Sell Beats Online or Nah ?

Brightboy

Brightboy

Bright Boy
I have been thinking about selling beats online. But I feel as though if you sell beats online, it lowers your "credibility" because your music isn't really exclusive, it's available to anyone who says they rap. If I am trying to get my music to "big" artist on a major level, would selling beats online even be beneficial?
 

Yeah, just sell your beats online.

Big artists aren't looking for your beats because you have no connections. So just sell the beats to whoever is buying. There is no need to sit around and pretend Big Sean is going to call you for a beat. Just make money from the everyday cats who want to buy beats for their mixtapes and albums.
 
I have relationships with other producers and I have a manager who shops my music to major artist, labels, tv companies, etc. So things are looking up for me and I have a few major placements. BUT like anyone else, I need more money in my life. My question is, will having a website mess up my credibility or should I just wait until I can grab bigger placements.
 
If you truly need money, get a job.

As far as music goes, you will not make a living selling beats. But it is extra money. You don't have any credibility anyway, so what are you worried about? Sell your music to whoever is buying. You have nothing to lose.
 
Desire Inspires said:
Sell your music to whoever is buying. You have nothing to lose.
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This.^^

I remember a while back people where ashamed to say they used FL Studio because they felt it would ruin their credibility.

Now its selling beats online...


Do you think [insert famous artist name here] gives a f%*k about who buys their 99 cent single on itunes???

:hello:
 
The thing is... If you have a website, and you're selling DIRECTLY from your website, you are the one who controls:

1. Who you're selling to
2. The quality
3. Your reputation

If you want to have this whole exclusive thing, make people "apply" to buy your beats. If they are good artists, then you can sell to them and you'll keep anything associated with you as high quality. Obviously, you won't be reaching the mass market by doing this. But it's certainly a way of keeping things a bit more exclusive.

That's just an idea.

Also, artists on majors don't care as much as you think. Even the more "respectable" artists couldn't give two s***s if you're selling beats online, as long as their final product (their song/album) is of a high enough standard.

Obviously, you have to deliver your music to them in a professional manner and therefore you can just have two systems in place. The one you currently have (with your manager and the majors) and then the online beat store for the "mass market".

The most important thing is what it all means to you. How do you want your brand to be perceived by the general public? If you are in all the "low quality" places with a cheap price, you're not going to build a high quality or an "exclusive" brand. Make yourself hard to buy from/only to those in the know if you want to seem "exclusive" and vice versa.

Let me repeat: having your own website means you have maximum control of the platform - not like Soundclick.

Cheers,
Jordan
 
Don't worry too much about which platform you sell your beats. Just sell em.
I've found the most success online & have been contacted for placements by major label reps, so I don't think selling them online lowers your credibility...If anything it's gon increase your chances of landing a big named artist over time.
 
If you have people shelling out their hard earned money for your beats that's something to be proud of. If you have the opportunity, do it. Many of the IDLabs guys started out by doing this (and I think they still might). You're not going to hurt your credibility at all. If you can sell them, sell them!!
 
Desire Inspires said:
If you truly need money, get a job.

As far as music goes, you will not make a living selling beats. But it is extra money. You don't have any credibility anyway, so what are you worried about? Sell your music to whoever is buying. You have nothing to lose.
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This guy has no idea what he is talking about. 1. People do make living off selling beats. 2. If a "major" hears a dope beat it could very well end up on an album, even if you don't have any previous "credibility"

Selling beats online is a hustle though, you have wack "producers" selling beats for $5 and the market is completely saturated, but if you are smart about it, build your own platform to sell direct, learn the ins and outs of online marketing, SEO, PPC, etc. form a plan and stick to it, you can make a lot of money off selling beats.
 
I would probably say that, if you have a manager who is well connected and trying to shop your beats to major labels and artists then...probably don't sell leases online for $50.

Record labels and major artists will want beats that have not been heard anywhere else 99% of the time. Having those same beats, or even your name affiliated with the same of beats, for $20 leases could tarnish what you are trying to do.

And selling beats online is brutal. There isn't a lot of money in it (if any at all) for 99% of online music producers.
 
Find a few dope MC's to exclusively build with. Easier to build a buzz when you're dropping real content instead of just random beats.
 
TagYourBeats said:
I would probably say that, if you have a manager who is well connected and trying to shop your beats to major labels and artists then...probably don't sell leases online for $50.

Record labels and major artists will want beats that have not been heard anywhere else 99% of the time. Having those same beats, or even your name affiliated with the same of beats, for $20 leases could tarnish what you are trying to do.

And selling beats online is brutal. There isn't a lot of money in it (if any at all) for 99% of online music producers.
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The only people that I know that make a good living off of leases already have a name for themselves from working with major artists. They can release a beat for $20 on SoundClick or their own website and get 100 buyers the same week.

So many people today make beats. The value you set yourself when you start is going to be most you'll ever get for 99.9% of people. If you start selling beats for $20, you'll never make any more than that. It's like putting something up for sale at eBay and then raising the price expecting people to buy it. It's very rare to see somebody make more than what they initially value themselves at these days. It's not like you get a hit record and every body is wanting to give you $1M to produce an entire album these days.
 
The Game and Drake just made a banger on a johnny juliano beat. if he still has industry creditably then I can safely youll be fine selling your beats online. or you can be like me and produce under two different project names, whatever you like
 
Have a collection of unreleased tracks, and make a folder for the sbippets of them, dont upload them to youtube, send those to certain people, then have a collection of beats you would like to lease, upload those to youtube.
 
Why try to get to the big artist when there is Millions of cars on that highway when the frontage road is 75% less traffic at a slightly slower pace then the freeways minuimum! Im all for selling instrumental beats online for $0.99 each non exclusive and then make exclusives for people that want them for $200 untill credibility is of notice! I do this via itunes, google play store, stream services and more. CD has been up for almost 2 years and makes a lot of money just from streams cause peolple just like hip hop instrumentals. Royalties on stream services and all!
 
Search any online music store for Paper Hustles Hip Hop & R&B Instrumental Beats Vol. 1. Did it from a online music business courses project with beats I made, mix and master after learning music production as well. You can listen to the full beats in friendlmusic.com searching Paper Hustles
 
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