Reputation: Remember, you must view yourself as a business and your beats are your product. Maintain a positive relationship with former customers. Be attentive and answer their emails as soon as possible. This helps to establish trust in your business and in turn will help to generate return customers. It is hard to recover your business reputation after it is damaged with many claims of poor customer service so make sure you respond to your customers as soon as possible, assist them, and show them that you appreciate their business. It is also important to remain professional in your emails/communications with your customers. Keep your audience in mind and use somewhat of a formal tone when communicating with your customers. If you carry yourself in a professional manner your customers are more likely to invest their trust in your business.

New Material: Some may feel content with just posting a select amount of their best beats on their website in hopes they will attract enough customers. However in order to increase your website hits, you must create return value in your website. Ask yourself, what if a customer has listened to all of your beats and, although impressed with your ability, has not found a beat that fits their style? If you are not updating your website, there is no reason that customer will make a return visit to your site. Make sure you are frequently updating your beat website/soundclick page with fresh material. Keep your audience engaged. Motivate potential customers to continuously visit your page by “promising” them frequent beat additions to your website. Adding new content to your website should not be limited to just beat additions. Post some news, make them aware of new discounts, and keep your visitors updated.

Quality..Quality..QUALITY: When attempting to sell beats online you must take note of the golden rule, Quality over Quantity. Too often many new producers attempt to post as many beats as possible, regardless of quality. This also ties in with your business reputation. If you present yourself as if you do not care about the quality of your product, the visitor will not invest their money into your business. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential customer. If you were visiting your site for the first time you would want to hear a beat you like as soon as you begin listening. People tend to have a short listening span. If you flood them with a large amount of sub-par beats with a few quality beats here and there many people may be turned off to your music before they ever get to your better beats. First impressions are generally the lasting impressions. You want to create a great first impression in order to keep that visitor coming back!

Take Advice/APPLY IT!: If you are a music producer now looking to sell beats online, you typically feel as though your beats are good enough to be sold. However there should never come a time in which you do not accept criticism. Don’t dismiss all criticism you receive and don’t get defensive when someone gives you their honest opinion of your music. No matter how successful you become, you are always learning something new each day. Take relevant advice and apply it.

Market Yourself: An entire article could be written on this topic alone. It is one of the most important aspects to consider when you sell beats online. However in this article in particular, I will focus on a few of the overlooked marketing tools available online. Article and blog writing are two useful marketing tools that tend to get overlooked by those that sell beats online. By creating content rich articles that target your core audience, you will be able to create a relationship with your audience and help to drive them to your beat-selling website. Connect with your audience on a more personal level and write blogs documenting news/events in your everyday life. Always include some sort of link in your blog/article that directs the visitor to your beat selling website.

I hope you’ve found this advice useful when you begin to sell beats online. If applied correctly, over time you will see that following these tips will help you increase your business.

Kyle H. (KH Productions)
OME

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.

-Kyle,  Open Minds Entertainment

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!

Music Video courtesy of Kanye West/Def Jam Records.
Instrumental produced by Kyle Hall and Tim Adamek of Open Minds Entertainment LLP.

What do all the greatest songs – in any genre of music -  all have in common?  They are all driven by a great melody. A melody is a set of single notes in succession that form a musical line. The hook to your favorite song, a guitar phrase, and succession of single piano notes are all examples of a melody.

Melodies don’t have to be “catchy” to be effective. A melody that displays a deep, powerful emotion can be a great piece of music without being “catchy” or “poppy.” For example, if you are producing a deep beat about a death or lost love, it can be driven by dark, emotional melodies that don’t necessarily “stick in your head,” but rather portray the emotion of the song successfully through effective melodies.

So what can you do as a producer to become better ar producing great melodies?

