When you download free hip hop instrumentals online, you may be excited to record your vocals over the instrumental and release the track to the public on a mixtape, album, demo, or DVD.

Before you do this, however, you must know about the restrictions that most producers place on their free beats. 

It is typical for a producer to restrict free hip hop instrumental downloads to “personal” use only.

So what does this mean? Personal use typically means that you can download the free hip hop instrumental, make a vocal recording over it and use it for demonstrational or fun uses only. This could mean putting it on your myspace page to show off your work, putting it on a cd for family and friends, or just using it to practice over.

What this usually doesn’t account for is the mass distribution of the beat, whether it be profitable or nonprofitable. If your plans include recording over the beat and distributing the song to thousands of people, then you should most definitely first contact the producer and make sure this is allowed without purchasing a non-exlusive license to the beat.

So before you make any major moves with this free instrumental, just make sure you have either read over the producer’s policies pertaining to free beats or contacted him/her personally to make sure that you can continue with your distrubution.

Just wanted to clear a few things up about downloading free hip hop instrumentals online!

Looking for free hip hop instrumentals to use to showcase your talent? Download free instrumental beats here!

Tim A.

OME

Song Concept: Before searching the net for the best rnb instrumentals you should first think of any song concepts you may already have. Does your song concept sound like it would work with an up-tempo beat? Answer these questions to help narrow your search.

Inspiration: When listening to rnb instrumentals to purchase online you should try and hum melodies to each beat. You should select the beat that inspires a song idea when listening and that compliments your particular style. You want the instrumental to allow the musician to shine.

Style: You should consider the style of rnb instrumental you’re looking for when searching. Are you looking to purchase a club/up-tempo rnb instrumental? Or are you looking for more of a slow-paced ballad style? You should find a beat selling website that offers a variety of different styles for you to choose from.

Structure: You should also pay close attention to how the producer structured the instrumental. How many verses or hooks does the song contain? Is there a bridge? Make sure the beat can fit the song idea you may have had in mind.

Mix: Consider the quality of the instrumental’s mix. Make sure the beat is professional sounding and the mix is clean.

There are various amounts of websites that offer rnb instrumentals. In your search you should find the instrumentals that spark creativity or inspires you. Make sure the instrumental is of industry-quality and find a producer online that offers a large variety of different styles.

Tip 1. One of the best rap tips is to listen to all styles of rap including east coast, west coast, and south. It will benefit you to have a well-rounded background of the different kinds of rhyme schemes, terminology, flow structures, and deliveries of all different styles of rap. Pay close attention to the elements of each style. Listening to music closely is probably THE single most important rap tip to become a better rapper.

Tip 2. Increase your vocabulary. Come across an interesting word that you don’t know the meaning to? Look it up in a dictionary! If you do not have a dictionary and thesaurus, go out and invest in them. Find out an arsenal of similar words with your thesaurus to keep your raps fresh. Study the dictionary from time to time to learn new impressive words.

Tip 3. Make lists of rhyming words. This can be a greatly beneficial rap tip for your writing process! Make lists of words that rhyme with each other, including single words and groups of words. Always add to your list whenever you discover new words that rhyme in some way. Keep the list at hand when writing raps and refer to it when you need some quick ideas. This is a great rap tip to overcome writers block too. When you see lists of rhyming words, it will spark new ideas and enable you to move forward.

Tip 4. Experiment with different ways of beginning the writing process. If you are having trouble beginning writing your rap verses, try writing the hook (chorus) FIRST. Make sure your hook portrays the main idea of the song you are writing. Once you have the hook idea finished, writing the verses can be a lot easier!

Tip 5. Practice your timing. Here is one of the great little rap tips that I have used in the past. First, find an instrumental beat to rap to. Make sure it is something that you can vibe to and feel comfortable with. Now, start freestyling over the beat EVEN IF YOUR LYRICS DON’T MAKE SENSE! Just rap random words and attempt to make them rhyme. Come up with different kinds of flows and focus on nailing your timing. You see, this exercise isn’t about your words, it is about working on improving the accuracy of your rhythm and “flow” to the beat.

Tip 6. Learn tricky verses from your favorite rappers, and practice them. Come across an amazing but tricky verse from an aspiring rapper? Learn the words (this should be easy to do because you probably listen to the song frequently anyway) and try to push yourself to imitate it. Start slow and piece by piece until you can rap the entire thing. This rap tip will help to build your memory, timing, stamina, and possibly speed (if it is a fast verse).

Tip 7. Record yourself often. If you do not already have it, invest in some recording equipment (a cheap mic and recording software will do). Record yourself rapping so you can listen to what areas need improvement. It is very important to hear yourself as you sound to others so that you can analyze your faults and become a better rapper!

I hope this rap tips article was of use to you!  Now put these tips to good use over some free rap beats!

A set number of Master Recordings: A Master Recording is defined as the audio file created after the artist records his or her vocals to the beat. Most leasing terms allows for the profitable distribution of one Master Recording. Although the artist may record as many takes of the song as he or she wishes, they may only distribute ONE of these recordings for profitable use.

