What is the best way to make money?

What is the best way to make money off the beats you create? Is there a certain tactic that is better than others?

Bro there really is no best way to sell your tracks. You just have to get out there and network, and self promote. It really comes down to the people your dealing with buying the tracks and your production quality.

dirtyrum wrote:Bro there really is no best way to sell your tracks. You just have to get out there and network, and self promote. It really comes down to the people your dealing with buying the tracks and your production quality.

Is there a certain price to charge for them, or just whatever you feel is fair?

Well put it this way, I know people who have sold tracks for $10.00 a pop. I can't say that the tracks were any good, but that's a start. I have sold hip hop beats to local Cleveland artist for $100.00 and up depending on their budget, and others I just get points of off record sales through ASCAP.

Approach media production company's and small organisations who produce small independent theatre productions.
If u want money then hiphop is not the only route. And in my case not the best paid route.

In my case...I sell a bag of weed with my beats cd or mixtape.

BackstagePimp

Lol at the bag of weed comment. IMO, I've never sold a beat, but I know someone who has and has some serious production quality. What he did was just network, and network, and network. In the end, he was sellin beats to an artist for around 50. Selling is selling. Period. If you want to make money, you have to make it big, and to make it big, you have to be good.

MGStudios wrote:What is the best way to make money off the beats you create? Is there a certain tactic that is better than others?

(example itunes looking beat store) get one of these post anywhere html/flash can go(links to paypal of your choice too)

http://www.myflashstore.net/flash/istore.swf?user_id=229

There is a worldwide market for online non exclusive mp3 beat sales where you sell mp3's of your beats bundled with a non exclusive license that allows the buyer or the buyer's chosen artist/s to record vocals on your mp3 then redistribute the new recording ( they can sell it or give away to promote their shows, skills etc)

If a rapper or singer sells the song on itunes it will be 99 cents to 1.29 a download they sell for.

you on the other hand are able to charge 10x or 25x or 50x that price for your beat mp3 simply because of the bundled non exclusive license you sell with it ( you are basically selling permission to use it in a song, that's what they are really paying you for more so than the mp3 of the beat... people can jack/steal your beat mp3's but they can't "steal" your permission to use it in a song.


You have to find your target audience/potential clients then present your product to them in a way that shows you can offer more value than the next guy... qualify your clients/customers and be reliable and serve their needs.


If you limit yourself to a specific genre, you limit your customer base, it's really up to you.

best to have & market your own site like http://www.BGBEATS.COM but you can also use third party sites that take a cut of your sale price which while they offer traffic, they also have thousands of beatmakers selling very similiar products tcompeting for the same clients , at your own site, you generate the traffic, but you/your beats are all that's there.

If you aree using alot of uncleared samples, this is the best way to go as you are being paid more for your time spent making the beat then the beat itself because you techically don't own a beat with uncleared samples anyway.


If you make tracks with royalty free samples or totally composed by you, you can audition tracks with pumpaudio.com and if they get greenlit you can get added to their database for tv/ advertiser use.


If you are wanting to get placements on major albums, it's all about contacts you make as many people can provide an adequate beat for a project yet the person that gets it is gonna be the person who had their foot in the door even if a better beat may have been right around the corner, The beat does not have to be the BEST available, just has to be suitable and be passed to them from a trusted source.

Good luck

More info on the online mp3 beat selling market

The 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

Man BGBEATS just dropped some major sense on this website. If you wouldn't mind BGBEATS, if I asked a question... What would you say to artists who are trying to produce AND also MC/spit something on a track to sell? I guess this would be the same way as going about as how Immortal Technique does his albums, but not only is one trying to get a market sense for beats, it's also the lyrics. This is something that has always bothered me by me not knowing how an artist can do that. Guys like El-P, who probably shouldn't even be mentioned because he has been in the game for so long, who are successful at creating beats and also known for their rhyming abilities, must have to hardcore hustle to get where they are going.

I don't generally worry about the general consensus of an album, but I do think that a lot of artists publicity whom produce and rhyme, are just ill and that the general consensus does not even matter. To them, it probably does, but to us, it does not. We just think it's super dope, even if the artist comes off whack lol. IMO, if you come off whack, but still release, that puts you in a genre of your own. Some people will never hear the stuff that we may release, but then again, they might...

Sm0keydaBear wrote:Man BGBEATS just dropped some major sense on this website. If you wouldn't mind BGBEATS, if I asked a question... What would you say to artists who are trying to produce AND also MC/spit something on a track to sell? I guess this would be the same way as going about as how Immortal Technique does his albums, but not only is one trying to get a market sense for beats, it's also the lyrics. This is something that has always bothered me by me not knowing how an artist can do that. Guys like El-P, who probably shouldn't even be mentioned because he has been in the game for so long, who are successful at creating beats and also known for their rhyming abilities, must have to hardcore hustle to get where they are going.