Well I do believe that some of us just naturally have more of a knack for this sort of thing than others. The best songwriters who have written countless great melodies are creatively gifted people who can do this  alot easier than some of us. HOWEVER, I do believe that everyone has the ability to learn how to become better at creating melodies. So I’d like to share with you two very powerful tips that will help you to become a better melody-maker:

Listen to Different Kinds of Music: If you always listen to the same type of music, your minds ability to expand into new creative melodical ideas will be severely limited. Do not be afraid to venture out and listen to lots of different styles of music. Hate pop? Listen to it anyway. Can’t stand classical music? Que up that Chopin piece. In fact, I credit a great portion of my melody-making abilities and musical sense to a band that fits into the genre of “Progressive Metal.” Through my years of listening, my ears have consciously and subconsciously picked up ways of combining note sequences to make melodies that I never would have been able to make had I not been a student of their music.

And perhaps the most important way to become better at creating melodies:

LEARN MUSIC SCALES: Ok normally someone would just advise you to learn “music theory.” But I find that people can get intimidated when it comes to tackling the entire subject of music theory. The aspect that can really help you when seeking to become better at writing melodies is musical note scales. Do some research online or buy a book about the different scales used in music. Apply these concepts to an instrument (piano, guitar, etc) and you will really begin to get the feel of how notes are associated with one another, which notes combine optimally together, and which moods are brought out by each scale. Learn the major, minor, blues, pentatonic, harmonic minor scales….and so on. As soon as I learned this aspect of music for guitar, I became a much better musician, composer, producer, and, well, melody maker!

Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more articles!

Tim Adamek
Open Minds Entertainment Beats Online

Odds are, your beat is quantized to a particular timing. This basically means that your sounds are aligned to a precise timing, giving the beat a very unnatural and technical feel, most likely lacking “feeling” and “groove.”

Quantization is defined as the process of aligning a set of musical notes to a precise setting. This results in notes being set on beats and on exact fractions of beats. Most software programs come equipped with a Quantization feature, so that you can align recorded MIDI notes perfectly with a click of a button.

For example, let’s say that you have manually recorded the hi-hats to a beat through your software program and a MIDI controller. After recording, you notice that the hats are not perfectly on-time to the beat. Some notes are a bit off. The quantization feature on your software will allow you fix these timing errors with the click of a button, snapping the mistimed notes into the right timing.

The quantization feature is very useful for certain styles of music. Trance and techno music has a definite, repetitive groove in which quantization is used on most instruments. Some modern electronically produced Hip-Hop and R&B music may used a quantized kick, hats, or snare. But what happens when we want to electronically record music with a more natural swing to it?

There are a couple ways to achieve a more natural sounding groove. The first way is to simply record your track as precisely as you can, and disregard the Quantize feature. You see, when you make a recording, even if you think you performed it perfectly, there are very minute, natural human errors in velocity and timing that help contribute to a natural-feeling production. You will have a developed a groove that would be non-existent if you were to quantize.

The second way of establishing a more natural groove is to record the notes, quantize them, and then move each note VERY slightly with your mouse to the left or right (be sure to turn the “snap” feature off!”). This will enable you to make a customized groove, allowing you to have control over each note to establish the exact feel you want.

I hop you understand a little bit more about note quantization and can apply the concept (or unapply the concept!) from your beats!

So long for now,

Tim Adamek
Open Minds Entertainment LLP

If you are a producer, you have more than likely asked fellow producers, artists, friends or family for some feedback of your beats. You would like all of the feedback you receive to be positive, of course, but this is not always the case. Your friends and family will most likely compliment your work to spare your feelings, but a fellow producer or artist is bound to be critical of your work, offering either a derogatory comment, a simple “I don’t like it,” or some kind of valuable criticism.

I remember when I first started posting my beats for review on the internet, I would sometimes get hundreds of positive remarks (on forums, instant messenger, email, etc.) about a beat, but if I got just ONE negative comment about it, I would be hard on myself and lose confidence. Through the years though, I’ve learned to accept the fact that you can’t please all the people all the time! Once I grew as a producer and understood this concept, I no longer stressed over pleasing every single person with one piece of music.

To put this into a simple perspective, just consider this: Take 10 different people you know personally, and think about what kinds of music they prefer. Odds are, everyone doesn’t listen to the same artists. One may prefer classic rock, one may prefer hip-hop, another may prefer country….and so on.