A set number of profitable distributions of the Master Recording: One factor outlined in almost all beat-leasing terms is a limit on the amount of profitable distributions of the Master Recording allowed by the artist. For the sake of an example, let us say that the producer’s contract allows for 2500 profitable distributions (that is the amount that we allow at our site)of the Master Recording. This simply means that the artist may record their vocals onto the beat, place the song on 2500 CDs, DVDs, cassettes, or any other form of recording media, and sell those for profit. If the artist were to sell any more than 2500 copies of the song, they would be breaking the contract. If the artist would like to further distribute the beat for more than 2500 copies, he/she must purchase an extended beat lease.

A set length of time for profitable distributions: Another term you may run into with the beat lease is the overall time span of your allowed profitable distributions. Some common lengths of time are 1-3 years, depending on the producer. If the terms allow for one year, the artist can distribute his/her 2500 profitable copies over the course of one year. After this time, the contract runs out and the artist loses his/her right to distribute the song for profit, even if they have not reached their 2500 copy limit.

The producer retains ownership rights of the beat: Leasing a beat is almost like borrowing or renting the beat from the producer for a period of time. The artist has the right to record over, distribute, and make some money off of the producer’s work, but the producer retains ownership of the beat. If you lease a beat, the producer keeps his/her right to continue leasing the beat to other artists (hence why leasing grants “non-exclusive rights”).

The artist must give the producer credit for his/her work. Most beat lease terms include that the artist must give the producer some form of credit for his/her work in creating the beat. This usually includes either verbal or written credit. Verbal credit would be a “shout-out” in the song where the artist verbally states who the track was produced by. Written credit is usually included in the CD booklet or on a website where the song is located.

These are the main terms of agreement you will come across when leasing a beat online. Every contract is different, and you will more than likely come across different terms when reading through beat lease contracts online, but these are the ones that you are sure to come across most frequently.

That’s all for now…I hope you understand the beat lease a little better now!

-Tim
Open Minds Entertainment LLP

One important aspect that a lot of the time gets overlooked by artists looking for beats is the mixing quality of the beat. If you’re serious about introducing your music to the market you should be serious about the quality of your production. You want your music to sound great in every platform from your car radio and your mp3 player all the way to the clubs. An ingredient to success in this music industry is how you present yourself. Using a beat of low quality or with a poor mix will have you coming off amateurish. By purchasing a beat that has been mixed well people will recognize you took the time to pay attention to sound quality and will in turn take you more seriously as an artist.

Another important aspect when beat searching is making the process cost-effective as possible. Most up and coming artists are typically working with a tight budget and don’t necessarily have the money to shell out for instrumentals. You should look for beat websites that offer non-exclusive beats or beats you can lease. Think about it. If you’re putting together a project whether it be an album, mixtape, or demo you are going to want to record a lot of material and then have the opportunity to chose the best out of the bunch. Most quality beat websites lease their music for only $30-$50. Most producers or beat websites sell their beats exclusively as well however most can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars.

An important factor that a lot of artists overlook is whether the beat they have purchased contains any un-cleared samples. Most producers leave the responsibility of clearing samples contained in their beats solely up to the artist. Clearing samples is a hassle and can be costly so most artists don’t bother when including these sampled beats on their music projects. This could cause serious legal problems for you further down the line. Save yourself the headache and look for original compositions.

This leads me to one of the most important aspects of your beat selection process, the music itself. You may be searching through beat libraries looking for a beat that sounds like that new Young Jeezy song or that new Chris Brown for example. While there is nothing wrong with these artists and their respective music there IS something wrong with this kind of approach to selecting the right beats. It can work to your disadvantage to pick beats that are trendy and sound like the same old songs you hear on the radio. If you really want to make it in the music business you have to develop your own sound. Today the music industry is very saturated. If you want to have a shot at any tangible success you must stand out and apart from the crowd. People respond to music that is refreshing and appealing to the ears. You may be a good lyricist or song writer but remember that means little if you do not have the instrumental to back it. Typically the instrumental is what starts the song off so it has to catch the listener’s attention and give people reason to continue to listen to the rest of your song. Find an instrumental that compliments you as an artist while giving you a unique sound that separates you from the pack. Take the steps necessary to get heard and find yourself original music production.

If, after considering all of the things discussed so far, you have chosen a beat before continuing on and purchasing this beat ask yourself a few questions. In addition to a professional sound quality you should make sure the beat website carries their business in a professional manner. Are the terms of purchase clearly stated? Are there any grey areas that leave you with an uneasy feeling about making a purchase? Understand the terms of agreement when purchasing a beat as some producers may try and take advantage of you. Also make sure there is an easy and safe beat delivery process after you’ve purchased the instrumental. Make sure the producer takes themselves and their craft seriously and professionally.

I also should emphasize that the top 10 beat websites or producers that show up in your Google searches or on the soundclick charts are not always the best of options. They may contain some of the aspects that have been discussed so far but they rarely hold the total package. You’re looking for websites that offer leases with the least amount of limitations, highest professional quality, most affordable prices, and a legitimate and easy purchasing process. Finding a website that offers all of aspects is hard to come by, but they do exist.

Our website, Open Minds Entertainment, is sure to provide you with all of the good qualities mentioned above. If you are an artist looking for hip hop, r&b, pop, or rock beats, check us out! You will not be disappointed!