What is the Going Rate 4 Beats???

  • Thread starter Thread starter mobeatz
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Thanks for taking the time and detailing the specifics.
It will come in very handy to a LOT of beat makers who venture beyond SoundClick!

---------- Post added at 01:42 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:40 PM ----------

For major label projects:

Currently the rate for new producers (and most producers that have only a handful of album filler placements) is $0 - $5000, generally . This is before the manager/middle man connect/ A&R/ Goon/etc gets their cut which is usually in the 10-20% range. They will also demand a piece of your publishing as well since thats a more secure revenue stream than producer royalties which only comes if the artist recoupes off the project which is almost never.

After that your rates can jump up if you have charting singles under your belt, especially if the single is a Top 10 and/or has went Gold or better. Of course it has to be recent because as time passes if you don't keep up then what you can make obviously begins to slide down. Its very much what have you done lately business because of job justification on the A&R/Executive part (CYA). These rates can vary to a great degree depending on the label, project, previous relationship between the producer and the label brass, other back door politricks.

Also there is alot of bartering involved meaning free beats in exchange for free artist feature for their own artist project and things of that nature. Also some producers are willing to take less on the front end in exchange for a bigger back end piece. Some are FORCED to take nearly nothing upfront to insure they get a decent percentage of the pub

If you're a mid level producer that has years of consistently placing records on a number of projects then the typical range may be $8500 - $15000 per track.

If as a producer your sound is what's currently driving the mainstream marketplace then you could command a very healthy 5 figure advance per track, but remember only a handful of producers are ever in this position at any one time.

Thanks for that detailed answer. It will come in handy to alo of Beat Makers who venture beyond SoundClick.

:cheers:
 
Soundclick (and a few other sites) plus the ease of acquiring software to make beats has really destroyed the market. There was a time on soundclick when just about anyone with decent beats was selling and a lot of artists were buying...then more and more people started making beats, and more people started rapping and those rappers didn't want to pay and the "producers" were trying to sell so they kept lowering their prices and eventually the free downloads came in to play and it just got worse for those trying to make money off beats.

My suggestion, go after a few rappers who are buzzing on the net (check the blogs) and network with them and make some beats for them for FREE. Get on their mixtapes and free albums to get those credits. I know a lot of artists who were buzzing for 2-3 years and started getting bigger and bigger and I was doing songs for them for FREE...and now a lot of them are getting scooped up by majors or they are just huge in the indie scene.

Now, I didn't make money directly from them...but indirectly I have, plus it built my resume with credible artist. So now...when Joe Blow off the streets approaches me for beats I can say I've work with this person and that person on this major label, or this big indie label and get the price I am worth for a beat...(but remember everyone is still broke so you have to be somewhat reasonable)

ALSO, in all honestly...if you really want to make money from your music you should explore licensing opportunities...I have made more money off that in recent years than from these fake ass wanna be rappers. Placing a track non-exclusively can net you a few grand...plus money on the back end. I had a song on a tv show that played ONCE and got cancelled on the CW and the royalties off that alone was $2,600...imagine if the show lived on and they played that first episode 20 times in a year, it adds up.

my 2 cents
 
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Your welcome. In regards to Soundclick I can only base that on casual observation I would guess the rate would $0 - $50 for non-exclusives and $0 - $300 for exclusives on average generally speaking. On a platform like the PMP the rates would probably be 2x - 5x higher based on the caliber of participants. I remember the producers Team Green saying they made $15,000 off of the PMP in a couple of months so I'm sure that's not from getting a boatload of $20.00 non-exclusives because the site isnt traffic-driven like a Soundclick is which will send the rates lower in exchange of more potential customers (at least for the producers highly ranked)
 
Sites like Soundclick didnt destroy the market, just like the fast food chains with their $1 menus didnt destroy the market for fine cuisine restaurants because they're catering primarily to 2 different audiences:

1) Prosumer/hobbyist - Until the arrival of the Internet was satisfied with rapping/singing over the instrumentals of their favorite records for their own artistic enjoyment, has dreams and desires of being a big artist but is not willing to take to task the necessary steps to give themselves a realistic shot at some level of widespread success.

Sites like Soundclick provides the ability for these artists to take the fantasy a step further by being able to perform over an original track (even if 100 other people have done so with the same track who cares?) for a low enough price or free so they can emulate what's currently popular and make it available for friends/family and/or spam as many as people as possible with their pleads to be 'put on'. For them its more important to spend as little as possible when it comes to production and promoting their music (free social network sites) because its simply not a 'get success or die trying' situation for them

2) Professional (independent or major) - Is fully committed to having a successful run in the music business in terms of creative dedication, financial resources and realistic goals and objectives. Usually will understand the need for not only a hot track but also proper sound mastering, artist development, publicity grooming, marketing analysis, etc... In other words they will spend good money on production SERVICES. Will look at success as something that is usually built overtime as oppose to a one-shot lottery ticket chance

As a producer understand you must first decide what exactly are you trying to achieve both short and long term and it helps to have a proper perspective on the current state of the music business or else you might be wasting time chasing the smoke-n-mirrors instead of establishing something real. If you want real results that is...
 
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Soundclick (and a few other sites) plus the ease of acquiring software to make beats has really destroyed the market. There was a time on soundclick when just about anyone with decent beats was selling and a lot of artists were buying...then more and more people started making beats, and more people started rapping and those rappers didn't want to pay and the "producers" were trying to sell so they kept lowering their prices and eventually the free downloads came in to play and it just got worse for those trying to make money off beats.

My suggestion, go after a few rappers who are buzzing on the net (check the blogs) and network with them and make some beats for them for FREE. Get on their mixtapes and free albums to get those credits. I know a lot of artists who were buzzing for 2-3 years and started getting bigger and bigger and I was doing songs for them for FREE...and now a lot of them are getting scooped up by majors or they are just huge in the indie scene.

Now, I didn't make money directly from them...but indirectly I have, plus it built my resume with credible artist. So now...when Joe Blow off the streets approaches me for beats I can say I've work with this person and that person on this major label, or this big indie label and get the price I am worth for a beat...(but remember everyone is still broke so you have to be somewhat reasonable)

ALSO, in all honestly...if you really want to make money from your music you should explore licensing opportunities...I have made more money off that in recent years than from these fake ass wanna be rappers. Placing a track non-exclusively can net you a few grand...plus money on the back end. I had a song on a tv show that played ONCE and got cancelled on the CW and the royalties off that alone was $2,600...imagine if the show lived on and they played that first episode 20 times in a year, it adds up.

my 2 cents


props breh. how can you get a placement in a tv show?
 
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take those comments with a grain of salt.

98% of fp has never seen any real money coming from beats.
Ppl are too bizzy stuntin on this forums.

Yay, I guess I am in that special 2% then :D. :rofl:
 
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