Collaboration ethics.

Curious to see what yall think, can i give the same beat to two mcs? if i give a cd of beats to one mc can i give the same cd to another mc? i have hand picked a few for each but what about the rest? first come first serve? who ever gets the verses done first gets the beat? my end result will hopefully be a mixtape style album done w/ various mcs and my production..
peace.

Did you tell both of them that they were not the only ones who got the CD. If so then I would say 1st come 1st serve. Once someone gets back @ you with lyrics and a beat and mind tell other dude its not available ( unless they both want to spit on the same track). Two reason keep it movin and that way it won't bite you in the ass when ego come into play" i did my rhyme to that beat blah bl;ah blah etc

You should just pick the best one, and tell the other guy to go jump in a lake.

Rough'nReady wrote:You should just pick the best one, and tell the other guy to go jump in a lake.

i don't know if they will pick the same beats. a couple each, they might pick different tracks..

if they do pick the same beat have the best one mc over it and then have the other do like achorus or a back ground drop,
just an idea

never mind i'll shut the hell up
(leaves the room)

First come first serve is a pretty good model.

Firstly, be selective on who you give your beats to. I know a cat, who is in fact hot, but everybody in town has a copy of his beats. So when his stuff is played, someone will say, "I heard that at so and so's studio." or "So and So used that track already." Getting your stuff heard is good, but I think you have to find a way to balance exclusivity.

The ethics of giving the same beat to different MCs are as follows: When a cat breaks bread on a track, then he has purchased exclusive usage rights. At this point it would be sacrilege to give/sell it to someone else, and in some circles, would warrant your door being kicked down. If you GIVE away a beat to two or more individuals, then the beat is yours to give freely as you see fit. That's how I see it.

i like that^^^. i gave it to them so i think theres nothing foul...

Na, nothing foul about that. Pick the one who you think has the best verse and hook. Even when I get dough for a beat, I tell people that they have exlusive rights for a ceratin amount of time, but not forever unless they actually lay the track. My price is damn low, so it hasn't been a problem. I hate crossing off tracks so someone can have a freestyle cd.

I love your sig, equi. That interview was some real sh*t LOL

make your set of rules to how your gonna handle it, and future situations.

Then call both them up and be honest. Tell them that you are working with several mcs at the moment, just tryin to make your $$$; tell them that you gave both people the cd, because you figured that both emcees had differant tastes and wouldnt necessarily pick the same tracks; but that you where still unsure who would pick what.

Then tell them that because you reliezed after giving both emcees the cd, there could be a potential conflict in choosing tracks.

Tell them that you made a set of rules that you are going to stick by for future dealings and to work this out; and will make everybody understand when demoing your beats to them. Tell them it will be a strickly buisness set of rules;

In the rules include one that says you have the final say....no matter what, and unless you say "its yours and shake" nothing is implied.

Btw.

Ive also discovered that someone always wants what someone else has.

So becareful........but you could use this to your advantage. a lot of times a beat could be hot, but "your favorite mc" might not like it. You see potential written all over it. Well, tell them that you gave that to so and so and it they might like it. Or mention someone elses name about the track. Test thier reaction, but sometimes it sparks interest.

I mean, i see it all the time. Ill preview the exact same beat, in the same night, to the same person. ANd when they first heard it they didnt care, but as the night went through and i play it again, i hear "you made that beat?" or "when did you make that beat, its hot?"

dudes dont even remember i played it like 2 hours ago.

well im getting much more interest from one guy than the other so i don't think iim gonna have any problems. When i get the album out how do i pay the emcees? a percentage of sales? i can't really afford to pay them up front and id think they be appy just to get the name out. this is more of an amatuer type venture into music biz.. how do i handle the compensation side of things??

If anything they should compensate you, but its even-no one should compensate no one. Really, if your putting it together, made the beat, and are recording them and not charging studio time.

They should be your street team. No one makes money in the beginning. Just make sure they get credit for what they do (lyrics) and you get credit for what you do (beats, production, recording, copyright to beats)

If you set up all the shows, and you get the shit pressed, or dj at shows, get tshirst made......boy, you are not only a producer but a manager.

Make a list of everything you deserve credit for, and what they deserve credit for.

As far as im concerned.......youre even. Esecially if they didnt pay for a beat.