Presents

How to License / Lease a Beat / Instrumental 101:

The Greenprint

All you need to know about leasing beats, The Bulk Deals, the Split between the songwriters, Stream Revenues, etc…Let’s dive into the music industry as an independent artist with leased beats!

When you first hear about this online beat business, both “Licensing” and “Leasing” are used by Producers & Artists to speak about selling or buying beats online… If you are a Padawan in this business, it may be a bit confusing (especially if you are not a native English speaker!).

If you are not paying for a Custom Beat or buying Exclusive Rights of a Beat (As these two options are not leasing anymore, I wrote another article called “Custom Beat & Exclusive Rights“), purchasing a beat online corresponds to pay for getting the file and user rights.

You, as Artists, Rappers, or Singers, are the users, and these rights are the way the beat can be used by you, according to a legal agreement in exchange for money.

Not clear enough? Let’s talk about the bases!

As you may already know, “to license” means:

either to give permission to use something that you have created & belongs to you;

or to get permission to use something that has been created & belongs to another person/company. (definitions from dictionary.cambridge.org)

So, for you, as an Artist, licensing a Beat = getting specific rights to use that beat.

“To lease” is quite similar in the meaning. It means:

to make a legal agreement by which money is paid to use something for an agreed period of time;

to use or to allow someone else to use something for an agreed period of time in exchange for money. (definitions from dictionary.cambridge.org)

So, as an Artist, leasing a Beat = using that beat according to an agreement with the Producer for a determined period of time in exchange for money.

Let sum this up in another way!

A License = a Lease = a legal agreement beween you (the Artist) and the Producer (me) by which money is paid to get specific rights to use the beat for an agreed period of time.

Yes, there is an agreed period of time!

This period can be different for each Producer you work with but, legally, it has to be mentioned in the Lease agreement.

Don’t worry too much about this; it is five years in all my Non-Exclusive Lease by default. You can renew it or, if the song blows out, you will probably choose to buy the Exclusive Rights of the Beat and, this time limit will not exist anymore.

Is Buying beats online safe?

wikkedmusic.com is an SSL certified website and I am using a Beat Store Provider so:

The payments with Paypal or Stripe are secure

The download links to the beat(s) and the agreement(s) are sent instantly after your payment.

As mentioned in the Licensing Options, all my Licenses grant Non-Exclusive Rights only (and it is the case for a lot of producers’ leases).

It means that I retain full ownership of the beats (as instrumentals) and can continue to sell licenses for the beats from this catalog to several artists at the same time.

In other words, there is no exclusivity: Any artist can buy a License to use the beats from my catalog.

First, let me tell you why you must see this not as a problem but as an opportunity!

If you are not used to, Non-exclusive Rights Licenses let you taste two aspects of the music industry: the challenge and the competition (with not so much pressure, relax! 😉 ^^).

Yes, other artists may lease the same beats and do their best to create unique songs, so:

Rise to the challenge to put YOUR songs online, to share YOUR stories, to exhibit YOUR style, and develop YOUR fan base. (Don’t be afraid, this could be the starting point of a career!😉)

Enter this (virtual and friendly)competition with all these unknown or upcoming artists and show YOUR skills!

Don’t be shy, and let’s create these amazing songs that reflect your art, your personality, your thoughts, your mood, your life, etc.

And remember:

Be different, be yourself, which will make the difference!

Both Artists & Producers (you & me) want their songs to blow out, so they invest money, time & energy in their art.

When a beat is licensed non-exclusively to you, it is far less expansive than Custom Beats / Exclusive Rights. The Producer fixes a lower price, but he/she can lease the beat to different Artists (= more chance to have his/her instrumental in released songs!).

For your part, you have access to a full High-Quality beats catalog, you pay a lower price for each beat, and you can use the bulk deals (Check out the explanation below) to have even less expansive HQ instrumentals!

Another key point: if you are not signed to a label, you will keep 100% of the direct revenues from the digital/physical sales and the streams with all my Licenses (and I am not talking about the performance and mechanical royalties that are another source of revenues.)

So, leasing beats let you both save and earn more money to invest elsewhere: Recording; Mixing; Mastering; Distribution; Promotion; Marketing; etc.

There are free beats everywhere! On YouTube, SoundCloud, in the Marketplace of the Beat Store Providers, from the Producers websites, etc.

There are useful! You have to consider them as “Try Before Buy” Beats: You can test whether they inspire you and try to find hooks, maybe start writing a bar or two, and record vocals but:

The audio format of a free beat is not made for recording & mixing songs

Most of the time, your song has to remain for private use!

