How to go about selling your beats?

*~Snaelro Wen~*

Beatmaker
ill o.g.
I wanna start making a living off this thing I do and im asking how do i go about doin that. Legal work, pricing, promoting and advertising, chances of sales, ways to sale, etc. Shyne some light on me yall. Youve been showin me love an i thank ya!

Shout Out to Solace and Classic, thank 4 the help yall

1uNO1
__________________________________________________________________________

"New Orleans Finest"
 

J Cro

Hulkamaniac
ill o.g.
It's got alot of shit that is perceived as boring, but thats the most important parts. Alot of parts will require a few rereads to understand, I'm an extremly intelligent person and I didn't get it all in one pass. Alot of paragraphs I had to read a few times over. Fuckin legal mumbo jumbo can be worded so stupid sometimes.
 

5th Sequence

Hip Hop Head, Certified
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 198
Definitely read books. Read as many as you can actually and keep on pushing to learn new concepts, music techniques and understand all aspects from the business side to the music side. You really have to have the mentality for this if you want any chance of success. If this is going to be your career than you have to treat it like that. If making music will be how you pay bills, how you put food on the table for yourself (or family even) and will replace a day job eventually (we all push for that right?), than it's mandatory that you take "making beats" to a serious level.

You gotta look at where you are now and then where you eventually want to be. Now map out all of the steps you need to get there. Literally, E V E R Y step you need to get there. Then you can start breakin it down further into what you can be doing today and RIGHT now at this moment that will help you reach your end goal. Cut out the non-serious bullshit and focus.

What you're focusing on now is going to be developing your skill, style and overall sound so it is unique and truley yours. The idea is to get your beats to a level where they speak for themselves, doesnt sound like anyone elses shit (meaning it can't be easily replicated), and your clients will feel the beats are worth every penny. This process takes mad dedication and never ends. If you're not up'ing your game continually, you will get passed by people like me who keep elevating and innovating.

One of the greatest keys to selling beats is networking. Who you know can make or break your success. You have to go out and meet the right people, people that are looking for beats or people that may know of someone who is looking for beats (seems like everyone at a club knows someones homeboy who raps, right?). Go to the local shows in your area and bring mad beat cd's. Make sure the show is a show that sounds the closest to your own style (for instance, if your production is sample based east coast premier type stuff, you wouldn't be at a lil jon concert tryna network). Talk to the people in the crowd and just ask if they are an MC or know of any MC's. Pass your beat cd around, but talk to the people. The people at these shows will be your future fan base so establish rapport with them. Go to as many shows as you possibly humanly go to. If your broke, than stand outside and talk to people. Do what you need to do. It also is a good idea to try an get your beat cd to the people actually performin in the shows lol... forgot that almost.

Make sure you have a website up with more of your stuff and contact information. Put the website on the cd, you'll be gettin mad hits to your website off this as well.

Another thing you can do is chose to sponsor a local MC with free music. Sponsor a whole album, all the beats for free. Entire production by you. Make sure the MC has talent though, don't do your homeboy cuz he's always askin. Do some tracks on the side to keep him happy but try an avoid puttin your best work to that. You need to build production credits, and thats the idea behind producing the album. You can ask for more $$$ on future projects if you can say I produced the album Phat Hip Hop Jams Blah Blah for Blah and Blah artists.

For pricing, you need to set your own price. It depends on the project and whether or not the person can realistically afford what your asking for and that it is reasonable. It's kind of a guessing game cuz you're wanting to ask the highest price without being insulting or overselling your music and their trying to ask for the lowest price without being insulting.

If your starting out and trying to build a track record or need money, have them make an offer to you. I actually switch between a few different methods depending on the person/project.

With the website, you can put a price tag on a few beats so people have an idea of your price range without you having to say anything. You can still have them make you an offer, but now you have something on your website that gives them an idea of your price range and you can use that as your reference if it's too low. This can also work as a disadvantage if someone has more money to work with but they see your price already. Choice of stratagy is up to you really.

