how much shld we charge for our beats?

anywhere from 150-300 for me

dknows2 wrote:I was told that the industry minimum is $5,000.00 a couple years ago. They actually address this in an article in the latest issue of Scratch as well. The guy giving the advice there says for a new producer it's between $5,000 and $7,000. Of course most local cats can't pay this amount. The question becomes is it worth it to be on an album that will never receive much attention or record sales? If there is no potential to sell records and you only got $500-$1,000 for the track, (1) you won't see anymore money and (2) will this be credible work to put on your resume. If you're not going to make money on the front or back end or be on an album that everyone recognizes (which will lead to more work), why do it? That's how I decide.

5 grand for a lame hiphop beat without lyrics???

dis how i do it
depend on da person if i kinda knoe them and knoe they will come back i go for 350 400 at least. otha than that i go 500-1000. and if they got a certain idea or sample they want in a beat, or want one made with specifications i'll let it go for like 1500.
but sometimes shit dries out for a minute.

once in a while u gotta let it go cheap u dont wanna starve u knoe wut i mean

The big thing to check for when selling beats is who is the artist signed to and who distributes that record company.If it's Universal,Sony or Disney than the $5000 figure is about right.If you notice the only music that gets any radio play worth talking about is distributed by one of those companies.For smaller labels that are distrubted through say a Caroline I would say $500-$1000 using your best judgement.The final say is really about the label.The bigger the label the bigger the budget.Now realize the more you charge the longer it will take you to re-coup and start gettting paid off of units moved.Set the contracts up right you will get your airplay publishing from jump but the record company will hold onto your mechanical royalties untill they have made back the money they paid you.You can negotiate for up to 10 cents a song or more of every album sold.10 cents times 100,000=$10,000 minus whatever they gave you up front for the beat or song and thats your take.If you get more than a couple beats placed on an album then labels will start to tie up your money in paperork so that you can only make so much money no matter how good the record sales i.e. the "Paperwork Gangsters"My uncle wrote several songs for 70's era R&B groups and gets publishing checks to this day that are bigger than the average working stiff sees in a lifetime.He was smart he knew the legal side of things enough to go hire a lawyer to make sure that he was'nt getting shafted.

man i'm trying to get into selling music for the web but getting 18,000 is a dream props to you dude

Every one of Magila's posts I've read so far, has been chock full of helpful knowledge.

Thanks Earnest!!

fader-pro wrote:Just a short story...In 1996 I was introduced to an exec with one of the then booming dot com's. He needed 8 pieces of music 45 seconds long that looped for an internet app. Having no experience with this type of application, I told him i'd get back to him. I went home and called a friend who does some of this stuff and asked him what I should charge....He said to charge about 24 or 25... I called the client and said OK $25,000. The guy said too much, how bout we give you $18,000 and you can keep the rights. Done deal! A few weeks later I was talking with the friend who told me what to quote and he asked me "What did ya get" I told him that broke down and did the gig for $18,000....dude about choked on his lunch - you see, he was suggesting I charge 24 or 25 hundred, not thousand. Ever since then I been shootin for the stars...

This is a common phenomenon in the art world, if you price really high, chances are people either A) will love it because they dont understand it or B) they will buy it for the same reason people buy gucci tshirts and shit conspicuious consumption (high price = high quality).
I learned this after selling some oil paintings that i put HUGE prices on (jokingly, but with great success). These patrons are also the most common repeat customers. Possibly the same in music, as long as you can get the buying public hooked you can sell absolute crap for whatever you want (i wont go into the long list of comercial hiphop producers i would put in that list...)
So shoot for the stars guys if you think your work is good enough, especially if you are working for a professional/corporate client.
My 2p

start of between 2000 and 5000 if you are a no name...

everything depends on if the beat is hot or not.not sure if u know who he is but Don Bishop(AGALAH[makes beats for purple city aka Diplomats side label])i e-mailed him about 3 months ago,asking how much he sells his beats 4 he said something like 6g's for signed artist 3 for unsigned.

do yall copyright your beats? and if you sell em and want credit how do you make sure they but you in as the producer?

If not you should contact a manager or lawyer.

Shouldn't the manager contact you? That's what I always thought. You want them to be interested in you. If you contact them, they may not have the time, or energy to do anything for you.
I thiink the best thing to do is start your own label and be your own boss. It's kinda like being a model. Either you can work out, eat right, spend money on diets/pictures and traveling and hope to get picked up, or you can start you own company, and immediatly be your own boss. Have other people try to get with you. It's so easy to flip the script... I don't understand why people have dreams about making someone else rich.

roxstar wrote:If not you should contact a manager or lawyer.

Shouldn't the manager contact you? That's what I always thought. You want them to be interested in you. If you contact them, they may not have the time, or energy to do anything for you.
I thiink the best thing to do is start your own label and be your own boss. It's kinda like being a model. Either you can work out, eat right, spend money on diets/pictures and traveling and hope to get picked up, or you can start you own company, and immediatly be your own boss. Have other people try to get with you. It's so easy to flip the script... I don't understand why people have dreams about making someone else rich.

So well said....You should get like a medal or something!!!!

I sell most of my beats right now from as low as $50 for local unsigned talent up to $200 for indie label people with barely any distribution. I would charge more if a successful indie artist contacted me.