1. Why the audio file of a free beat is not made for recording a song?

The beats are tagged: The Producers protect them from non-authorized uses by putting a Voice Tag every 30 or 40 seconds in the free downloadable audio file (as they do when the beat is streaming in the Beat Store).

You have to know that the audio of a free beat is mastered. Without being too technical, it means that frequencies, dynamics, and loudness have been optimized for creating the audio file of this instrumental. There is not so much headroom (“space”) for recording & mixing your vocals if you want your song to sound good and professional.

The Downloadable Audio File format is always a “.mp3” which is ok for listening to music with your mobile phone but this compressed format is not made for working on it, even at a semi-professional level!

2. What rights do you have with free beats?

A free beat does not mean you have the full license to use it for free. You are not paying for a license so, most of the time, the rights are really limited:

No upload on audio or video platforms,

No live performance even for free,

No post of your song on social media,

etc…

That is why you must always read the document, which is sent with the beat, to check what you are allowed to do with it (This Free Beats Policy can be different from a Producer to another).

And remember:

No document attached with the beats = No Agreement = No right at all!

As you probably saw on my website, you can download 10+ Free Beats from my catalog at one time.

They are tagged but not mastered to let you record & mix vocals and even master the song for testing the result. (When you decide to buy a License, you will only have to replace the tagged beat with the untagged audio file in your mixing session).

The rights to use your song created with these free beats are also limited. You can upload a 30 sec extract on social media with credits given to me (“Prod. by VJ Wikked” in the title or the comments for example).

Feel free to read my Free Beats Policy if you need to learn more about it.

Ask yourself some questions:

First of all, you can access & read the full agreement for each type of license on my website before buying any beat. It lets you check all the details that are important for you (files format, the maximum number of streams or sales, allowed performances, not granted rights, etc.).

Then, ask yourself these questions:

• How much money & time do I want to invest in making a song?

• What is my global budget?

• What is my goal?

• How many followers/fans/subscribers do I have?

* Considering my fan base, do I need the highest License (Unlimited License)?

*What is the average number of plays/views for my content on YouTube, Soundcloud…

Are the streams & sales limitations sufficient for me in a Premium License?

* Do I need the Stems of the beat for a better control of the mixing of the song?

* Will I perform my song publicly?

* Am I paid for my performances?

Have a look at the features list in the Licensing Options and use your answers to find the best License for you to start.

MP3, WAV, Trackout files:

For each beat, you will receive at least two untagged audio files. Their format depends on the license you choose. You will receive an MP3 320KBps stereo file and a WAV 44100Hz 24bits stereo file of the beat for the PREMIUM License. The stems (trackout files) of the beat are sent with a PRO and a PRO UNLIMITED License.

The files are unmastered to have enough headroom to record the vocals and let you mix & master your tracks to your liking.

Check out my article “Wav, Mp3, Trackouts, Stems, Multitracks, What’s The Difference” if you need to understand the different audio format types.

Untagged files:

The Voice Tag “MindMap Beats” is an audio mark that you can hear on each beat you listen in the beat Store player. It will be automatically removed from the instrumental with the purchase of any license: The file will be untagged!

Video streams represent the maximum number of views of an uploaded video of the song on platforms like YouTube, Vimeo, etc.

Monetized Audio streams represent the maximum number of plays of your song uploaded on platforms like Spotify, Deezer, Rhapsody,….

Non-Monetized Audio streams represent the maximum number of plays of your song uploaded on platforms like Soundcloud.

If you exceed the limitations of the purchased license with your song, you have two possibilities:

Buy a new license for the same beat,

Upgrade your current License

One last thing, I know life can be hard and every dollar counts so feel free to make an offer when you choose the license with the beat, if I can do something, I will!

It is a discount if you purchase several beats with the same License. The free beats will be automatically discounted at Checkout. Bulk deals available :

Buy 2 Get 1 Free: Add 3 Beats with the same License to your cart. You will only pay for 2 beats and get 1 for free.

Buy 3 Get 2 Free: Add 5 Beats, you will only pay for 3 beats and get 2 for free.

Buy 4 Get 2 Free: Add 6 Beats, you will only pay for 4 beats and get 2 for free.

Buy 5 Get 4 Free: Add 9 Beats, you will only pay for 5 beats and get 4 for free.

Learn More tools below to becoming a valuable and powerful artist/Brand:

This marks the end of this blog and we hope you really got the gems from this knowledge. Hopefully now you know how to License/Lease a beat for your next big project! You’ll become a smarter, better, & faster Recording Artist and/or creative developer because of it.

Good Luck which comes from when Preparation meets opportunity and You’re halfway there. So Keep Going! Build Value

If you have any questions, feel free to email us below: admindesk@wikkedmusic.com

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