1 Quality Track or a bunch of Ok tracks?

Fade

The Beat Strangler
Administrator
illest o.g.
Great video. I'm guessing it all depends on the situation. What you said sums it up perfectly. If a client wants something that sounds horrible to you then you can just make it like that, but I find that it's best to guide them and tell them that what they want sucks. I've always looked at it as, I'm working WITH the client, not FOR the client. So if I give them something mediocre, I won't want my name attached to it, and they have to respect that.

As for being on a deadline, well if you're in that situation where you're working with a talent agent for example, then you should be ready to do push out your work quickly. If you can't, then stick to working on a per-project basis.
 
Cant watch till later but on the question in the title....
I think 1 hot beat is better than 20 ok beats.
As for giving the customer what they want..
You have to to some extent give them what they want but at the same time im the producer, i also have my own rep to worry about.
Its a balance.
When being asked to make something like such and such producer, i would direct the person to go and get such and such producer to make it. Im a bit of an idealist in that i want to have my own sound. I dont wanna be seen as a biter, or a (insert name) wannabe.
Business is business but i wouldnt put money above morality.
 

KDVS

ILLIEN
Battle Points: 85
Do you! Whats quality for you is the only thing you can/should go for. As you say sir, you do not know what everyone think is quality, this is impossible to know. For a good producer, he could say quality is, dynamics, originality, patterns, sound, overall everything, for someone ho "just" listen to music, for them maybe quality is something catchy. Real recoqnize real. I liked what Fade and 2good said so dont want to say to much. But mainline for me; my quality always beats my quantity..

Oh, If you want to make money, buy a good sounding drum kit, bite some drum patterns, put in a note or two. <not quality for me, maybe good sound quality, get my picture of it?.. So again just do you.. If you want to make your own sound/style, you know, beeing original, record every sound you got in your suroundings, EVERYTHING! :), learn how you can use them, patterns and soo on. This for me is the way to get out of that sound everybody else has, its lots of ways to be original, but yeah. You can tweek and do alot to stock sounds, fake them so they become "yours", but the main sound source is the same every beat maker in the world got, i think you will find out that making your own is very very pleasing. Off, its hard for me to write in english so hope this didnt come out the wrong way. Guess i got abit off topic here also. Everything is good do, i can absolutly digg a stock sound beat, it really doesnt matter actually, for me the only thing is what feeling i get out of the beat i listen to. Alot of ways to be original, but this is how i like to do it...
 

God

Creator of the Universe
ill o.g.
This particular post discusses making music for a client that is not an artist. I believe the difference between receiving placements and creating beats for an artist are fairly similar.

There are generally three tiers of beats which a client or artist chooses from. Your best tracks are placed in the "top tier" of beats, while OK beats are in the medium tier and your lower-end beats are in the bottom tier.

A trained ear can tell a hit beat from a beat that isn't hot. So this is where my presupposition diverges, since Greg Savage discusses writing for a client, and you may not know what that person has in mind. this is because Greg Savage may have a trained ear that he believes would fit in an artistic fashion for a particular show or setting, but the client is -- in essence -- a person who doesn't have that training and may be far less sophisticated in their musical tastes, knowledge, or to be honest... they just want something to "sound like someone else."

For artists, you can charge a much higher amount than the next tier and so forth. The advantage of categorizing your beats into tiers is that you never stop producing and don't have the pressure of making a hit track every time you step in front of your DAW.

In Greg Savage's case it seems that the amount of time you dedicate to a beat, particularly when working for a client -- like a TV producer or what not -- is a crucial form of currency, since you can tweak a beat for 12 hours and not deliver a product the client wants.

In that case, I believe it is wise to focus on quantity, since we're talking placements here. Once you have many beats a client can possibly choose from-- and one stands out, it may be worth it to take some time to tweak it and make it better.

Essentially, Greg Savage seems to be purporting the advertising agency model of creativity, which is fine, since he offering a service -- rather than something that is direct to consumer. In that vein of thinking, it seems advantageous to price out your hours and estimate how many hours you can maintain profitability, versus overhead and other costs, when you're going to create a beat. A lot of it is also based on budget, something I believe Greg can elaborate on in placements.

In any case, I wish you the best of luck. Continue to make a living off music, because very few people have that capability these days.
 

slik da relic

RS Jedi
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 1
u can take ur time on a quality track, however, u can hold on to an "ok" track, and come up with something that makes it better.. i go thru it sometimes.. u can make an ok track, then months or even years later, come back to it, change the sounds, add some sounds... and it becomes a quality track.. thats why its best to continue to build ur arsenal... and never scrap anything!
da relic
 

Greg Savage

Ehh Fuck you
ill o.g.
u can take ur time on a quality track, however, u can hold on to an "ok" track, and come up with something that makes it better.. i go thru it sometimes.. u can make an ok track, then months or even years later, come back to it, change the sounds, add some sounds... and it becomes a quality track.. thats why its best to continue to build ur arsenal... and never scrap anything!
da relic


Yes this is very true... It's like creating a source of inspiration as well. You know some of the tracks aren't top quality, but the ideas are still great.

I never throw away music! Ever.
 

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