3 Ways To Come Up With New Beats
Writers block is a problem that shows up in a different form for music producers. It’s rare for us to not be able start a project. Most likely you hit the problem of not being able to get in the groove producing anything that you consider a “keeper.” In those times, consider these 3 tips to get it moving again.
1. Work on assignment. I call this technique going to the well instead of waiting for rain. Sometimes I work free form, just letting the music happen. Other times I work on assignment. A client will ask for a specific style, genre, or sound. In those cases I have a destination in mind and a basic framework for what the end product should be. For me that’s much easier. I find that once I get going on this type of assignment, my creative forces take over and I eventually end up with a hot track.
The trick you can use is to create the assignment for yourself. Who says you have to have an outside client to challenge yourself. You can give yourself an assignment within a genre, style, and sound and get to work. The key is to get the assignment mapped out before you step into the studio to work on it.
Get the idea as fleshed out as much possible in your mind. Detail what the end work will sound like and the feeling it will bring when you hear it. If you go that far with it, you push your mind to call up those creative juices to create that feeling. Now when you hit the studio, you have the energy and path to run down.
2. Don’t start from scratch. Another trick I’ve used is almost like remixing my own work or creating variations of a previous work. Start by calling up an old project in the studio, giving yourself access to a ready made pallet of sounds, tempo, song structure, etc, then scrap everything you recorded except for a few elements. If you work using a midi sequencer, this is as simple as creating a copy of the project under a new name and deleting everything except for a simple element like the snare pattern.
At this point, you’re already a third of the way down the road to creating something new. You’ve got a pallet and a tempo and a snare pattern to build from. By the time your done, you might have ditched the original snare and found the session has pulled you in a new direction. And that’s what you wanted in the first place. Something new.
3. Call on The Masters. Some days, for me at least, the above two methods don’t get me going the way I want and the energy level still needs a boost. This is when I like call on The Masters. Depending on the genre I’m working in, I’ll play a few of the masterworks that convey the type of emotion or energy I’m after and also some tracks that are completely different.
For example, if I’m working on an R&B balled and nothing hits the mark, I might throw on some of the classic Janet Jackson joints produced Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and something instrumental like a passionate cello piece by Yo Yo Ma where the emotion is there without lyrics at all. Or some Billy Joel or Debussy, or Missy Elliot, or The Roots, or… you get the idea. Whatever you play, make sure it’s material you consider to be excellent, that sets the bar in your mind for what you want in the end from yourself. Throwing in some varied styles points your brain in new directions away from the roadblock you’d been facing and gets you shooting for the stars.
So there you go! 3 ways to get your creative juices flowing toward your next musical masterpiece. Have fun with it see what your get.
How To Sell Beats Using 3 Marketing Methods Most Producers Won’t
As an aspiring hip hop producer, you face the same challenge as your up and coming peers: how to sell beats against so much competition? The answer is to find ways to stand out from the crowd. This article tells you how.
Just to get everyone on the same page before we start, there’s a bare minimum you need to do to sell beats: You need good music, you need to connect potential clients, you need to close the deal (hopefully in writing,) and you need to get paid. The reality is that every hip hop producer out there is trying to accomplish these same things and most of them never reach the “get paid” part.
Most aspiring hip hop producers create a lot of music, some of it good, and then they post it to sites like Soundclick and hope the checks start rolling in. No real marketing or promotion of any kind – just half baked attempts to connect with clients by sending out emails or posting comments like “check out my beats!” on FutureProducers.com. That little effort won’t cut it. I’ve tried and failed along with every other producer starting out. Then I learned 3 ways to take things to the next level:
1) Build your own beat site. This step alone puts you head and shoulders above the competition because visitors to your site will only hear your music. There’s no chance of them clicking on the next producers link and buying someone else’s beat. On top of that, when you promote your own site, you can connect with those visitors how ever you want. You can give beats away, you can charge premium prices, or you can trade beats for email addresses to build a customer database. Use simple tools like WordPress and e-junkie.com to build the site and process orders.
2) Release albums of your beats on iTunes and other digital distribution stores. There’s no reason to not release your albums on iTunes using Tunecore or CD Baby or a similar service. How many producers do this? Not enough. And once you do you place yourself in another league. You stop waiting for labels or artists and start connecting directly with your fans, which is the way of the new music business.
3) Make videos. Here’s a tip – YouTube is now the second largest search property behind Google. If you can’t be found on YouTube, your missing connections with potential fans and clients. Think about it, scenes of you walking down the street while your beat is playing is a video. A camera pointed out of you car window while your beat is playing is a video. A slide show of pictures of your of your city with the beat playing is a video. Anything goes. Use a site like Animoto.com to simply load up some pictures and your beat and let them create a video for you. You can also sell videos on iTunes so there’s more potential income.
VERY FEW producers are taking these three steps. Step up and get serious about your business. Not only will you position yourself to sell beats, you’re also showing the industry that you’re running a business and not just making beats with no idea how to sell them.
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