The type beats marketing tactic of music producers and beatmakers has been around since the early 2000’s. So, what is a type beat? A type beat is the naming convention used by the producer to describe the sound or style of their beat in comparison to that of a popular artist or music producer. Those who have used it effectively have been able to earn themselves a steady full-time income with the growth of online beat selling marketplaces. If you want to learn how to sell type beats, its best to understand the plethora of tools and platforms that will support you. It’s also helpful to look at the origins of beatmakers and music producers using this marketing tactic.
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Learning how to sell type beats can be extremely lucrative
When it comes to online beat selling marketplaces, Airbit, makes it extremely easy for beatmakers to sell type beats. The platform has built-in search functionality for prospective buyers to find a specific type beat. Similarly, BeatStars offers this same functionality. But it’s not just search engines on beat marketplaces that are important. Since the leader in web search, Google, owns YouTube; it’s also critical to put your type beats on that platform consistently. In an interview with DJBooth.net, our top Airbit beatmaker TnTXD stated he even was able to purchase his home with money generated from YouTube.
But before these platforms even existed it was Soundclick where music producers first utilized this marketing strategy. It’s hard to say who actually started the type beat strategy. Some of the earliest producers to use it were Johnny Juliano, Superstar O and Kajmir Royale as far back as the early to mid 2000’s.
Learning how to sell type beats goes beyond just the name of the beat and the platform you’re hosting them on though. There are a ton of marketing tools that you should use to enhance the presence of them. There are pricing strategies, cover artwork, social media and email marketing. These are the top tools and strategies to sell type beats.
Know which artists and music producers have the most attention
This one seems obvious but it’s often overlooked. It’s a good practice for beatmakers to regularly take a look at the top charts on Apple Music or Spotify in the genre they’re producing music for. High demand by listening consumers could be a great barometer for those looking to purchase beats to emulate their sound and popularity. Try to spot those emerging artists before they truly break so you can get in before the market gets too saturated. Many music producers and beatmakers can get caught blindly naming beats after an artist there may be only a small demand for. Or, on the flip side could be only producing type beats around the sound of someone there is too much demand for. Or getting caught in a specific lane and not diversifying and evolving into new sounds and trends.
One awesome free tool beatmakers and music producers can use to spot trends in the type beat selling market is Google Trends. It’s a great way to gauge the interest level and current demand for a specific kind of type beat. Check out my YouTube demonstration on how this is done and be sure to subscribe for a ton of free growth content to aide in your type beat sales.
If you’re struggling to hone in on a specific sound you’re trying to produce, a Splice subscription is a type beat producers best friend. Search and find a loop that can match the vibe you’re trying to create. See our sample pack database or top Splice sample and loop pack rankings if you need help here.
Upload your type beats to a search friendly platform
As mentioned previously it’s important to get your beats on all of the top online beat selling marketplaces. If you’re going to stick to three, opt for Airbit, BeatStars, and YouTube. Airbit and BeatStars both offer free tiers, but I’d strongly advise getting a Pro account on each platform. The free tier limits the amount of uploads you can have. The key here is consistency, so why limit yourself? TnTXD stated he uploads a beat every two days on YouTube. It’s time to work.
Promote your type beats effectively and efficiently
You thought the name in the beat was all the promotion you needed? Think again. As more and more beatmakers and music producers use this tactic it’s important you leverage additional tools to market your beats.
It’s important to properly brand your beats
Before anyone even presses play on your beat they’ll see your visual representation of the track. You don’t want to be the off-brand type beat producer. If graphic design isn’t your thing you can hire a graphic designer off Fiverr for a very affordable price. There are designers on this platform that specialize in both logo design and album artwork. If you want to go the DIY route, Canva, is an impressive tool that you can use to make high quality visuals on your own. I have a list of the top brand building tools for independent musicians that you should read.
Start building an email list with contacts you can re-market your beats to
It’s important to establish and nurture relationships with your consumers as you would with any business. One way to do this is by offering some free beats in exchange for them filling out a contact form. Imagine you just created a series of J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, and Drake type beats. If artist A downloads the J. Cole type beat and artist B downloads the Drake type beat, you now have data on the sound they vibe with for later re-marketing campaigns. Highly personalized email marketing leads to massive beat sales. Another shortcut to start an email list is by purchasing a directory of independent artists emails off a platform like Fiverr.
The bottom line is email is your bread and butter. Make sure to research and get one of the top email marketing platforms. Our pick is Brevo as its free tier allows for unlimited contact uploads. You can even use these contacts to build look-a-like audiences on other promotional platforms like social media.
Get social with your type beats
We already discussed the importance of YouTube, but there are a ton of ways to leverage other major social platforms to get your beats noticed. In addition to posting your music on them, Instagram and Twitter have become amazing platforms to find people who want to buy beats. TikTok is another platform that is extremely important to market your type beats on. This is because the whole nature of the platform centers around music. All of these platforms are also your place to share with your followers who you are as a beatmaker. Engage with them. Find out what they like and deliver it. If you’re a more established producer already generating revenue, you may also choose to invest in some paid campaigns. All four of these social platforms and the online beat selling marketplaces I recommended offer paid promotional opportunities.
Know your value and price your beats appropriately
If you’re a new beatmaker or producer and you just uploaded a type beat of an artist don’t expect to earn as much as music producer with an established brand. It’s not to say it’s impossible to sell a type beat priced at the same level as someone more established it’s just not likely. Start small and build your fan base. If you’re the only one making type beats for an emerging artist on a platform, try pricing your beats higher. This is all about supply and demand. In the beginning it’s important to build your audience and your brand. It takes time and consistency, so don’t be discouraged if sales don’t immediately start rolling in. If you make quality music and have an effective marketing strategy to back it up, it’s just a matter of time.
The verdict
If you’re serious about earning income from selling beats, producing type beats is an extremely lucrative way to turn that into a reality. Stay consistent and leverage the marketing tools to make this happen for you.
