Make Beats For Fun And Profit
What is your motivation to make beats? Some people see it as a money making opportunoty while others might just want to use it as a recreational hobby. Both reasons are valid and have merit. The approach to doing this, however, is different depending on your motivation. If it's for money you must go after the sounds of the moment to seize that opportunity, otherwise you can be free to be yourself. Decide how you want to proceed.
Whether you are money driven or artistically driven, you must let people hear your beats. You will need to keep your ego in check and have a thick skin. Not everyone will feel your beats the way you do and expect some criticism. Criticism is actually one of the best things you can get since it will help you understand how others hear your music. If you are planning to sell your beats, this is highly valuable.
Entering and participating in beat battles is one way to get your beats heard. At first you may feel that you are not good enough and your ego will take the hit. But remember that the big picture is to make yourself a better beat maker so suck it up and learn to deal with it.
It is a big leap to making a beat and then letting it loose on the world. You open yourself up to people you don't know passing a judgment. They don't know your level of skill or what equipment you have. They may not appreciate the fact that you had to do something tricky or unique to get a sound. They only know if they like what they hear or not. You should take all comments graciously and let any hater comments just pass on by.
If you are selling beat, or plan to sell beats, make sure you build up your price based on the customer and the beat itself. If you have a super dope beat that you think is worth $500, your probably don't want to sell it to the bedroom rapper down the street who only has $20 to spend. On that same note, do look for opportunity. If you know of a dope rapper in your area that makes locally popular mix tapes, maybe selling them a beat cheap or even giving them a beat will lead to more sales and exposure in the long run.
There are two ways to license a beat. Exclusive licenses do not allow you to sell the beat to more than one person. Once you sell the beat, the buyer is the only one allowed to use it. Depending on your contract, they may be allowed to sell the completed project using your beat to a major label. A non-exclusive license allows you to sell the same beat to many people. This is often done at a reduced cost for the beat because it may be easier to sell a $50 beat to 5 people than a $250 beat to one person.
By all means do not get suckered into those web sites that give you a beat making program online. These will work to help you make beats but no one in a professional capacity will take you seriously if you tell them you make your beats on a web site. If you want to pay for these sites as a kind of toy to play with, then go for it. These sites will often sucker people into buying with big promises. once the buyer realizes it's a pile of crap, they feel stupid and suckered. But the online sites will gladly let them make some money by selling others on the same crap. This is why you see so many sites praising the online beat making sites. They make a commission off suckers like themselves.
The basic flow of making a beat is like this: 1) get a source of inspiration from a drum beat or sample. 2) build on that and add as much as you can. 3) Cook it down and remove parts that don't fit or use them in various parts of the arrangement. 4) Finalize it all with a good arrangement and mix.
Someone asked me if music theory is important and I think it is. You don't have to be an expert, but basic theory will help you understand how music is put together. Like a car that must have certain parts in certain order and places, music can be constructed in an easy and smart way with a little basic knowledge.
Beat making should be for fun first and profit second. The more fun it is, the easier it will be for you to develop your own style.