Talk about the music biz - marketing, promotions, contract law, copyright etc...
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By MalaKai Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:33 am
thanks everyone. i updated it with correcting some minor spelling and grammar errors and clarifying the "exclusive" and "work for hire" terms. basically exclusive doesn't necessarily mean that you're giving up full ownership of rights for a beat, but work for hire does.
By BGBEATS Tue Dec 22, 2009 1:30 pm
MalaKai wrote: Put more bluntly, don't sell mp3s. It's tacky and unprofessional. You want to be taken seriously as a producer, and serious producers don't sell mp3s for artists to rap over.



I have probably, honestly, and realistically only made somewhere in the range of $600.
( in 7 years)



The first statement above most likely has much to do with the 2nd statement under it being so.

The reason is because by not selling mp3 beats online, you are ignoring a worldwide mp3 beat buying market that is made up of home recording artists recording songs and mixtapes to post online and give away as well as those that
sing/rap/record for fun as a hobby, these artists are not worried about having tracked out pro tools session and/or his res .wav files as many of them are gonna record their vocals with the cheapest mic available and maybe straight into the computer's built in mic input/soundcard. These artists simply want beats similiar to their fav artist's beats and usually start off recording over released instrumentals but decide to get other beats ( yours/mine ettc) to use for same purpose and mp3's suit them just fine. You do not have to treat these mp3 beat sales with the same approach as you would approach an exclusive placement with a signed artist/label, yet the money is just as green and plentiful
just less on a per sales basis yet you lose nothing being that there is no actual transfer of copyright/ publishing while these artists are most likely not going to generating any publishing money for you anyway.

This worlwide mp3 beat market does not limit you to the woes of your local economy and the mp3's small file size easy streaming ability and general popularity with the general public has made it the file of choice in the online beats market.

Seeking major placements with signed artists/labels is a whole other "industry" and you can go for both even using different names/brands when going for each, if you feel the need, just know that the odds are against you in the majors game so you may as well make some money in the online mp3 beat sales arena where anybody can have a chance to make some money, buy some more gear, put gas in the car, pay the rent etc, off selling beat mp3's.

It's mostly marketing/branding competition because pretty much anybody can produce these types of beats once they learn their mpc or software (or both) then get the sound library to make em.

Artist's as well as general public percieve "louder" as better which results in mp3 beats being squashed with compressors/limiters as the louder beat usually sells before the "better" beat with more headroom. I'm not saying it is good,just that is how it happens.


All in all just look at selling mp3 beats online as the same thing as an artist selling mp3 songs online, difference being that you are able to charge 10x or 20x or 50x the price of the song mp3's because along with the mp3 you are granting "non exclusive license" (giving buyer permission) to use the mp3 beat in a new recording(derivitive work) and distribute the new recording. (with vocals added)
(example itunes looking beat store) ihttp://www.myflashstore.net/flash/isto ... ser_id=229


Lot's a great info in your whole article and very good legal resources and links, I just had to disagree with the mp3 thing just based on the market out there online today.
Last edited by BGBEATS on Tue Dec 22, 2009 2:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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By MalaKai Tue Dec 22, 2009 3:38 pm
BGBEATS wrote:You do not have to treat these mp3 beat sales with the same approach as you would approach an exclusive placement with a signed artist/label, yet the money is just as green and plentiful
just less on a per sales basis yet you lose nothing being that there is no actual transfer of copyright/ publishing while these artists are most likely not going to generating any publishing money for you anyway.


that's true, i don't typically expect or imagine getting publishing money overtime through scattered leasing deals. the main reason i haven't made as much money has more to do with the fact that i haven't been selling beats outside of people i know and loose acquaintances. i haven't even begun selling yet really. also, the fact that i would have specific terms w/ leasing deals (e.g., commercial release of one master recording for up to 3,000 copies, etc.) is for the off chance that someone sells a lot of records from a leased beat. you never really know.


BGBEATS wrote:Artist's as well as general public percieve "louder" as better which results in mp3 beats being squashed with compressors/limiters as the louder beat usually sells before the "better" beat with more headroom. I'm not saying it is good,just that is how it happens.


the main reason i'm against the whole mp3 thing is that because i acknowledge, just like you pointed out, a lot of cats buying up leased beats first of all don't even know how to record. most songs like this that i've heard sound terrible not only due to this but also the fact that the one selling the beat didn't bother to even leave enough headroom for the vocals. so you can imagine what the outcome is. you know a limiter is going to be slapped on that bad boy anyway.

more specifically, it just seems like everything i've learned about pro audio through engineering school and whatnot has led me to assume that recording over mp3s is a big no-no as it's unprofessional but i get what you're saying about home studio projects versus actually going into a studio. i myself have seen plenty of cats not so much get laughed out of the building for bringing in mp3s (because they are in the end paying for studio time), but definitely a lot of raised eyebrows among the engineers and rolled eyes.

i guess put simply i go for quality over quantity. even if it means losing out on some money. i'm really picky about "perceived" quality. i think a lot of it has to do with my training.
By BGBEATS Wed Dec 23, 2009 4:52 am
Yeah, I'm an recording engineer school grad too and understand all too well about the sound quality issues with mp3's

The main reason I have no problem with it as far as online mp3 beat sales is because it is not industry professionals making actual money(label) backed projects with them.The guys buying the mp3 beats may just throw the beats on and freestyle in the kitchen cooking dinner, maybe record themself on their computer for fun, maybe make a mixtape that 5 or 10 people might hear.

I would not sell an mp3 beat to a signed artist or atempt to have a label buy em. I would give the mp3 beat to them for free in order for them to listen and maybe choose to purchase the tracked out files if want the beat for placement.

I don't assume that every person that wants to buy a beat and record a song is planning on making professional recording for actual release kinda like a person making little movies with a camcorder and posting on youtube, not in the same league nor has same requirements as james cameron, yet the company that sells the camera sells the certaint camera to fill the need of that market, while able to fullfill the needs of the professional market with higher quality cameras.

I look at beat sales like that, There are different levels and end goals, and the very highest quality is not required by all of them yet money is still there to be made even with the hobby driven mp3 beat buying artists.
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By MalaKai Thu Dec 24, 2009 12:39 am
true that. so what kind of licenses do you have for mp3s sold? in other words, how do you go about actually selling these mp3s? do you require a new lease purchase after a certain period of time or number of copies of the master recording sold?
By BGBEATS Thu Dec 24, 2009 6:37 am
I don't really expect anybody to do anything big with mp3 beats bought and when look at the fact of uncleared samples, I don't really own em myself so
I just sell mp3 beats as if they were one of my dj mixes though a short mix

I'm being paid in my eyes for my time producing the product which in this case is a mixed down and arranged mp3 with uncleared samples in which i would not be due any publishing/royalties anyway and no point in even registering these beats on my bmi account with my own songs.

mp3 beats to me are a product provided by my service with a 10 to 50 dollar price tag.


I don't consider myself a musician like the guys that make original compositions
I myself am a DJ turned beatmaker turned producer and recording engineer.

Selling mp3's buys music equipment and puts gas in the car and is an extention to deejaying/remixing.
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By MalaKai Sun Jan 10, 2010 1:40 pm
word. if anyone else who sells beats wants to drop some knowledge have at it. tips & advice is always a good thing :D
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By b.read Thu Mar 11, 2010 2:05 pm
Ronald Jenkees has a 9 to 5er smackin hoes! :D