This article is meant as a simple guide to assist independent artists who scour the internet in search of good original beats to buy for their mixtapes, albums, demos and videos. If you are asking the question “how do I get signed?”, right now is the best time in music industry history to be an independent artist. Though you may not have access to the mighty financial prowess of the major label, the internet has become an invaluable resource which can allow you to promote and sell your music by building strong movements on the social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and Youtube. More and more these days, the ideal of being signed to a major label, while still alluring, is fraught with danger i.e. the notorious 360 deal. An indie artist can diligently build a fanbase through social media and sell on iTunes or in his/her local area (while booking gigs) and make a comfortable living without having to deal with record label politics.
One site which has become a leader in providing rap and r&b beats for indie artists is Rocbattle.com. The site is hosted by legendary grammy award winning producer Rockwilder and has over 80,000 members. Admittedly it is a very good site in many ways. The biggest feature is the producer battles, which basically gives producers a way to gain visibility (by winning battles) and customers a way of finding the hottest beats (those that win the most battles). The site has a wide selection of producers and beats of all kinds of varying styles and genres, a nice mobile version for listening to and buying beats on the go and a feature which allows customers to send in a request for a specific type of beat to the producers on Rocbattle.
While Rocbattle is a cool site with a good reputation, it is by no means the be all and end all when looking to buy beats online. Here are some potential cons to the pros listed above:
- The customer has to join the site in order to buy beats. From checking it out myself, having to go through the entire process of signing up to the forum and setting up a profile seems like to much hassle if you are basically looking to lease a couple of beats.
- The large quantity of producers at times takes away from the personalized service a client may need. There is such as thing as too much choice.
- The site’s layout is a bit complex and a first time buyer may take a while to get their bearings.
- The site seems more geared towards attracting new producers than attracting new beat buyers.
