[TonyBelmont]

On the subject of selling beats:

Originally Posted by trkboy

I have been in the biz for years burned many times and have had over a hundred placements/releases on
Major Records /TV /Film, so here is my fact of the business/ unless you are a superstar producer these days you are going to get screwed or never get heard.............. and all superstar producers got burned in the beginning.....


copyrighting is a waste of time for beats (I just title mine and register them with BMI)

If you get ripped off, (and you will only find that out if your beat is on the radio getting constant airplay or on a commercial on TV, and that is the only time you can get any real money), you will need 20k to hire a lawyer to get started in filing papers for a lawsuit.... you still may not win........... you may also get phone calls at 3AM with threats from folks who are veterans at fighting dirty little wars telling you to drop the case.... which would be unadmissable in court........ and the judge and jury could care less..... the case is about stolen songs, not why your health is getting worse.... and even if you win how can you collect the money from a giant????? it will not happen unless you have more money and power than them........


But for the years you are in litigation, you will help the lawyer pay for his rent, car and kids college fund... and all the while he will tell you that you are so close to winning, you are the champ fighting for the little guy, but your lawyer needs another 10k for this for that and so forth, so you get a 2nd, 3rd 4th mortgages on your house, parents house, girlfriends, inlaws, house? borrow from friends, get heavily into debt on the premise that you will get millions next week?

and in the end when you cannot pay anyone back? what do you do?

I have actually been a witness to these circumstances, which left many writers broke and the their lawyers richer in the end...... a few even got payoffs from the enemy to lose the case........... so when I got burned I just moved on to the next project.......and kept it moving......although my phone was ringing off the hook on how I could make millions suing so and so for this and that... and all I need is 10-20k to get started with a 10% percent down........ complete BS, I knew better from experience; from the misery of my former collegues....

Also if you are unknown and you sue, you will most likely be blackballed for 10 years......... every up and comer I know that has sued, had in the process embarassed their managers, record executives: and killed their careers
...... most of them have found jobs at mickey d's, rite aid. walmart ect......

FYI the quickest way to make enemies is to file a lawsuit....

In a lawsuit (litigation) everyone from the managers to the artists to the executives are named on both sides...... the song on the air gets taken off, the record gets shelved and the artist usually gets dropped.....and labels can let a suit drag on for years pissing everyone off..... it is not worth it.......... I met one guy who lost 20MM, his estate, family, all because he had a huge ego and he sued a major label over a group that they had allegedly stolen from him....... and his lawyer? when his lawyer found out that he was running out of money, the lawyer took a huge payoff from the record company(they wanted to teach the producer a lesson and send a message throughout the industry mafioso style),trashed the case and caused a mistrial....... (this was a 10 year case that was in the news a few times......) and since the producer was now broke, he could not start another one, so he lost and that lawyer is now a big producer in the movie business, and there are many true stories like that........ however.......... with your delima


What I say to do is to let them write and record to your beats, no charge(which I am currently doing with Thizznation Records)" the standard is no more demo deals", if the label picks them they will offer you probally $500 for the beat, and they (the record company not the artists) will take all of the publishing or leave you a tiny amount of it but you will still have your writers and that is still worth something.

I would take it because now you have a release pending. You use that leverage to get on as many records with other artists as you can around town or in the country........Hopefully by the time their record is released you will have a name and they will put your song out first..........then if it is a hit you will make at least $200k within 6 months if it is a number one hit like my man ryan leslie had with cassie's me and you, you will be in with the big dogs getting 15-20k a track plus studio time....... and now how long can you stay? that is the question .....

One more thing if and when I give someone a break and if they ask me about their music rights? I tell them how it is: all publishing in most cases is swallowed by the big dog (TV Film Labels)

and if they give me a hard time........ I tell them good luck......... and distance myself from them............ sad but true........... which is why I normally only work with artists producers or writers that have deals because they understand the true game of the music biz.......... anyway here is my breakdown for beats


price for beats plus studio time (do not include studio time in your beat price/ big mistake.)

low level $200-500 a beat
mid level with some releases no singles spec is 1k-5k
upper mid level more releases some singles no hit singles still on spec and if accepted 6-15k
star level more releases more singles 1-2 mid level hits some spec work and if accepted 30-50k
superstar level ........... 100-300k all money upfront you at this time have at least 20 hit singles on the charts (try getting one) your own successful label and you are a household name....

Originally Posted by trkboy

do not look for a superstar attorney, they are expensive

get some major hits on the radio (at least 20 airplays a day) on 100 or more stations in the metropolitian areas then you will have everyone from superstar attorneys to superstar managers offering to take you on as their number one client

then you are ready........... to negoiate and make deals and then you will have the right team behind you to make things happen............

if you use them at the wrong time you will feel like you got screwed you will waste their time and the end result will be a big dissappointment..........

also when you are in the room with execs, managers, and attorneys keep your mouth shut...........Everytime you speak it could cost you thousands
let your attorneys and managers speak, work for their money, they are there to make you a deal and get you paid.....You will find out that most attorneys, managers, record execs are part of a network of friends that give each other work all the time........ esp important, do not call anyone on their BS everyone does it and to call someone on it is the quickest way out of the entertainment biz.

Meetings

Usually I set up the meetings ,show up on time, if not early with the manager, attorney, make an excuse to leave, and let them stay there to make a deals.....sometimes I do not show up.........so I will have a gift basket sent as an apology in the middle of the meeting.... which shows that I am a great guy.

You want everyone who recomends you to say "he is a great guy, a really nice guy".........these are code words for you are well qualified and ready for the job and you can deliver. If they say "you are a jerkoff?"........ time to get out of town, take a vacation and make a comeback in a year or two. and hope there was a changing of the guard

If you have to be there the entire time for the meeting, it shows you are desperate which in turn shows that you can be bought cheap.......