How To Buy Beats For Your Album

By Eric L. Mims


So....you've written a song, but you don't have any music to record it to.

It sucks when you have all your lyrics done, but no songs recorded and you don't know any super producers and on top of that you don't have the cashola to pay for sessions, even if you did know a super producer. It's more disheartening when you have recorded your songs to every one else's beats that you have no right to use.

This section is for the writers. If you are a rapper, then things are a little easier. You just need beats that you have the license to use, then you have to find a studio to record your song in, then you need that song mixed and mastered, before you release it. (If it's an album, then multiply that process times about 12) There are many sites online to license music from, and there are two types of licenses to choose from....non-exclusive and exclusive.

A non-exclusive license is less expensive and gives the artist the right to record to the music and sell usually up to about 2000 copies of your song before having to re-negotiate with the producer who created it. (Licenses Vary). Remember when purchasing a non-exclusive license you are not the only one who will have a license to use that beat. Any other artist can also buy that same license for that beat....so potentially there may be other artist with songs to the same beat as yours. It doesn't happen frequently, but it does happen.

An exclusive license is more expensive because once you purchase this beat, no other artist can purchase or lease this beat. However, that does not mean that you will be the only artist with that beat because it may have been licensed non-exclusively before the exclusive license was purchased. At any rate, once you purchase an exclusive license, no one else can license that beat.

Non-exclusive licenses range from 2.99 to around 50.00 per beat, and exclusive licenses are anywhere from 200.00 to 10,000.00, depending on who the producer is. So whatever your budget is, you can find something within your budget. Plus, producers offer package deals when purchasing multiple leases. www.freshoffabreakup.com is a good place to start.

For writers that create R&B songs or pop songs everything above still applies, but you also should to find a singer who can "demo" or "sing" your songs. That is, unless, you can sing them yourself. Finding a demo singer that will do your songs justice can be a difficult task. Professional demo singers can be a little pricey, but it is usually worth it....and what you shouldn't do is rely on someone's word that they can sing, then blindly to pay them, then when you get into the session, they take forever and sound horrible....and you end up with a song that sounds nothing like you wanted.

If you decide to use a professional demo singer, or you are singing the song yourself, if your budget allows, you may also want to hire a "vocal producer".

A vocal producer is the person who is responsible for making sure your vocals are delivered correctly, your melodies are attractive, and that the over all recording is marketable.

That's all I am able cover in this here, but I will be covering more soon, so stay positive..




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