I don't generally worry about the general consensus of an album, but I do think that a lot of artists publicity whom produce and rhyme, are just ill and that the general consensus does not even matter. To them, it probably does, but to us, it does not. We just think it's super dope, even if the artist comes off whack lol. IMO, if you come off whack, but still release, that puts you in a genre of your own. Some people will never hear the stuff that we may release, but then again, they might...

know that it is impossible to please EVERYBODY some will love you/your material, others will HATE you/ your material... just find your audience & focus on the positive, it doesn't talke long to find out if you appeal to a target or not

USE SONG MP3'S LIKE AUDIO FLYERS TO PROMOTE YOUR LIVE PERFORMANCES
Cd's are more like a collectable that your fans might buy same as a shirt/hat 9 times out of ten they already have your mp3's if they are at your show

Your best bet in the internet age is instead of taking several months & recording a whole album instead record/ release online a new song each month or 6 weeks for like a year all singles each release gives you another
chance to promote.. and give the songs away free to promote yourself, your live show etc it works

I used myspace 06 07 08 to promte my own BG REMIXES & got radio interviews radio play, club play here & overseas as well as my own fans & promo models when you recruit your fanbase you stay in touch with them and make them part of your story, a part of your own promotion (I'm in Virginia & got DJ booking in Hawaii from
BG REMIXES & fans/ promo girls in Hawaii

myspace is kinda dead now

Successful rap songs it is less about WHAT your saying & more about HOW you Say it.

the phrasing in the lyrics/beat is what makes people sing along and remember certain lines, whether smart or nonsense


Art is something you create for yourself Craft is something you create for others ( gotta find a balance to be marketable)

the more a singer/rapper leans toward craft from art, the more chance of monetary success they have

People tend to complain about the music on the radio/successful etc and how they want their own "real" shit to get the recognition..

truth is, to "make it" you gotta be willing to make music that appeals to a target audience, the bigger the audience the more chance of success you have... look at the black eyed peas... i had some of their records from like 98 (record store put em in my bag with other vinyl purchases back then) was totally different... before fergie, before went pop, now look at the success and the mass appeal, will iam makes beats then he auditions them for crowds by mixing in with his deejay sets (he deejays when not with bep) He then write's songs to the beats that got the best response from the club crowd.. it's "social proofing"

Yah I hear what you're saying about the "social proofing" aspect. IMO, what better way to know what the audience is going to like, then putting your own music in your own sets? Really, making the crowd jump is all what I'm about, and if that has to be done with some of my previous music, or with a freestyle on the set, I'll do either or both. Too bad I can't get a deal to do that lol. Nah what I'm sayin is, my own issue is I need to find the drive to both create the beats, and then get some rhymes on them. The real ill part IMO is just seeing the finished product. I still remember the first time I started pressing pads on the Akai XR20 lol. Now that was funny. I was kinda like "OMG, this thing is so weird" because I didn't know the basics of hitting the pad on the beat to make the sounds sound like they're implemented in the beat. Now, it's 2010 and I'm actually able to lol.

Really, I only wonder what goes through some artists heads sometimes. Like, what was it like for Eminem to record and release his album before anyone knew his name? How do relatively unknown guys become idols in less than 24 hours? It happens almost every day, yet no one REALLY knows how this occurs. For me, I just wanna make beats, eat sleep, and rhyme on them, and give people the possibility to hear my music, and hope they like it. Making money is the last part, but like someone else said, you gotta eat.

Sm0keydaBear wrote: How do relatively unknown guys become idols in less than 24 hours? It happens almost every day, yet no one REALLY knows how this occurs.

It only appears that way.. in truth what appears to be "overnight successes" really were years in the making,

you just got to dig deeper to find the rest of the story

eminem was discovered by dre after being in finals of an emcee battle.. he did not win but talent and marketability were observed but he had been grinding locally for a while.

even someone like susanne boyle.. older lady who's voice was discovered on that tv show, which then seemed like instant recognition.. she had been singing in her home just developing her natural talent into honed skill.

GA GA too.


most people that don't "make it" don't really really want it bad enough to sacrifice and be dedicated & focussed.. even when do, no garantees but your grind is where it's at, talent takes you but so far.. then you got to practice to develop talent into skill.

A harder working person can develop skills greater than a more naturally talented person if the one with more talent is lazy and cocky