Are instrumental EPs even relevant?

Official Bee

Official Bee

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As a beatmaker/producer with currently no fame, does it make sense to collect like 4 or 5 beats and release them as an instrumental EP in order to get more exposure, or will it even make a difference?
What is the purpose of an instrumental EP? How useful are they?

1. Are there really producers out there who are trying to, like... "sell copies" of just straight up beats on iTunes as if they're albums or something? Beats aren't nearly as marketable or attractive as complete songs...

2. Or is the whole EP idea is just an "imaginary secondary name" for a group of beats to give them more of a presence and better marketing for sales/leasing?


I'm starting to collect beats and I'm wondering if I should just continue to release them 1 by 1, or instead put them all up at once like a big bang?
 
I wouldn't necessarily see the point in doing a small EP of beats, but I would definitely consider putting some form of formal project out there at some point in your journey - it's a great way to show your artistic talents beyond a beat here and there.

It shows professionalism with artwork and promotion etc. You can craft a theme for it (it shows your ability to craft a whole project) &/or show off your versatility. You also have potential clients listening to a lot of your instrumentals at once and they can get a better sense of your style/skill because of this. It's just generally seems to be a great way to showcase your talents, I would only do it once you know you have some sick beats though (goes without saying, of course). You get to show off your production talents as well as giving your brand some considerable exposure, particularly if it takes off in the right direction as a project.

I don't know much about selling music on iTunes or any of that with just instrumentals, so I can't help you there.
 
I'm not sure if you're familiar with the vinyl format. Some classic hiphop albums over the years were also put out in instrumental form such as Pete Rock & Cl Smooth - "Return of the Mecca", Dilated peoples - The platform or Neighborhood watch. Even in 2014 Cormega's "Megaphilosphy came out as instrumentals showcasing the creative mind of Large Professor. As an producer or solo artist to release an instrumental EP can purely be seen as a promotional item, to showcase your talent wether it's released independently by the artist himself or with a label behind him.
As a record collector's point of view i find it interesting to see how instrumental albums make way to a physical format like vinyl, cd and cassette and are collected with much enthusiasm by hiphop fans.

Also soundcloud is a great place to showcase your work. You can upload multiple files and create a "playlist" wich is basically a collection of sounds as an album.
 
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What if some people just want to hear music without singing? If you are aiming and thinking to the mainstream then a lot of things are irrelevant because that is a very shallow lane.
This is like saying are instrumental rock bands irrelevant or any music without singing for that matter. I personally listen to a lto of music without words, and billions of other people do to.
These are in form of move osts, game osts, rock bands, and producers. Some people appreciate them and buy them and other don't.
If you make generic music it doesn't matter if some generic musician sings or raps on it the whole thing will still be generic. Style, Personality, and marketability sale. (Do I agree with visual or the same progression selling? No, but this is the shallow mainstream until the world is revealed to other musical progressions and a new mainstream forms.)
 
What you're asking is what I'm currently doing. I'm not on Amazon or iTunes just yet so a few small instrumental projects seems like a decent way to get my music out there. As said above, I have them themed and they're meant to show what I'm capable of as a producer. I don't think I'd put a price tag on them though unless it was a reasonably large project.
 
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