5 Pro Tips For New Producers

Earning a living selling beats is possible. The internet has made it easy for producers to share their work with artists willing to pay for getting these hot instrumentals! The problem for many producers is that it can take some time before getting their first sale.

I am not going to lie, the first couple of months and be a pain, and some producers quit before even making a sale. But with that said I can promise you this: When or if the time comes where you will be travelling the world making a living off your Beat Selling Business, you will not regret one second you have spent on this!

So without further due, here are five tips for new producers that I wish I knew when I first started.

1. Listen To Music Analytically

If you are starting out producing chances are you already have a specific type of style, producer, or even artists you’re inspired by. I remember getting inspired by Metro Boomin’s early work when I started producing.

Try going through the tracks produces of your favourite producers and analyse the different aspects of the beats. Listen to how loud the 808 is, whether or not the hi-hats are panned or in the middle, the different variations in the melody etc.

2. Use References

When it comes to using references, there are two ways to go about doing so.

* First: You can download any free instrumentals you find on YouTube or someones beat store. By doing this, you can import it to your project and use it for everything such as matching the arrangement or master your beat using the reference beat as a template.

* Second: You can go even more into depth and get some free PlayPacks or Templates. PlayPacks are remakes of known beats broken down into the different elements (Kick, Snare, 808, Melodies, etc.). With these packs, you’ll get the individual Wav stems and midi files. These are great for practising and matching the different elements to your own beats.

3. Find Your Sound

You have probably seen all these “Type Beats” on YouTube, and even though this can be an excellent way of getting some sales, it is not enough. You can still make Type Beats but try finding certain sound that will be characteristic for you as a producer. This can be as little as a particular snare or hi-hat pattern thought your different beats.

What this means for the customer is, that whenever they want a certain type of beat, you can provide there will be a higher of them not scrolling through YouTube but instead going directly to your page.

4. Collaborate With Other Producers

This is necessary! When starting out producing, collaborating with other producers can only have a great outcome. One of the benefits of doing this is that you’ll be promoted through the other producer’s website vice versa. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to get some traffic you wouldn’t have got elsewhere.

I would argue that one of the best investments you can make for your Beat making business would be to pay bigger producers to collaborate with you on rap instrumentals. In most cases, this would mean, that the beat is going up on the selected producer’s website and for every sale that beat would get the revenue will be split between you 50/5.

5. Have Patience And Be Active

Let me tell you about a phase every producer is going to go through at the beginning of starting his or her Beat Selling Business. The producer has just signed up to a bestselling platform and keeps uploading beats to YouTube, Instagram, Twitter etc. hoping to get a sale. Guess what, nothing is happening. At this point, you will probably be frustrated and feel like giving up.

This is the point where the quitters are separated from the hustlers. Of course, no one is going to get your beats at first. You will have to create a momentum for yourself, uploading beats regularly. By keep uploading your beats consistently (I recommend at least twice a week) on YouTube all the different social media, there will come a point where you will see your sales going up.

How long this will take can’t be answered. Sometimes It’ll take just a week, more commonly a month. I’ve known producers who didn’t get a sale until six months in! But guess what, they never stopped because in those first six months they were motivated to keep pushing and today they are travelling the world with their laptop, making a living doing what they love.

Jakob Utzon (Contributor)

I have been producing for almost eight years now and sold beats for three. I have helped a lot of producers getting into the business through consultations via Skype or the phone. I am also the owner of the Beat Leasing Website UtilityBeats.com