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

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!