Figuring out new ways to make money as a musician can be challenging. For example, are you considering producing and selling beats online but don’t know whether this is profitable?
What websites can you sell your beats on?
How much money do people make doing this?
What if someone re-sells your beat?
So many questions! Luckily, we have all the answers š
Update 7/6/23: This post has been updated with new information regarding selling and making beats as an artist and new websites to use for this. The more you put yourself out there, the more money you’ll make!
Can You Sell Music Beats Online?
Yes! It is possible (and common) for musicians to sell their own beats online. You want to set up an online storefront where people can pay for beats and then download them.
However, there are third-party marketplaces to buy and sell beats but expect to pay some commission.
Unfortunately, when you use an existing platform to sell your beats, like Fiverr, Airbit, etc., you forfeit a bit of the profit to pay the big guy/gal.
Not the worst news, but it’s something to remember.
The key to selling beats online is finding a reputable, safe website and pricing them according to the market.
For instance, if you are selling a three-minute rap instrumental and everyone in the same niche has theirs’ priced between $50 and $200: try following that trend.
A mistake we’ve seen is someone overpricing their beat and not making any sales. Of course, this all comes down to how much time and effort the beat took to produce.
Some of your work will need to be priced well beyond $200, while others can sell for closer to $100. The more interesting and “hit-worthy” an instrumental, the better and greater it will sell.
Try a few different price plans and see what works.
It’s understandable to want to make thousands off of a single beat, but this isn’t something that will happen overnight. Instead, you’ll need to earn your stripes in the music community, eventually leading to notoriety.
Think of your pricing as a reflection of how much “hype” you have among other music-makers. Beginners will have to price on the lower end.
To help get you started, we recommend using this PreSonus ATOM Production and Performance Midi Pad Controller. It’s fairly easy to set up and will help A LOT while making your beats.
Related: How Much Money Do Audio Engineers Make?
How Much Can You Sell Music Beats For?
Before we get into this, let’s clarify: every beat will be sold at a different price. This might not reflect the talent behind the beat but instead who buys it, where you sell it, and your reputation.
Okay. Now that we’ve done our little moral disclosure…
On average, musicians can expect to sell their beats online for anywhere from a few hundred to over $10,000. Some artists end up using beats that their labels have to pay six figures for.
Yes, SIX FIGURES, BABY! <3
A producer who makes beats for the stars that we can use as an example here is Mike Will. Have you ever listened to a popular r&b, pop, or rap track and heard the intro “Mike Will Made It”?
Well, he charges between $75,000 and $100,000 for his beats.
Every time you hear that catchy intro, Mike got paid upwards of six figures to produce the song. If that doesn’t inspire you to keep hustling and building a brand for your beats: we do not know what will.
On top of that, many producers get cut into the royalty agreement, meaning they make money each time streaming services pay out the artist who released the song.
Selling beats online can become an evergreen way to make income if you network correctly and advertise your talents on the right platform.
Again, this is always going to be humbling in your early days.
Like any successful artist’s career, there will be WTF moments and days where selling your beats for a couple of hundred bucks seems insulting.
The only way around that initial awkwardness is to create your own website and target wealthier, more established musicians: but even then, it may not kick off right away.
Time and experience are like gold in this business. Somebody selling beats as a newbie won’t be making the same as a veteran talent. Sorry.
Related: Can Music Artists Make Money Selling Merchandise? [Inc. Companies You Should Use]
Where Can You Sell Music Beats Online?
When it comes to where you can sell beats online, there are quite a few choices. Creating your own store through Shopify, Bandzoogle, WordPress, etc., may be worth the extra time and configuration.
However, for people getting started who don’t want to build an entire website, here are some marketplaces to start selling your music:
- Airbit
- AudioJungle
- PremiumBeat
- BeatStars
- Bandcamp
- TrakTrain
- AudioDraft
- Soundee
- SoundClick
- Soundgine
- GoBuyBeats
- SoundCloud
So, you can see there are PLENTY of choices here. Some people may want to spend time curating a website, while others may do the best selling on an existing market platform.
Of these options, we recommend Airbit, AudioJungle, and Bandcamp to people wanting to sell their beats for more money, as we’ve had some success doing the same thing on each respective platform.
Again, all of the websites we listed allow for beat-selling, so some people may prefer to use one beside the three highlighted.
That is completely fine. Not everyone will share the same experience.
However, we recommend posting the same beat on a few websites and seeing which one sells it first. Think of this as a test of the respective platform and assess which charges a lower fee.
On top of that, if you are selling non-exclusive beats to musicians (this might be a good place to start), you can keep selling the same instrumental over and over again.
Here’s a little technical bit about non-exclusive beats from our friends at HEATE:
With a non-exclusive license, the producer grants the artist permission to use the beat to create a song of their own and distribute it online.
Also, you still retain copywrite of said beat, so this is nice if the song your customer makes blows up. Then, at least, you get the clout and potential deals with more prominent artists and labels down the road.
Related: Is LANDR Online Music Mastering Any Good? [Our Detailed Review]
How Long Does It Take To Start Making Money Selling Beats Online?
Although this will vary by seller, you can typically expect to start making money with your beats a few months after listing them.
As we covered, creating a website allows you to hold onto more of the profits, but that’s not to completely turn up our noses at the idea of using a marketplace.
According to experts, artists selling instrumentals part-time can expect to rake in $100 to $1000+ a month in the first year or two, which isn’t too shabby.
Let’s say an artist quits their job and goes all in.
In that case, you can sell enough beats to pay your rent and then some. Full-time producers often make between $39,000 and $81,000 a year, with an hourly estimate of $27.
That is certainly better than working a 9-5 you despise, but it will take hours of unpaid work, risk, and a potential breakdown.
Music is an odd commodity because someone can get lucky after posting a social media video and never have to work for someone again.
We wish that energy for all of you reading š
Even if it takes you a few months to get the ball rolling and make your first beat seal: do not let that discourage you.
From experience, nothing sustainable comes from little work.
Don’t be afraid to take your time, list a few beats on a couple of respective websites, and see where it goes. You’ll never know your potential without at least trying.
You’ve got this! š
We also have these articles to help you on your journey:
How Do I Make My Vocals Sound Professional When Mixing & Mastering?
You must be logged in to post a comment.