There are times when I will lock in on a particular instrument or software and create only from that. I partially did that with Intrepid Soundz. The first four songs I produced from that album were created with sounds from the MSX Audio's Cassettes & Pedals sample pack. Elements of Self and Illustrating with Sounds 2 were both produced using Soundtrap during the 90 day trial.

Well yesterday I opened up Logic with the intention on finishing up my upcoming EP, Still Water, but I got sidetracked. Loopcloud had an update and once it updated I wanted to check out some of the new features. This lead to me producing an entire track using Loopcloud samples and manipulating them in Loopcloud. 

The main samples came from the Freaky Loops Trap Fuel sound pack. I used the TF_Synth_Keys sample, pitched it up 4 semitones, and slowed it down by 24 bpm. The drums came from other samples in the Loopcloud library. After a few hours of tweaking and arranging (and a break to go to an FIU basketball game), I had a completed song which I plan to release in a few weeks. 

Sometimes, musicians get enamored with new gear. We want the latest sound pack, the latest hardware, etc. and we don't use what we already have. I've been using Loopcloud for about three years now and this is the first time I've produced an entire track with it. I've found that it a good creative exercise to limit the amount of tools you can use and force yourself to create with what you have. It pushes you to think about how you can do more with less. 

Most producers will admit that they were the most creative when they were broke and had a limited number of sounds and tools to work with. This is where I grew as a sound designer. Try this practice out and see what you come up with. Find one instrument or one sample pack and produce an entire track or EP using just that. You'll find that it's more creatively freeing than most people think. 

Take a listen to a sneak peek of Unrestricted Chaos on YouTube. 

I recently had a conversation with a singer that is new to the music industry. She was telling me about how she wanted to go viral to get the attention of a major record label. I asked her why she wanted to get a record deal. She din't have a clear answer, she just though it was what she was suppose to do. This is a misconception that many indie artists have. While there are some benefits (not many) to having a major label backing you, the general consensus among artists who have experienced both indie life and major label life is that indie life is much better. 

Major Labels Have High Artist Turnover 

We all see the artists at the top of the charts, artists like Cardi B and Drake and we think that with a record deal comes that lifestyle. What we don't see is the countless artists who never get a chance to shine. A common misconception is that major labels don't sign many artists. This isn't true. For every Cardi B, a label has signed 5 other artists who were dropped from the label before ever releasing a single note of music. Record labels are no longer in the quality business, they're in the quantity business. These days labels basically sign a ton of artists and see who makes a hit first, then they leave the rest of them high and dry. What really sucks is that whatever music that was recorded under that recording contract is owned by the label, even if it's never released and the artist was dropped. Which brings me to my next point... 

The Label Owns Your Music 

As musicians, we cherish our music. We put our heart and soul into creating works of audible art. Our music is like our baby and we want to nurture it and care for it and watch it grow. Record labels want to bleed it dry for every dime they can get. Don't get me wrong, we all want to make money from our music. That's the only way we can make this a career. However, we want control of of how we make that money. Imagine seeing a commercial for a company that you hate and hearing your music in the background promoting that company. Chances are the label got a pretty nice check from an ad agency in order to use your song. When you are signed to a record deal, the label owns your master recordings. Since they own the copyrights to all of your recorded music, they can license it out to whatever entity they want to (read more about since licensing here). To add insult to injury, if the label drops you they still own the copyrights to any music that you recorded during the time you were under contract. You may find some labels who will let you buy the rights to your master back, but let's be real, who wants to  buy ownership to their own music? 

Creative Control 

One of the best things about being an independent musician is having total creative control over your music. You get to release music when you want to, release whatever music you want to, work with whoever you want to, etc. There's nothing like putting together something you think is a masterpiece only to have someone in a suit tell you "there are no singles on this record". A girl I went to high school with wanted me to produce a record for her a few years back. We were good friends in high school and always had a mutual respect for each other's music. We never got the opportunity to work together because her project had gone over budget and the label would not make space for the collaboration. They also did not want to share publishing royalties (more on that in another post) and because of these road blocks set by the label, her and I never got the chance to work together. She ended up being one of those artists who signed a deal, recorded a full album, and was dropped from the label. Her album was shelved and she can't get it back. This ended up being the reason she left music altogether. 

