7 Tips to Selling Beats for Music Producers
1. Make Beat Making Videos
Some music producers may not want to get in front of a camera, but making videos and sharing knowledge can help you to get exposure. There are many people online who want to learn. These people become fans and follow you and can possibly become buyers of your music.
I want to use Boon Doc as an example. When last checked, he has 32,044 YouTube subscribers. I did a interview with Boon Doc, I asked him how has about how Youtube has helped him and he said “It had helped tremendously with exposure. People are posting and discussing my videos all over the place at websites and forums that I’ve never even seen or heard of before.” He pointed out how it has helped with beats sales, finding new artist to collaborate with, and big name people like Ryan Leslie getting in contact with him.
One of my other favorite Youtube music makers is Ronald Jenkees who has a whopping 324,000 subscribers.
So online videos can help a lot.
2. Participate in Forums
I have been in many music forums where certain producers have built great names for themselves. They do this in a couple ways like having great answers to people questions, sharing music making tips, giving good feedback, and producing good music. Participating in forums also allows you to keep update with what is going on with music, learn new techniques, and get feedback on your music.
In the past I did a post on 8 music forums you should participate in.
Side note, please don’t become a forum jerk, someone that has nothing to share, and just replies to a thread because they are bored, and gives just stupid answers. Just work on building a good name for yourself.
3. Promote! Promote! Promote!
Put a web address in you email signature, forum signature, and on blogs when you leave a comment in the URL section. This helps me a lot, I leave a comment on other music blogs randomly, and I can see traffic coming from all kind of sites because of it.
Also use Myspace to get people to listen to your music. Post a Myspace bulletin once a week when you have new music. But don’t be one of the people that do 10 bulletins a day, that’s spammy, and isn’t a good look for you.
4. Give Away Free Beats
This can be good depending on the situation. Maybe you give away 2 to 3 decent beats in a forum, and this can help bring people to your site to possibly buy some higher quality beats.
Also exchange for exposure by having a DJ or rapper saying your name & Myspace address.
For example I did a interview with Eyetel , and he spoke about how he gave out a free beat CD and the rapper Crooked I ended up rapping over one of his beats. So free isn’t always bad.
As a web designer I have done free projects in the past, and it has opened the door to me to other projects.
5. Put Beats Online for the World
Make your beats available everywhere you can. You don’t now where people may come across your music. Utilize sites like Myspace, Soundclick, and Roc Battles. Make sure when people say they want to hear beats you have them available to hear, or you may miss out on that sell.
Web sites like Roc Battles allows you to upload beats, set if you want to sell or lease a beat, and set your own prices. It also offers an affiliate program where others can promote your beats for you and get a small percentage off a sell.
So overall make your music available to hear and buy to everyone.
6. Join Online Beat Battles
Web sites like Roc Battles have sections for beat battles that allow people to show off their talents. Every win you gain more points, and the more points you get the higher you will show on the producer charts and get more exposure. (Example of a Beat Battle)
7. Go Out and Network
I’m sure you have heard this before. It’s not what you know, it’s about who you know. You have to get your foot in the door, and meeting those right people can expose your music to the right person. So give your music to everyone, rappers, singers, managers, engineers, song writers, musicians, etc. It’s a small world and you have no idea of who some people off the street may know.
When you’re out networking, please make sure you have the essentials like a business card handy with a name, current phone number, email address and a personalized web address to stand out. (Read Myspace Producers!!! Step Your Domain Game Up!)
Side Tip: Your web presence is very important because it makes you accessible to the entire world 24 hours a day. For all you producers that are currently promoting yourself on Myspace and Roc Battles, and other sites like that. Think about this, when you give out that web address to that social site, you are exposing your potential buyer to many of your competitors also. Cause on Myspace, I can easily click one of your top friends, and listen and buy one of their beats. So my suggestion is use all those site to help in marketing yourself. But also have your own web site to have you and your music alone as the focus. Once again you can get a web site host and a domain name just lower that $60 a year (that’s the price of some shoes), and then you get a web site template or a free WordPress theme to get you up and going.
Conclusion
I know way too many producers that are very protective their beats. I personally feel if you plan on being a success in the music industry, those one or two beats shouldn’t be held on to like these are the beats that will determine you music making future. Your skills of being able to continuously create hot tracks is what will determine your success. Like Rsonist from the Heatmakerzs said in this video , your beats wont be heard in your house. Get them into everyone’s hands that you can put them in because you don’t know where it will get you.
Keep in mind
Be patient, sells may not come right away
Try to do some remixes with other artist vocals; some people may not see the potential of the beat until they hear vocals on it.
Continue to push yourself creatively so your skills can continue to grow, read 10 Tips to help you stay creative with beat making
