Imagine this: You’ve finally completed your newest track. It’s sick. It’s amazing. The entire world is ready to hear it. So, where do you go from here? It’s not the early 2000s anymore — people can’t just put their beats on Myspace and hope for the best.
We all have to start somewhere.
Even if you got producing beats in a home studio down, next is struggling to figure out where to sell beats.
That’s why we’re here: to give you the 7 best websites to sell beats online and make some cash doing what you love.
Make Money Selling Beats Online
Instagram For Musicians
If you’re plugged in and online, you’re probably already well aware of Instagram. You might already have one that’s not entirely devoted to your music. Instagram isn’t marketed as a website to sell beats online, but it is a website that is geared towards selling yourself.
Half of the legwork of beat-selling online is learning to sell yourself. Sure, there are plenty of people who only care about the music. But why stop there? You’re missing out on half of your audience if you don’t show them the person you are behind the beats.
How producers make money on Instagram
It’s also an incredibly powerful tool that you can use to help boost beats sales. You can post short videos on Instagram as well as stories. When utilizing Instagram’s platform, you can post clips of what you’re working on, pictures of your setup, or even just pieces of your day-to-day life.
People love looking into the behind-the-scenes lives of artists they love, and once you’ve got a following, you’ve got guaranteed beat sales. Once you gain an interested following, you’re going to have people checking your feed for updates on your latest music.
Soundcloud For Music Producers
The internet loves to rag on Soundcloud artists, but Soundcloud is the place to go when you’re first starting out. Soundcloud is often referred to as “the YouTube of music.” Sure, people can use YouTube to spread their music, but it’s got nothing on SoundCloud.
When people are looking for new music, Soundcloud seems to be the first place they go. For a new beats artist, SoundCloud is going to be irreplaceable. You can use Soundcloud to build up your playlists and easily get your music out into the world.
Soundcloud Rappers That Blew Up
If you’re still a little wary, don’t worry — Soundcloud is free, for the most part. You can upload up to three hours of audio, create your own playlists, and even embed a Soundcloud player into other websites, which can help you spread your music throughout the web.
If you’re looking to get a little more out of SoundCloud, they also have subscription accounts: Pro or Pro Unlimited. You’re probably going to want to upgrade once you get more interest in your music and a small following. We’ve been using Soundcloud Pro Ultimate for a while now, and it’s been pretty easy to figure out and worth the investment.
Kanye To The
An important part of beat-selling is connecting with other artists and people in the business. Kanye To The is a hip-hop and electronic music-based forum where independent artists go to talk, make connections, and even find music artists and producers to work with.
There’s no way to sell beats without doing just a little bit of networking unless you get insanely lucky.
Networking With Beat Makers And Rappers
The pros of joining a forum and networking are that it’s free. You also never know who will be lurking and seeing what you put out there.
You can get advice from other music artists who have already started beat selling, as well. If you’re new to music production and the selling beats scene, having connections to someone who’s already old hat is an indispensable advantage.
The only problem with Kanye To The is that it is, in fact, a forum, and it may take you a while to form those connections. But even if it takes a while, it’s still one of the best places online to get your start.
You can start at the bottom, and meet some of the greatest people through Kanye To The. Forums haven’t died out just because social media has taken over the internet: Kanye To The is active and full of artists posting every day.
BeatStars
Alright, let’s talk about BeatStars. This beat store is another marketplace that focuses on servicing producers. According to BeatStars themselves, the tracks uploaded here get 50,000 daily plays.
That’s nothing to turn your nose up at, especially when you’re just starting out and wanting to sell your beats.
The Ultimate Beat Store
It’s a website that is explicitly designed for artists to buy your beats. If you’re looking to get a foot in the marketplace, you might want to consider setting up an account here. It’s an up-and-coming Soundcloud, specifically for independent artists and producers.
The only downside is that not a lot of people really know about BeatStars. That doesn’t mean that it’s not something you should keep an eye on.
BeatStars has a lot of good promotions, and they’re a solid website to upload your music, sell beats, and connect with both customers and other artists. There are also comprehensive categories that you can upload your music under, making it easier for customers to find precisely what beats you’re offering.
iStandard
Up and coming beats creators will want to make sure to look into iStandard. There are two options when joining up with iStandard: one is a free, limited account, and the other is a one-time fee of $200.
Normally, we wouldn’t suggest having to spend money to start selling beats, but when it comes to iStandard, the membership fee gives you a leg up and opportunities that other independent beats artists might now have.
With the membership fee, you can upload your music specifically to your iStandard producer page, as well as submit your beats to different placement opportunities.
iStandard is the type of beat-selling website that will get your music directly into the hands of rappers and record labels. It’s a great place to start while you’re still building up a fanbase. In fact, iStandard is a great place to go if you’re looking to build a following.
That doesn’t mean that it’s not still worth the investment. Selling beats online is all about getting your fingers into as many pies as possible.
Airbit
One of the biggest annoyances when it comes to trying to sell your beats online is getting around the commissions that a lot of beat stores take. They’re your beats; you earned the money, right? Trust us; we know how frustrating it can get when a website takes a cut of your hard-earned money.
Formerly called MyFlashStore, it’s now called Airbit, and is a one-stop shop for music producers trying to sell their beats online.
Not only do you get to keep all of your money when you sell beats, but AirBit also gives you your own URL. There’s not a large marketplace for customers to browse, so you’ll want to have all of your beats available for perusal on another platform.
There are both Flash and HTML beats players that you can embed in your own website, as well. If you’re looking to spread your sound and get a larger fan base, this sort of service is a definite advantage.
Still, having to keep track of two websites isn’t exactly uncommon for the up-and-coming beat producer. If you already have a bit of a following, AirBit is perfect for delivering your audio straight into your customers’ hands.
Did we mention that AirBit takes zero commission on the beats that you sell? We think it really bears repeating since it can be hard to come by these days.
SoundClick
Last but not least, one of the best online places to go for music producers ready to sell their beats. The best thing a young, up-and-coming beats artist can do is follow in the footsteps of the independent hip-hop artists who’ve come before you.
SoundClick has been around since 1997 and has been the leading website for electronic artists to start their careers and sell beats.
The community on SoundClick is enormous, weighing in at over 5 million unique users. This is the perfect community for new artists to start selling their beats. You have access to interested producers, other artists, and an enormous market.
As far as features go, you’re not going to get much better than SoundClick, especially if you’re not far enough along to have your own beat-selling website.
When you start up with SoundClick, you have access to an artist page, unlimited audio uploads for all of your beats, a free mp3 store, charts to track your beats, as well as audio and video streaming.
SoundClick is like Kanye To The and Soundcloud all rolled into one. You have access to a forum community as well as a place to upload your music and sell beats.
Summary
You’ve started your music production career and made some fantastic beats. Now what? Delving into the world of selling your beats is an intimidating journey.
This article goes through the seven best places to sell your beats online and get your foot in the door of the electronic and hip hop marketplace.
READ MORE:
- How To Sell Beats Online: YouTube, SoundCloud, Etc.
- Studio Gear Guide: The Essential Gear To Become A Producer
Changelog:
April 20, 2022 – updated links, minor content edits
