Selling the same beat twice?

V

Villainaire

New member
No one around here buys beats, so I sell them for between $20-$100. No contracts are signed, and all I request is that I get a shout out at the beginning of the song, and proper production on the CD. Every CD I've made a beat for so far has been nothing more but a mixtape.

Lately though, I've been sending my beats to labels. If a label wants a beat of mine that I've already sold to an artist who's ONLY gonna use the same beat for a mixtape, is that foul?

I initially thought so, but my sister pointed out that rappers constantly use industry beats for CDs so this really wouldn't be any different at all.

Please give insight,
Vill
 
not necessarily. If a major label buys your beat, and there no contract with the other person...just give them their money back and another beat. You'll be able to afford if if you get a beat on a major. Or you can just ask the original artist if it's cool. If there's no paperwork, then it never happened. However, it's considered uncool to sell the same beat to two people. You should save your best beats for the labels.
 
You should save your best beats for the labels.

I know. I sold a beat for $50 that I could get more for potentially from a label. I was just wondering if it's a no-no for me to let both of them have it providing that I tell the mixtape artist and he's cool with it. I would definately tell the artist, but probably wouldn't tell the label since it could cause them to reconsider.
 
you are putting yourself in a bind...

-you sold the beat for $50 no paperwork to the Artist(mixtape)
-a label is interested in the same beat..
-the Mixtape Artist deside to copyright the beat..since its no paperwork..and now its his work..
-label release a cd with the beat on it and goes platinum...
-Artist(mixtape) hits the Label with a lawsuit sayin that he copywritten the beat and was sold the beat prior to the release...
label will then hit you will a lawsuit for sellin them a track you have already sold..and blacklist your name


you can make all the request you want..but without a signed agreement..they dont have to honor it after money changes hands...


just giving you something to think about..
 
bknot1 said:
you are putting yourself in a bind...

-you sold the beat for $50 no paperwork to the Artist(mixtape)
-a label is interested in the same beat..
-the Mixtape Artist deside to copyright the beat..since its no paperwork..and now its his work..
-label release a cd with the beat on it and goes platinum...
-Artist(mixtape) hits the Label with a lawsuit sayin that he copywritten the beat and was sold the beat prior to the release...
label will then hit you will a lawsuit for sellin them a track you have already sold..and blacklist your name


you can make all the request you want..but without a signed agreement..they dont have to honor it after money changes hands...


just giving you something to think about..
Click to expand...
actually, the artist who filed the lawsuit will be blacklisted. second, the label or producer can say that the rapper has a sound-a-like beat and sound-a-likes are perfectly legally, non-cleared samples are illegal.

last, yea, it is bad to sell a beat twice. just think about your reputation. do you want to take the chance of people thinking twice about buying a beat from you and having to worry if you sold it somebody else too.
 
You should never sell a beat without some kind of contract. If you are selling beats for $50 I recommend creating a non-exclusive contract with the artist. I have done that on many occasions. I have sold a beat 3 or 4 times because in the contract it states that I can do that because the artist isn't buying exclusive rights to the beat. I still own the beat and can sell it to whoever I want to. Now if the artist wants the beat exclusively they are gonna have to come out the pocket a little more. I'm not talking about 10,000 but a little more. If I sell a beat to someone for $50 its going to be for demo purposes only. I own all copyrights.


Get dem contracts tight man...
 
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Lil john sold cierra, usher and petey pablo the same beat and they all used it. so why cant you.
 
bknot1 said:
it was the same bass line...not the same beat...
Click to expand...
then you need to listen to the beats again. Even the synth work is the same. I think he made a slew of track in the original song and gave each artist a different mix, only he eliminated some tracks that would have pin pointed it as being the same and came off as his producing style. None the less its the same song. take a copy of each track and mix them. I bet there is a slight adjustment in pitch/speed
WHAT BASSLINE ?
ONE NOTE ON FREAK AND YEAH THREE ON GOODIES "(*!&!/%^#)"
 
dev2467 said:
then you need to listen to the beats again. Even the synth work is the same. I think he made a slew of track in the original song and gave each artist a different mix, only he eliminated some tracks that would have pin pointed it as being the same and came off as his producing style. None the less its the same song. take a copy of each track and mix them. I bet there is a slight adjustment in pitch/speed
WHAT BASSLINE ?
ONE NOTE ON FREAK AND YEAH THREE ON GOODIES "(*!&!/%^#)"
Click to expand...
those three songs, ya'll are just trippin'. those are not the same beat and even if they were the same beat, they sound different enough to sell to different people. the only people who have a right to complain is petey pablo, ciara and usher and they haven't said anything, they paid for the beat, not you. ya'll are the only people complaining that those 3 songs are the same beat. i don't see any people (aka fans) who listen to music for enjoyment complainin'. just producers who can't enjoy musicanymore and they critique & hate on other people's beat, so stfu with that xiet. and bother to flame me, 'cause i won't read it, let alone waste 15 seconds of my life responding to meaningless flames...
 
dev2467 said:
then you need to listen to the beats again. Even the synth work is the same. I think he made a slew of track in the original song and gave each artist a different mix, only he eliminated some tracks that would have pin pointed it as being the same and came off as his producing style. None the less its the same song. take a copy of each track and mix them. I bet there is a slight adjustment in pitch/speed
WHAT BASSLINE ?
ONE NOTE ON FREAK AND YEAH THREE ON GOODIES "(*!&!/%^#)"
Click to expand...
this is an example of the same beat, unlv's drag 'em through the river and juvenile's set if off...
 
long time ago, before I made beats, I went to this studio a lot of rappers went to. They had a catalog of beats they sold for $300 or so. They said they try not to sell the same beat to too many artists, maybe 2 or 3. I thought nothing of it back then. So if you don't have a contract, just figure you let that artist use your beat, you still have the copyright and right to sell again.
 
Repportedly that We Gon Make It by Jadakiss was sold By Alchemist to Ras Kass also i wouldnt kno cuz i've never heard a Ras Kass song also Dr Dre sold his Xxxplosive beat to Eryakah Badu and Cool and Dre sold Hate it or Love it to Mary J Blige so it has happened
 
actually Erykah fell under some criticism for basically jacking Dr. Dre's 'Xxxplosive' beat she did'nt purchase the beat from him..
 
**** all dat! Don't sell a beat twice cause to me listening to a beat more than once wll play out like lil jon using the same synth sounds, it tends to become boring ya hear me, somebody sell me a "sold beat" dem is fight words
 
just make em sign a non exclusive contract when you lease your beats out so when a major wants to buy it there is no problem. Alchemist did sell the beat twice only because the rass kass label didn't wanna pay for it then he sold it to kiss and he made that track then the rass kass camp wanted it back, he ended up givin him 2 new beats and half his money back.
 
Do it if you know you can get away with it! haha.
I sold a beat to this cat up in NY who's in Rick Ross' Triple C crew/clique and then the same one to this dude down in Austin, TX. They're both pretty minor artists so i know it'll never get back to the both of them. I made the money I wanted from it, and it was a major label reject, so I pretty much maxed out from them. I have sold a beat to a label that I had GIVEN to rapper in Dallas, TX. I felt bad for having to do this b/c he had already recorded the song, but I just basically asked him not to do anything with it as far as selling it on mixtapes or CDs. He ended up being cool with it and I hooked him up with 2 more just for the hassle, (once again they were label rejects)

Just know where your tracks and how much potential they have in the hands that they are in. If you're not messin with contracts sell as long as you know the other artist wont here. It is pretty deceptive but you gotta do what you gotta do, and it's legal.
 
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