Here's a article on beattalk.com, that really made me see how beat jacking is not really a bad thing :
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How To Get Heard!
By Don Di Napoli
Newbie Hip-Hop/R&B producers often find themselves with no avenues to gain contacts and exposure. “
One hand washes the other in the commonwealth marriage known as hip-hop. As a producer or DJ, you make or blend tracks specifically geared towards certain artists.
Without you, artists are forced to rock over instrumentals that other artists probably spit over already, and trust me, that route is so played out, thanks to Mr. 50 Cent. And they probably can’t spit as good as the artist that originally did it anyway, so they ruin good songs! Simply put, the artist NEEDS you!
Yes there are Producer-Specific showcases, battles, etc. (see iStandard Producer Showcase birthed by yours truly), but at the “Artist” events is where you are likely to find that “diamond in the rough”.
There are tons of showcases, open mics, battles, contests, networking parties, etc., where artists flock in hopes of getting their demo into the right hands. All you have to do is go to
www.connexlist.com, download the CONNEX LIST and you will find over 30 events to start off with, put on by some great people like J Hatch of Inasirkl Music Group, Mental Supreme, Maria Davis, etc. The cost is never usually more than $10 at the door.
Go on the Internet and Goggle “Hip-Hop shows”. Why are you not at these events?
I understand the theory that you don’t want to hand out beat CD’s because you are afraid that some beat-jacker will take your stuff and put it on their mixtape, but is that necessarily a bad thing?
Are those tracks better just sitting on your hard drive in the hopes that one-day Jay-Z will rock on them? The answer is no…artists and producers come up together, hence the aforementioned “One hand washes the other”. If you meet an artist or a manager at one of these events, obviously they are on their hustle as well, and would not be there for any other reason.
Instead of just giving your beats out to anyone and saying, “Here, these are my tracks, let me know what you think…”, bring your phone , Sidekick , Blackberry or even an f’kin’ piece of paper and FOLLOW-UP with who ever you hand your tracks to! You never know what can happen, that artist MAY be next. If they are feelin’ your beats and your sound, this can do nothing but benefit you. Here’s how…
If that artist has that ability (voice, flow, breath control, creativity, hooks, drive, etc.), he will come back for more tracks and you will have someone to reference vocals/hooks on those tracks you’ve been tryin’ to get at Def Jam for the past 2 years. That will give the A&R more of an idea of what the song is all about. Trade off with the artist. Tell him if he spits hooks on those 20 tracks that you are trying to get on a big project, you will give him 5 beats for his next album/mixtape
-The artist will show loyalty. If it’s your beat that is the one that’s goin’ on all the mixtapes, getting shopped to A&R’s, etc. etc., how can you see that as anything but positive? Sign a sheet of paper with them that the publishing on anything that brings in some $ gets split 50/50
Word spreads quickly. If that artist is serious about their career 9 times out of 10 people will ask “Yo! Who did that track?” If he doesn’t say you, then you got a problem. Judge people’s character more carefully. The more you network, the better your chance to shine…The more you sit in the lab and hang those tracks on your wall, your chance is being taken by some hungry producer out there making his rounds!!
Comments, questions, death threats, love letters, and questions on the iStandard Producer Showcase can be directed to Don Di Napoli,
don@prototypeentertainment.com
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If an artist really like your shit they'll comeback, and if you give it to a producer, if he's really feeling your shit and your style, he'll probably come back to you too.
Gotta take risks in life