Well, this same exact concept holds true for your beats….

Some people may love your piece of music, while others simply do not like it because it is not their taste in music. To make this example even more targeted, let’s look at just the Hip-Hop genre. Let’s say you make a Club-style hip-hop beat. Artists and producers who enjoy club hip-hop may love your beat, but those that listen to raw, gritty hip hop may hate it. It’s just one of those things you’ve got to accept, and move forward.

So remember this: If you are getting a lot of positive feedback from valuable sources (fellow producers, artists, sound enginners, etc.), do NOT lose confidence in your music if you receive a few occasional criticisms or negative comments!

In the next motivational article, I will talk about Utilizing Feedback about your beats.

Until Then, Thanks for reading!

Tim Adamek
Open Minds Entertainment LLP

There are a handful of sites that will off you your own online “store” to shop your beats in exchange for a cut of your profits. Which ones are best?

Before I get into reviews, let me first say that I am an avid believer utilizing every avenue you can to promote your beats. So even though some of these beat selling websites are a little sub-par in certain areas, I’d advise that you use them anyway for the sake of promotion.

Here are a few beat selling websites that I have had experience with:

MyBeatShop.com: MyBeatShop has been the most valuable beat-selling website in my experiences. I’ve made thousands from this website alone. It is easy and quick to upload beats, I’ve always been paid on time, and it offers a nice community of producers to interact with. There are beat battles for cash/no cash and all-time and monthly rankings for sales, battles, etc.

Now for the bad parts: The customer service is horrible. It is impossible to reach the staff by telephone because their phone inbox is always full. The site design is ugly – looks very amateurish. The site takes 20% per sale as a comission AND charges for beat space. This is a bit much considering how many beats they sell. Oh and did I mention the customer service is horrible? Oh I did? Well that’s cool ’cause it deserves to be mentioned twice.

Despite a lot of bad areas, at the end of the day this site has made me a lot of money, so I definitely suggest you check it out and get your beats on it!

RocBattle.com: RocBattle is probably one of the first, if not THE first beat-selling website for producers to shop their beats. A lot of producers have had a ton of success selling beats on this website.

The site is a lot nicer looking than most other beat-selling websites. The design and graphics/artwork looka LOT more professional than, say, MyBeatShop. It is very simple to upload beats to the site, and the upload time is quick. You can also order your beats after you upload them which is, to me at least, a very valuable tool.

Battling your beats is a big part of the website (hence the name RocBattle of course). You can select any one of your beats to battle against a beat from another producer. It is important to participate in battles, as it increases your song plays and exposure and can drive you up in the rankings if you are able to win a lot. These things will ultimately help to contribute toward the ultimate goal – more sales.

The bad part about RocBattle, at least in my experience, is that it seems a lot harder to sell beats on than MyBeatShop unless you are very active, win a lot of battles, or lower your prices to next to nothing. There is a lot of competition, and it is a bit more difficult to get recognition unless you earn it through battling and establishing a reputation. Overall though a very nice site that is definitely worth your efforts!

ThBeatTrader.com: TheBeatTrader charges $2.00 per “beat space,” which I believe is a bit overpriced. The site design isn’t the absolute worst, but it is still pretty amateur looking. They don’t have nearly as big as a community as MyBeatShop or RocBattle, and it seems a lot harder to be “in the spotlight” on this site. Again, I’ve had very minimal success on this site, so unless you plan on doing a lot of direct marketing yourself, don’t expect a ton of sales.

BeatSwagger.com: I only put a few beats on this site, because the site design makes it seem, well….a bit shady. There’s really not much to say about the site, except the design sucks, the site content is minimal to none, and I only got one sale on it. But hey…one sale is better than none, right? So what the hell…sign up anyway!

Those are the main sites that I’ve had some experiences with. Again, even though some of the sites are a bit lacking, I can’t stress enough that it is not a bad idea at all to sign up anyway for exposure and promotional purposes. These little things can go a long way in establishing yourself as a producer in the online community!

Until Next Time,

Tim Adamek
Open Minds Entertainment LLP