Advice for beatmakers
- Thread starter dnkygirl
- Start date
tone_aot
Owner of ToneJonez.com
I think my best piece of advice as far is business is to NEVER, EVER, sign as an in house producer with any record label until you do extensive research on the label, and get your contract reviewed. Sounds like common sense, but you can get caught up in the moment if your not careful. I speak from experience. For legal reasons i won't reveal any names, but my company signed to a record label and we got screwed for the most part. We got low pay for our tracks, we've heard the demo songs by the writing team but never met the artist, the artist's project has never came out to our knowledge, and we are still owed money. We also found out that everyone except for 1 person we connected to thru this label were all phonies. Especially our manager. We have not been able to contact any of these folks for about 5 months. So i said all that to say, you really can do anything you need to do on your own. Just get u a good entertainment lawyer, do your own networking/marketing/sales, and be professional. Plan your work and work your plan. Trust me. It took biting into a few bad apples for us to learn this lesson. There is no quick way into this game without getting screwed. Take the long and consistent approach and your goals will manifest.
tone_aot
Owner of ToneJonez.com
Another piece of advice, as far as sales. I read a business article that made so much sense that i can relate to. When it comes to sales, you have prospects and suspects. Your prospects are the folks who are most likely to buy. Your suspects are the cats trying to get beats for free or only $10 when your price is clearly more than that. Know which one you are dealing with before you waste time you could be using on prospects. Thats a huge tip. Check out sba.gov. They have alot of good general business info as far as marketing and so forth that is good for any type of business.
tone_aot
Owner of ToneJonez.com
Yea it was a work for hire. The music that we did for the artist is not ours anymore. I just look at this way, we did get some cash and other things out of the situation, and we can always make more and better productions. We have gotten much better business wise and as producers as a result of the situation. We just took that lemon, and turned it into lemonade. We now have signed our own artists and are moving forward with marketing channels placed strategically in about 10 different states.
jlewis
attic boy
I'm a photography student at VCU and I just finished a Business practices class and from what I've seen, the business side of two is pretty similar as it is essentially freelance work. The book we used, Professional Business Practices in Photography by the American Society of Media Photographers was full of a lot of good info I imagine one similar for the recording industry is available and would be good to have on hand. My professor who has been in the business for a number of years said he wished he had it a long time ago because it would have saved him from a lot mistakes that he had made.
Fieva
facebook.com/fieva
I'll definitely add in my $0.02 later tonight. I've been in a similar situation as my boy tone over there (with a few differences).
Once you know how to properly C.Y.A. then you'll learn how to be a little smarter with it than the next person.
Just remember, it's not all about money, sometimes it's better to just walk away from a potential deal, and all that glitters really isn't gold.
Fiev.
Once you know how to properly C.Y.A. then you'll learn how to be a little smarter with it than the next person.
Just remember, it's not all about money, sometimes it's better to just walk away from a potential deal, and all that glitters really isn't gold.
Fiev.
DesertEase
Notorious
i have never sold or even tried to sell any of my work. No idea who to approach so I'm all ears in here
Ravageent2099
New member
yea me too
illsoulprod
Ill Soul Productions
ok...
^ that was lame and honest enough all at the same time lol
advice... ok...
1. Learn engineering period. Ive been doing this for so long that im getting tired of saying it but i will preach it till i die. Take any kind of class in engineering you possibly can. As a producer and im not talking to just "the bedroom producer/beatmaker" im talking to everyone because a hit can come from anywhere and a great engineer can record/mix/master a record anywhere! Im dead ass serious because all the small questions that get asked on this site are rediculous and im a vet aroud here!!!
2. Be realistic about your goals and do what you want period. I didn't sign a deal till i really wanted one and i didnt want one till i seriously got my company going in the direction i wanted. Don't think waiting for that next piece of gear is gonna make you better because that will always be the case. Set a real goal with real deadlines that you can realistically meet.
3. My last bit of advice is simple. Listen to the advice all your favorite artist give you. They are just like you and me and when they see someone that needs advice they give it too. When they tell you its a great time to be independant then stop looking for that big million dollar deal when you don't even hav a million dollar plan to get it. Dream BIG so you can change your reality. Don't let your reality change your BIG dreams.
Signing off "The Diddy of My City"
^ that was lame and honest enough all at the same time lol
advice... ok...
1. Learn engineering period. Ive been doing this for so long that im getting tired of saying it but i will preach it till i die. Take any kind of class in engineering you possibly can. As a producer and im not talking to just "the bedroom producer/beatmaker" im talking to everyone because a hit can come from anywhere and a great engineer can record/mix/master a record anywhere! Im dead ass serious because all the small questions that get asked on this site are rediculous and im a vet aroud here!!!
2. Be realistic about your goals and do what you want period. I didn't sign a deal till i really wanted one and i didnt want one till i seriously got my company going in the direction i wanted. Don't think waiting for that next piece of gear is gonna make you better because that will always be the case. Set a real goal with real deadlines that you can realistically meet.
