Do you want to make money with your beats?
Yes! The ultimate goal for all producers and beatmakers - make money. Of course, a lot of you will also say that you want fame and recognition, but be honest - money is the driving force. We all love money and we all love making beats, so it's only natural that the two of them go hand in hand.
How To Make Money With Your Beats
I want to first say that there is no guarantee that you will be successful with your beats, as not everyone is cut out for this line of work. And that's what this all comes down to - work. Like anything in life, you have to want it bad enough that you're willing to do as much as you can to reach your goals.
There are many ways that you can make money, but it comes down to you and how much work you want to put into it. Below are some ways that a lot of other producers and beatmakers have turned their beats into a profit, but feel free to use them as a starting point for your own ideas. Ultimately, it's your own ideas that will set you apart from the rest and lead to others following you.
Promote Your Beats
The most obvious way that you can sell beats is to first promote yourself and your brand, and the best way is on social media. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, and SoundCloud are some of the best options when trying to reach thousands, and possibly millions of people with your music.
Even by having your beats in the Beat This! Competition, or the IllMuzik Beats section, you will be showing the world what your beats are like. Every little step counts towards your bigger goal.
Making money from your beats is obviously not an overnight thing, so it will take time for you to promote your music and build up a fan base. The other reason is that you can also network with your fans, collect email addresses with a mailing list (which you can use to reach everyone on a regular basis), and be easy to reach. Everyone is on social media, so that's the place for you to be.
By reaching all those people online, you will be able to showcase your beats, which will lead to fans possibly asking you where they can purchase your music. This is when you can lead them to a website where you sell your beats.
Sell Your Beats On A Website
In the past, you would get beat sales because of who you knew, as the people in your network were the ones looking out for you and helping you get clients.
Today, it's a totally different ballgame. There are plenty of websites where you can sell your beats, and probably the best one that I have seen is myFlashStore. The owner of the site has put a lot of time and effort into it and has thought of pretty much everything when it comes to beat sales and how members can benefit. They have a huge marketplace, voice tags, mixing & mastering services, beat sale tracking, and a community.
Make Your Own Website
A lot of producers and beatmakers lean towards using a third party to help them sell beats, and that's fine, but having your own website is a great way to promote yourself. You could also set up a selling system on your website, but that would require you to have a certain level of knowledge about building a website.
Your own website should have a biography, all of your contact information, pictures, videos, music, and a list of all the possible ways that people can reach you.
Profit From Your Website With Advertisements
If you're going to go with your own website, then it's best if you try and find a way to capitalize off it as much as possible. The easiest method would be to place Google Adsense ads on your website. You could also take it a step further by selling direct ads from advertisers that contact you directly, but if you're starting out, Adsense is the way to go. Just make sure you don't put too many ads on your website, that will turn people away. But one or two well placed ads will do the trick, and you will make some extra money from that alone.
Teach Someone How To Make Beats (And Charge Them)
I'm all for helping people out whenever possible, but there also comes a time when money needs to be made. There are plenty of people out there that want to learn how to make beats, or at least how to use certain pieces of equipment, so teaching them would be a great opportunity for you.
With your website and all your beats showcased, along with your biography, you can advertise yourself as a beatmaking specialist of sorts, and offer a few courses on how to make beats. You would be amazed at how many people would pay for your services.
Useful Resources For Making Money With Your Beats
There are many articles and forum topics that have covered this topic, so I am providing a list of them for you. I recommend that you read up and do your research, for selling beats requires you to have a solid understanding of what it takes to do so.
Recommended Reading For Making Money With Your Beats
- Learn How To Sell Beats And How Not To - The holy grail of how to sell beats, this article is a must-read if you want to learn about selling and making money.
- 5 Reasons Why You're Having Trouble Selling Beats - You will eventually hit a roadblock, just like everyone else, so it's best that you take a step back and figure out why.
- Does Money Affect Your Beat Making? - At one point or another, money will come into play. Will it affect how you make beats?
- Selling Beats On The Come Up - Contracts, leasing, and music labels - these are all topics covered in this article by H&R.
- In The Studio: Would You Ever Sell Out? - This is not an article directly related to making money, but it asks the question if you would ever sell out because of money.
- Forums: Industry Talk - This is the place to be if you have any questions related to the music industry.
- Forums: Music Business Contracts - These contracts have been around for years, but they can still be used today. You can even use them as a starting point for your own contracts.
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