I'm not sure where the online beat selling market is going right now, but I can say its pretty competitive out there right now for hip hop and rap instrumentals. I look at all the beat selling sites I used to use in the past year and I now see that they have become super saturated with newbie producers and fake accounts. But in looking past the obvious, when I'm judging the best beat selling sites to join, I look at what the site is doing to market itself, the volume of unique traffic, the number of producers/accounts on the site and customer service. This usually gives me an idea of how competitive a site may be for my business and if someone is going to help me when I need help.
I used to use RocBattle - a site where you can battle your hip hop beats against other producers around the world and also buy and sell your beats too. But that site quickly became saturated with unskilled producers selling "garbage" rap beats. The battle section is a joke nowadays because there are so many users with duplicate accounts and friends voting for friends. There has always been a huge issue with friends voting for each other and other types of vote fraud. If you do become a member there, here's a fair warning, don't get caught up in winning battles unless you are making money or developing your craft. I've learned from so many great producers on that site who no longer participate for these reasons. The site has become more for a teenage crowd and producers just learning how to make beats, so be prepared for a lot of maturing mindsets. The site averages around 9000 unique visitors per month. The site currently has about 22,500 registered members since its launch last year but only about 250-300 are currently paying members with the ability to sell and battle beats. There is very little advertising around the net for this site except for the sales banners given to users to bring traffic to their profile page. When a business has little internet advertising presence, I don't set myself up to expect to make much money from online beat sales unless I advertise for myself (which is an entirely different article).
I worked on Givemebeats for a while but there was so much fraudulent activity there. Buyers and producers were buying beats and filing charge backs through Paypal after they downloaded. Producers weren't getting paid for months a time and beats were still posted and selling months later for producers who had cancelled their accounts. They even deleted the forums section, presumably because there were so many user complaints in them. On a positive note, I can say that this site is one of the best when it comes to marketing itself. There is a lot of traffic that runs through it. You just have to decide if you what to risk having your money and beats held up for up to 6 months and not being paid at times due to fraud. Once you upload, you can not delete your beats from this site. Be sure to read their T.O.S. (Terms of Service) thoroughly. This site is definitely not known for it's customer service. Remember... I told you so. The site averages around 8300 unique visitors per month.
I did try Thebeattrader for a little while but it became a hassle to make 60 second audition files and zip the regular files. About a year ago the site was exclusive sales only. Now they also sell non-exclusive beats. The site is still more known for its low priced exclusive beats. The site doesn't get a lot of traffic averaging only about 1000 unique visitor a month. They appear to have recently revamped their look, we'll see what happens.
Soundclick is not really worth mentioning here because it is not a site designed around and for music producers and beat makers. They have recently tried to tip into the digital distribution game and take a huge cut out of your sales. Not to mention how much time and advertisement it takes to get noticed on that site. If you are just starting out selling beats online, I'd advise you to try and invest in the newer niche producer sites listed at the end of this article first. They are free to join and are more focused on selling beats and not every type of music the world has to offer.
There are now several "next generation" beat selling sites that have spawned from the inspirations of the sites listed above. These sites are well built and capitalize on some of the short comings of the "pioneer" sites listed above. They take online beat sales and selling to the next level. You'll find excellent customer service and that these sites are built to sell your beats. As of the writing of this article, they are free to join.
I used to use RocBattle - a site where you can battle your hip hop beats against other producers around the world and also buy and sell your beats too. But that site quickly became saturated with unskilled producers selling "garbage" rap beats. The battle section is a joke nowadays because there are so many users with duplicate accounts and friends voting for friends. There has always been a huge issue with friends voting for each other and other types of vote fraud. If you do become a member there, here's a fair warning, don't get caught up in winning battles unless you are making money or developing your craft. I've learned from so many great producers on that site who no longer participate for these reasons. The site has become more for a teenage crowd and producers just learning how to make beats, so be prepared for a lot of maturing mindsets. The site averages around 9000 unique visitors per month. The site currently has about 22,500 registered members since its launch last year but only about 250-300 are currently paying members with the ability to sell and battle beats. There is very little advertising around the net for this site except for the sales banners given to users to bring traffic to their profile page. When a business has little internet advertising presence, I don't set myself up to expect to make much money from online beat sales unless I advertise for myself (which is an entirely different article).
I worked on Givemebeats for a while but there was so much fraudulent activity there. Buyers and producers were buying beats and filing charge backs through Paypal after they downloaded. Producers weren't getting paid for months a time and beats were still posted and selling months later for producers who had cancelled their accounts. They even deleted the forums section, presumably because there were so many user complaints in them. On a positive note, I can say that this site is one of the best when it comes to marketing itself. There is a lot of traffic that runs through it. You just have to decide if you what to risk having your money and beats held up for up to 6 months and not being paid at times due to fraud. Once you upload, you can not delete your beats from this site. Be sure to read their T.O.S. (Terms of Service) thoroughly. This site is definitely not known for it's customer service. Remember... I told you so. The site averages around 8300 unique visitors per month.
I did try Thebeattrader for a little while but it became a hassle to make 60 second audition files and zip the regular files. About a year ago the site was exclusive sales only. Now they also sell non-exclusive beats. The site is still more known for its low priced exclusive beats. The site doesn't get a lot of traffic averaging only about 1000 unique visitor a month. They appear to have recently revamped their look, we'll see what happens.
Soundclick is not really worth mentioning here because it is not a site designed around and for music producers and beat makers. They have recently tried to tip into the digital distribution game and take a huge cut out of your sales. Not to mention how much time and advertisement it takes to get noticed on that site. If you are just starting out selling beats online, I'd advise you to try and invest in the newer niche producer sites listed at the end of this article first. They are free to join and are more focused on selling beats and not every type of music the world has to offer.
There are now several "next generation" beat selling sites that have spawned from the inspirations of the sites listed above. These sites are well built and capitalize on some of the short comings of the "pioneer" sites listed above. They take online beat sales and selling to the next level. You'll find excellent customer service and that these sites are built to sell your beats. As of the writing of this article, they are free to join.
http://www.BeatSwagger.com
http://www.Built4Beats.com
http://www.Built4Beats.com
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