Damn I typed a lot. My beatmaking finger is sore now.. FL's in the house...

ha, Peace
 

Haze47

THE URBAN ARCHEOLOGIST
ill o.g.
shit fifth, you know a lot (in genral i mean, not just about this topic), how many of your 41 posts have been this long?
 

5th Sequence

Hip Hop Head, Certified
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 198
I couldnt reply to this thread for the longest... said i didnt have permission but its fixed now i guess.

Haze, I'm pretty sure thats my longest post lol... I've been makin beats almost 8 years and for the past 3 I have been taking it real serious. I eat sleep and breath hip hop production.

Colussus,

I'm out in clackamas. I go to portland every few weeks to get records.
 

Chrono

polyphonically beyond me
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 5
classic said:
read a book called everything u need to know about the music business by donald pausman...

Thats a start...

I've already got plenty of great book advice from illmuzik, maybe we should have a forum for books. too many forums would be cluttery but it's a thought. this is another book i'm going to cop, this and art of war
 

themucka

"The man behind the Hits"
ill o.g.
i would suggest link up with some engineers at local studios... where artist go to record and have him play your shit and break him off... or if he down to even let you in the studio maybe you coo with the studio manager or somethin.. but thats a good way...

another i seen which i thought was extreme but tight... was at the club a mofo had his itune with him and some good headphones... hey if you got game why not try it all you got 2 lose is a no... timing is key on this 1...

send out beat cds with vocal tage saying the artist you want that shit for....

or get a manager ask around find them dont leave till you get an answer..

.
 

classic

I am proud to be southern
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 90
themucka said:
i

another i seen which i thought was extreme but tight... was at the club a mofo had his itune with him and some good headphones... hey if you got game why not try it all you got 2 lose is a no... timing is key on this 1...
.

This shit really works, i have an IPOD nano and i ran up on conuntless cats.
Illmind(JD listeing party),
Saigon(on the street)
dead prez( at a concert)

and casue i had the ipod wit me cats got a chance to hear some tracks and were feeling em. THen i just hand em the busniess card with my phonenumber and website.. bam....
 

5th Sequence

Hip Hop Head, Certified
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 198
thats fucking dope classic.

I read about something similar using business cards and what not and wanted to try it out. But to hear about someone actually doing it thats inspiration. I'm gettin business cards next week. That iPod thing is a great idea too, damn.

Ah inspiration overload.
 

Bobby Ffitch

ILLIEN
ill o.g.
Damn i need to get me some buisness cards at some point. But i think that part will be when i actually get good enough to sell beats.

you gotta make sure you got the consistent ability to turn out hot beats. not just a couple. and you gotta be ruthless in judging your quality before you go for it. That said.... if you can make it happen, do you.
 

bigdmakintrax

BeatKreatoR
ill o.g.
Battle Points: 123
ok ladies and gents let me give you nice tip, I been selling beats in person and on the internet since around 99....like Classic said thats cool with the biz cards and all and a nice ad in your local citypaper online...which I started doing that around 4 years back....but the best way to start selling beats is vibe with and meet rappers that are good, and also small record labels...your best way to sell beats unless you live in some small town in nome alaska or a wheatfield is get out and meet the people at events and live shows.....also get that HOT beat cd together....selling beats online has been around for awhile, I started buybeats.com around 99 or 2000...and sold the site to the DJ JB he has done well with his site also, its just now come more recently that more people have access to Paypal and easier methods to pay.....I have new sites coming online also that I completely designed....also yes Colossus you need to be good enuff to sell beats but that should not stop you from selling your first beat though.....there are sooooo many people calling themselves producers selling beats that are not even good at all nowadays, because from my vantage point of having been doing it b4 it was the in thing...LOL because right now theres a lot of gitwits in production because its the in thing...last week they were drum and bassers and trancers this week they hip hop heads...next week something else.........some camps want some completely different sounding ish so dont go by the old "my beats dont sound like the industry standard or just blaze" but you want them sound decent enuff for a local mixtape.....there are cats that sell beats on the internet a lot of times that have jacked them though and also in local areas some producers get a name for themselves selling other peoples tracks....even that they have downloaded off the internet....yes its true..anyhow good luck...
 
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