selling a beat: question about leasing vs exclusives

howdy y'all,

got someone interested in a beat and trying to put together a quote for pricing. i gotta quick question about leasing vs exclusives. i've seen some people online quoting different prices for leasing for non-commercial vs commercial use, i.e. $50 for non-commercial, $200 for commercial. is that standard? or do most people just do, say, $50 for leasing, $300 for exclusive?

also, what about re-editing beats? the beats i've put together are structured for instrumentals, so there's not a real verse/chorus thing. when you sell a beat, do you just sell as is, or do you recut the beat around the vocal structure?

if you're interested, the beats are here:
http://myspace.com/palsyones

any help much appreciated,
np

it mostly depends on what you write up in the contract. you don't have to rearrange the beat if you dont want to. also, i advise against selling exclusively.

awesome, thanks for the info!

I'm not sure about any "standards" when it comes to pricing, but I do know that I like the beats a lot haha. the numbers you've given, I mean they sound reasonable, as far as rearranging and whatnot, when it comes down to selling your product you're trying to market in a way that makes the consumer want to buy it, in your case xyz emcee who wants to buy it, you wanna make it easy for him to fit his verse around it, but then again it always depends on the customers preferences, he might ask you for the parts, or he might want it as it sounds right off your myspace. best of luck 2 you.

Interesting!

it all depends on how they want it like mentioned.

does he want the track like he heard it? or does he want it reworked to fit verses and what not?

and about the leaseing Vs exclusive deals. its depends on what he is using it for. my contracts usualy have a time limit on them for exclusive deals, plus i have to approve on the track qulity.

normaly im in the studio with them recording anyways, so i have some control over everything. ill go in and record then mix the track and edit when needed.

If you just selling the tracked out beat, i would say they can rewrk it as needed, but you still get credit for it. make sure you get your publishing man.
even if they rework the track and you sell it to them for $500, i would still want my 25% of publishing.

I sold a track for $500, i went in the studio with them, tracked the beat at home into PT, went to the studio with them to record vocals, and edited and mixed it for them. I even helped write the hook. the deal on tht track was, 100% exclusive, but i got 100% of the producer credit and 25% writers credit. it addes up quick if that track is placed somewheres, just incase.

every deal is diffrent, its give and take, and depends on the work your doing for it too. just cover your ass man, you dont wanna sell a beat for $100, and not have any publishing or mecanicals on it, then it goes to sell 10,000 or 100,000 and is placed in a film or TV ad. you then would be lossing alot of coin for your work.

peace,

Rob

but how can I save the publishing rights for my tracks? - Is it enough to make a contract with the person which is using my track like:

- if you wanna publish this track I get 25% percent of every sell u make
- before you publish this track you have to tell where and when you will publish it

is that enough wwhen both side will sign it?

Soul at this point, its time for you to talk to a music laywer man.

really thats the best bet.

Peace,

Rob

thanks for all the info. turns out dude that was interested dropped outta touch so guess we got some more time to work this out.

i guess the real thing is that i sorta don't just want to give shit out to people to cut up -- the beats we've been working on are sorta structured together like mini-song-instrumentals, and adding vocals obviously changes the way all the pieces work together, which means ideally i'd want to re-edit for vocals, but then that's a whole 'nother story.

anyways, thanks all for the input. much appreciated.

np

well if your going to edit or chage up the beat for the vocals, then you are actualy going to be producing for them. Beat makers just sell the beat and thats that. producers can make the beat, or use one from a beat maker, then they edit and record and change do do everything else to make it rright,

Thats where the papers at.... but im also not saying selling beats isnt where the moneys at, i know the moneys ok, even better when a bigger name picks it up. But if your not careful with the contract you sign, you might be loosing out on alot more then what you sold the beat for.

Peace,

Rob

The smart way to do it is this: You have the artist "lease" the beat. That's called a non-exclusive agreement. That means they can use it for their production but ultimately, you actually own the music part of the track (provided there are no samples, obviously) and furthermore, you can do whatever else you want with it. If they want to buy the beat outright, you could sell it to them so that they own it - hopefully you'd ask for a lot more money.

If the artist wants you to rearrange the beat, well, that's just production work. Figure out how long it'll take you and then agree on a fee for that work. Doesn't have to be a fortune, but it depends on what the supply and demand are.

Contracts: hunt around on the net for non-exclusive agreements. If you're a good writer you can modify to suit your needs, though this isn't as good as going to a lawyer, of course.

As far as publishing percentage: You mentioned 25% per unit. You've gotta learn how it works...assuming the artist has a record deal, and assuming you own the track (or split ownership) the actual publishing revenue (which is completely different than sales) is based on actual units manufactured. There are standard rates, and this money is usually collected by The Harry Fox Agency in New York. I can't remember the rates, but's it's based on track length.

Ultimately if a record company wanted to release your beat with the artist's vocal, you and the artist would both have to agree on how that publishing money is split. It goes on and on, but the first thing you should do is register your works with BMI or ASCAP, just to be official. Then, copywrite your works with the Library of Congress.

-Jon

Go out and get these books:

This Business of Music/The definitive Guide to the Music Industry/ 9th ed.
Krasilovsky and Shemel

All You Need To Know About The Music Business/5th ed.
Passman

The Music Business(Explained In Plain English)/2nd ed.
Naggar

so those books are actually helpful? i always figure those to be another scam to make money off the million aspiring musicians out there. maybe i'll go check 'em out during lunch break. thanks for the tip!

nphominoid wrote:so those books are actually helpful? i always figure those to be another scam to make money off the million aspiring musicians out there. maybe i'll go check 'em out during lunch break. thanks for the tip!

Naw, they're legit. The real deal on the music biz. More people should check'em out to get the most out of their deal no matter what type.
You know the DO's and DON'Ts

KO'LES wrote:All You Need To Know About The Music Business/5th ed.
Passman

I got the 6th edition and it is pretty informative!!!!