3. My last bit of advice is simple. Listen to the advice all your favorite artist give you. They are just like you and me and when they see someone that needs advice they give it too. When they tell you its a great time to be independant then stop looking for that big million dollar deal when you don't even hav a million dollar plan to get it. Dream BIG so you can change your reality. Don't let your reality change your BIG dreams.
Signing off "The Diddy of My City"
Business advice: Invest in your future
I have seen far too many folks who are trying to get into the music industry because they want to become rich yaddi yaddi yadda!you better love it because when your broke and have no idea if you are going to ever make a dime in this industry there must be love and motivation to continue!
Step 1: Invest in your craft. Spend money to become a better musician/producer etc. whether it means going to school or paying someone who is far more experienced than you to show you your foundation to make songs. I can't imagine you retaining a lawyer without a law degree so stop going to unqualified beatmakers, music biz low lifes for guidance. Many cases they are just looking to rip you off because they know one scheme more than you!
Step 2 Find some artists you can grow with.
Simply don't think you deserve to produce or write for Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, or Chaka Khan when you haven't even finished tracks with a local artists making mistakes and learning your craft!
Step 3 Do not fear contracts! They are a part of the music industry. If you don't understand it get a qualified attorney to explain the terms. Also, come up with a laymans contract of things you desire, get your attorney to put it together for you so they can be signing your contract and not theirs. If you don't have enough funds to get an attorney then you are not ready to sign a contract unless you studied law in college! lmao
Step 4 Get a qualified marketing and promotion firm. If you can not afford one then do research based on your budget on how to best market your product to the consumer who would be most likely to purchase it. Marketing info is pretty much the same in all business so reading any business book will do but there is one Music Business book that is considered the holy grail by Donald Passman "All You Need to Know About the Music Industry". It is not all but it deals with many basics.
Step 5 If all this fails save up your money, mortgage your house or however and get a super producer who is an established commodity to produce and co-write your ep/cd. A friend of mine named "BT" who is now considered a techno legend did this when we were all living in Los Angeles, that demo got him a gig with Tori Amos and the rest is history!
BOTTOM LINE NOTHING FROM NOTHING LEAVES NOTHING, YOU WILL NOT GET A THING UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE WHETHER IT BE IN TALENT OR MONEY! USUALLY, IT ENDS UP BEING A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH. EVERYONE PAYS THEIR DUES!
I have seen far too many folks who are trying to get into the music industry because they want to become rich yaddi yaddi yadda!you better love it because when your broke and have no idea if you are going to ever make a dime in this industry there must be love and motivation to continue!
Step 1: Invest in your craft. Spend money to become a better musician/producer etc. whether it means going to school or paying someone who is far more experienced than you to show you your foundation to make songs. I can't imagine you retaining a lawyer without a law degree so stop going to unqualified beatmakers, music biz low lifes for guidance. Many cases they are just looking to rip you off because they know one scheme more than you!
Step 2 Find some artists you can grow with.
Simply don't think you deserve to produce or write for Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, or Chaka Khan when you haven't even finished tracks with a local artists making mistakes and learning your craft!
Step 3 Do not fear contracts! They are a part of the music industry. If you don't understand it get a qualified attorney to explain the terms. Also, come up with a laymans contract of things you desire, get your attorney to put it together for you so they can be signing your contract and not theirs. If you don't have enough funds to get an attorney then you are not ready to sign a contract unless you studied law in college! lmao
Step 4 Get a qualified marketing and promotion firm. If you can not afford one then do research based on your budget on how to best market your product to the consumer who would be most likely to purchase it. Marketing info is pretty much the same in all business so reading any business book will do but there is one Music Business book that is considered the holy grail by Donald Passman "All You Need to Know About the Music Industry". It is not all but it deals with many basics.
Step 5 If all this fails save up your money, mortgage your house or however and get a super producer who is an established commodity to produce and co-write your ep/cd. A friend of mine named "BT" who is now considered a techno legend did this when we were all living in Los Angeles, that demo got him a gig with Tori Amos and the rest is history!
BOTTOM LINE NOTHING FROM NOTHING LEAVES NOTHING, YOU WILL NOT GET A THING UNLESS YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE WHETHER IT BE IN TALENT OR MONEY! USUALLY, IT ENDS UP BEING A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH. EVERYONE PAYS THEIR DUES!
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I agree with DBXXL1
I would also look into licensing music. There is a ton of money in it. The biggest thing to me was getting my name out there. You could have the greatest beats in the world but if no one knows then it will not benefit you. Promoting and marketing yourself is just as important if not more than you beats being hot.
Learn your craft and try to be unique instead of sounding like everyone else. The producing game is over saturated as it is now.
I would also look into licensing music. There is a ton of money in it. The biggest thing to me was getting my name out there. You could have the greatest beats in the world but if no one knows then it will not benefit you. Promoting and marketing yourself is just as important if not more than you beats being hot.
Learn your craft and try to be unique instead of sounding like everyone else. The producing game is over saturated as it is now.