measurable, and it's something that's within immediate reach. It isn't like a college player that dreams to make it in the big leagues (baseball football, basketball take your pick) They have to wait, and although the dream is in reach, there's a minimum amount of time that they have to wait in order to obtain it. longer if the kid's in high-school. But you can work on leasing or selling 1 beat right now. the goal with the first sale or lease, doesn't have to be to make money, the goal here is just to show you it's possible. If you do take on the challenge let me know, and keep me posted on your results. Maybe a few producers take the challenge and we see multiple wins.
one of the artists that first bought a beat from me in 2013- bought 2 exclusives from me last night and early this morning for a combined total of over 2k. If I hadn't provided him a lease all those years ago for dirt cheap at the time time for $30.00 I wouldn't have made over 2k this morning. This goes to show that you can start with low prices and elevate your price, and brand, you don't have to forever be stuck at a low price point.
People can call it luck, but really it's just about putting yourself in position to be sustainable, no matter what "level" you are as a producer. You have to look at your standard of living and develop a clear plan in regards to how much money you need to live, as far as paying rent or mortgage, food and other necessities. The most difficult thing for me to do, was to understand the leasing market at first, and then develop a plan around sustainability. I had the problem originally when starting out where people would buy beats but then those people wouldn't need beats for a while, so I constantly had to invest in marketing and ads, which- is hit or miss at first, when you put yourself in a position of needing things to work right away, it hardly ever works as fast as you want it or need it to. That can also cause people to give up, especially when they don't see the progress.
So to that, I would say set a small goal for instance if you never sold or leased a beat before I would set a challenge to make 1 sell (either lease or exclusive in 30 days. This works because the goal is measurable, and it's something that's within immediate reach. It isn't like a college player that dreams to make it in the big leagues (baseball football, basketball take your pick) They have to wait, and although the dream is in reach, there's a minimum amount of time that they have to wait in order to obtain it. longer if the kid's in high-school. But you can work on leasing or selling 1 beat right now. the goal with the first sale or lease, doesn't have to be to make money, the goal here is just to show you it's possible. If you do take on the challenge let me know, and keep me posted on your results. Maybe a few producers take the challenge and we see multiple wins.
Atsym Sknyfs
Superstar
@producingfire did they ever approve you?