I was approached by TVT Records when I was 19 years old. Luckily I had a music business professor who had taught me a thing or two about record deals and I turned that deal down. In today's world with social media and companies like CD Baby and DistroKid is there even a reason to sign to a major label anymore? Now artist can record music in their bedrooms and release it to streaming services on their own. With YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter, artists can take promotion and marketing into their own hands. You can run an effective Facebook ad for just $20. With our world so much more connected than it was 25 years ago, it's so much easier to reach audiences anywhere in the world. Artists simply have to take initiative and put in the work.

I recently ran a promotion lowering all of my beats to $1. When I announced this on Instagram I had a few artists DM me asking if they could CashApp me the money and I email them the beats. This was not a problem, I explained they would simply have to accept the terms of the licensing agreement prior to me emailing them the beats. One response I got really concerned me. A rapper sent me a message saying he didn't need the licensing agreement because he never reads them. He went on to explain how no one he knows reads these agreements when they purchase a non-exclusive lease for a beat. A general lack of willingness to understand the music industry can cause quite a bit of harm to an indie musician's career. This industry is tough enough to make it in without you stacking the deck against yourself by ignoring contracts. You could end up in a situation where you blow up then have to turn around and deal with a lawsuit all because you didn't abide by the stipulations in a licensing agreement. 

What is a Non-Exclusive License? 

There are 2 categories of licenses that beats fall into, exclusive and non-exclusive. An exclusive license gives the rights to use the beat to one artist. A non-exclusive license, or "beat lease", means that you’re being given some rights to use the beat, but other artists could be given the same rights to that beat as well. For the sake of this article, I'm going to focus on non-exclusive licenses. For most beat leases, there are some limitations to what you can do with your song. Some of the limitations may include, how many times you can sell the song, how many total streams (audio or video plays) you can get, whether the song is allowed to be played on the radio, whether or not you can make a music video to the song, if you can monetize the song on Youtube or other platforms, if you’re allowed to submit the song to be used on TV, Movies or other types of licensing opportunities, etc. 

Violating the terms of a beat lease can lead to legal action being taken by the beatmaker. It's important to know what the guidelines are before you purchase a beat. There are instances where these limitations can be negotiated. 

5 Thing You Need to Know Before Leasing a Beat 

1) What credits do you have to give? 

Make sure you understand how you are suppose to credit the beatmaker. Some beatmakers may want to artist to vocally credit them in the song, some may simply want to leave 1 tag at the beginning of the beat. Either way make sure that you know how to credit the beatmaker and make sure you follow those guidelines. 

2) What Can and Can’t Be Done With the Beat? 

As I explained earlier, there are limitations to what can be done with leased beats. Make sure you abide by these limtations. In this new world of streaming, there are often limitations to how many times the song can be streamed. Once this limit is reached most beatmakers are open to renegotiating the terms of the lease. 

3) How Long Does the Lease Lasts? 

It's not super common to have a set amount of time the beat can be leased. If it is I haven’t seen it much, but it is something to look for. I have seen 1 (only 1) licensing contract where the beatmaker's lease was for a term of 5 years. 

4) What Are You Getting? 

Beatmakers usually have tiers of leases. These tiers indicate which elements of the beat the artist is getting. Make sure you know what you're getting, whether it's just the mp3 file or the stems (each individual instrumental track). 

5) What to Do With Publishing? 

If you lease a beat, the beatmaker owns the copyright in the musical work embodied in the beat (unless the beat lease agreement says otherwise). Because of this the beatmaker is automatically entitled to mechanical royalties (publishing, or songwriting, royalties). If the lease agreement says nothing you should assume that it’s no less than 50% of the publishing to the track or you should contact the beatmaker and clarify how publishing is to be split. 

For the most part, beatmakers and artists alike just want to make a living making music. Not many of us are particularly fond of the business side of the music industry, but it is important that we understand it and conduct business appropriately.