Im new to Instrumental beat promotion - Effective steps I should take

Kritical MeSh

New member
Hi everyone. If this topic has been covered before apologies in advance.

Im new to the world of music promotion and I need some sound ;), effective advice on advertising, promoting and all the above steps for this phase of the journey in starting out on hopefully a long and prosperous music career.

There is a lot of information out there regarding this phase and how one shoud go about it, but to be honest with you it is difficult to find step effective messaures that a beginner to the biz like me can really get the ball rolling with. What also makes it quite overwhelming is that much of the advice can be very conflicting.

So where and how do I start effectivly?

SOCIAL MEDIA PROMOTING:

I think we've all heard about the taboo of using social media to promote your beats and the methods that surround it. So What is an effective way to use these platforms?

How does one effectivly use Twitter, Soundcloud & Facebook?

As a begginer I have absolutely no fan base - save a few friends on FB that ''like my music''. What is an effective way to build a solid fan base and get interest in you beats?
SELLING AND GIVING AWAY BEATS

Again, we are familiar with some of the information that surrounds this issue and how to go about it, but I want to know Step Effective Measures to undertake.

How should one strike the balance between giving away and selling my beats. At the end of the day we producers want to see some cash for our craft, but at the same time not look like money grabbers.

Here is an example of my situation:

Im just about to put together an instrumental beat mixtape and want to promote it. Im putting a lot of hard work into it and I want to get it out there. Now as a begginer I dont have a lot of money, so copywriting every single beat on it is an issue. How do I approach this situation with a beat mixtape? Do I release it as a free give away, allowing anyone and everyone to get there hands on material with no copywrite protection? Even risk NOT getting credit alone for it.

This is my dilema. How do I keep control of my materal whilst trying to spread it to a wide an audience as possible without losing credit or possible profit for my material, especially for mixtapes, which leads me to my next query.

CONTRACTS:

How should these be drawn up and on what basis?
Is there a fundamental basis which means that the terms that one agrees with another par
ty hold significance without being loop-holed outside of legal proceeding? if that makes sence!:4theloveofgod:

In the case of releasing free beats without copywrite protection, can money still be made?



So there you have it. What do you think?
 
Jesus, that was a long opening. But that's a good thing. You seem to have a rough idea the route you want to go marketing wise. Good on you for creating a beat tape as well by the way, a very good start.

Also...

Welcome to the world of the music business

1. Social media should not be your priority, but a byproduct of your success. A newsletter should be your priority. It'll give you a much more efficient return than any of your social media efforts ever will. Build a website, create blog content to compliment your music, drive people on to a newsletter.

Bam, you are already miles ahead of any other bedroom producer trying to sell a beat.

2. Why give away beats? Why give away your beat tape?

In 2012, I released my one and only beat tape for free. It got me a ton of plays on Bandcamp, even got radio play on a local BBC station, but the artists that downloaded and signed up for my newsletter were interested in free beats. It was pretty pointless.

3. Why don't you have any money?

A week or two ago I wrote a blog post on Internal Affairs about sacrifice, risk and failure. I'll post a link here when I publish it. It should be up by the end of the week. Putting the finishing touches on the website as I speak.

For now:

Is it an issue of "I don't think I'm a worthwhile investment" or a "I don't have that sort of money"?

The former is your decision, but the latter can be fixed. Either through sacrificing a part of your lifestyle, maybe getting a part time job to supplement your new production business. Saving $30 a week. Whatever you do, don't let money own and restrict you. It's a bit of paper which you can lose and earn back.

Essentially, you need to invest money to make money.

4. Copyright is a bit of a bugger... And I'm not 100% on it, most lawyers I talk to aren't 100% on it either lol...

But in the UK, when you create something it's automatically copy written. I publish my music through PRS for Music, which I've been informed will hold up in the court of law as a copyright. However, PRS for Music DO NOT cover any legal costs or take part in the legal dispute other than providing you/your lawyers with the information they request.

Bare in mind, I am not a lawyer and you should seek advice from one. At least you can sue them if it goes tits up.

5. Contracts are something you can write up yourself as long as you look up some templates and law books for guidelines.

If you write a contract, take it to your lawyer for them to look over and then amend it with their suggestions. Again, contracts aren't really my forte but that's what I know others have done and something that I do.

Think I've covered all you asked and I hope I've helped,

Jordan
 
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when it came to copyright I learned a ton from this book the guy is a entertainment Lawyer
the book is amazing and pretty detail I must say
All You Need to Know About the Music Business: Eighth Edition Donald S. Passman



Read that book 3 or 4 months ago. It's pretty useful. More so if you're in the US, still have to do the homework if you're in the UK.

And in the UK, it's a MAZE.

Anyway... Here's that blog post I spoke about in my last reply:

Why Your Attitude Stinks | Internal Affairs
 
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