By talontsiawd
Thu Apr 29, 2010 5:53 am
This is my experience. I have sold beats for dirt cheap. I have worked for free on projects I wanted my name on but didn't want money to become an issue. I have sold a few beats for a decent price.
My advice is this. Work around the artists budget, assuming you actually want to work for them. If you are starting out, you want something you can show others. That may mean cheap or free, that gives you material to promote and say, I am credited on so and so's album. Obviously, if you are selling to a large name that you know has a budget, you should not work for free or cheap. Just don't price yourself out of a project you want to be on.
With all the time people put into promotion, putting out a 2-3 hour beat (or less) for cheap/free does a whole lot for you. It gives you much more bargaining power (I can't go under $___ because I am working with _______). Most of us have thousands of beats so letting one go for promotional sake isn't hurting us.
On the flip side, if you are truly doing this as a business, you have to hold you ground when you know you can make money. The economy sucks so the average person can't spend much, the industry sucks right now so the artists don't have the same budget, BUT, they are coming to you for a reason.
I look at every situation in terms of what I gain. It may be promotion which will pay off later. It may be someone who can't help me so I need money. My plan is to work on the big picture long term and establish myself in the short term. Then again, I make my money elsewhere. However, I am starting to look at it as if I am starving and need to look at it like if this was my only thing, how could I survive. It's almost harder to make money when you have other ways, that has been my biggest problem. I can get on something for cheap that will be in a store but on the flip side, I don't gain anything financially in the short term.
At the end of the day, you are a sales man. Everyone sells differently so decide what you really want to do and make it happen to the best of your abilities. Some people will take a small amount of money and do it alot. Other people will want large sums and will wait to get it. Others do both. Do what works for you and where you want to go. It is really hard to raise your prices substantially though so keep that in mind when doing small deals a lot.
My advice is this. Work around the artists budget, assuming you actually want to work for them. If you are starting out, you want something you can show others. That may mean cheap or free, that gives you material to promote and say, I am credited on so and so's album. Obviously, if you are selling to a large name that you know has a budget, you should not work for free or cheap. Just don't price yourself out of a project you want to be on.
With all the time people put into promotion, putting out a 2-3 hour beat (or less) for cheap/free does a whole lot for you. It gives you much more bargaining power (I can't go under $___ because I am working with _______). Most of us have thousands of beats so letting one go for promotional sake isn't hurting us.
On the flip side, if you are truly doing this as a business, you have to hold you ground when you know you can make money. The economy sucks so the average person can't spend much, the industry sucks right now so the artists don't have the same budget, BUT, they are coming to you for a reason.
I look at every situation in terms of what I gain. It may be promotion which will pay off later. It may be someone who can't help me so I need money. My plan is to work on the big picture long term and establish myself in the short term. Then again, I make my money elsewhere. However, I am starting to look at it as if I am starving and need to look at it like if this was my only thing, how could I survive. It's almost harder to make money when you have other ways, that has been my biggest problem. I can get on something for cheap that will be in a store but on the flip side, I don't gain anything financially in the short term.
At the end of the day, you are a sales man. Everyone sells differently so decide what you really want to do and make it happen to the best of your abilities. Some people will take a small amount of money and do it alot. Other people will want large sums and will wait to get it. Others do both. Do what works for you and where you want to go. It is really hard to raise your prices substantially though so keep that in mind when doing small deals a lot.
