Soundcloud Freelancing Question

[NoizeeBhoy]

Exactly my point; honestly, none of that's very likely on soundcloud without them promoting it, but I do want more than zilch. Maybe I should include 50% royalties on any sales of the song. I don't know how I'd track that, though.

Tbh idk if I'd really care unless it literally made hundreds of thousands.

Do you have a better model? I'm just brainstorming.

I don't really have a model but I guess if it were me I'd concentrate on collabing with other writers, artists and producers who have industry links and networks - or at least some damn good potential - and work on a co-write split rather than charge up front. I'm loathe to pay anyone up front who is then looking a co-write share - this probably comes from the one time ever I paid for a co-write and ended up getting complete garbage back. From then I've always been of the opinion that if someone believes that a song GENUINELY has potential and could go somewhere rather than just blowing smoke to get me to part with £$ then they'd be happy with a co-write. Not for a second suggesting you'd do this - I listened to your track and its damn good - I've just been left sceptical. In any event I think you've got good commercial potential and your talent cold be better channelled elsewhere rather than writing hooks for a few bucks on soundcloud

[melodymessiah]

well i certainly know what i would NOT do: selling away my best tracks for 200 bucks

[NaeDae]

Hey man, I personally don't know of anyone who offers a service like this, but I'm sure there are plenty of people out there already doing it. As with most ideas, by the time you think of it, there are already a hundred people ahead of you who have beaten you to the punch. Doesn't mean they are any good though, and certainly doesn't mean they are acting on the idea at all.

My suspicion though is that $200-$500 may price you out of customers. I don't know how the whole "beat licensing" thing works, as I've never done it (and really have no desire to), but judging from experience it seems like most rappers are notoriously short on cash... Now, that's a huge - major - stereotype, and definitely doesn't apply to some of the super-talented Taxi rappers that are regulars on this forum, but by and large it seems like most rappers who rely on beat-makers to create mp3's that they purchase small licenses for are not rolling in the dough. Whereas the guys who are doing well financially and are pursuing music as a career have other people they already collaborate with who do all of this stuff together as a 50/50 split on ownership of the song (from the music bed, to lyrics, to performance, to production, to hooks, to hiring singers, etc.), and most likely wouldn't need a service like what you might offer.

You may want to ask a few guys like Terrell Burt and Owen Chaim if they think their circle of musician friends would be willing to pay that amount for a hook, just to see if it's worth pursuing. But I think the whole concept is worth a shot though. Really, the only way to gauge if the market can handle a particular price is to offer your product / service at a specific price-point and see if anyone takes the bait. If not, then either you're priced too high, or people aren't interested in the service, or you haven't marketed to the right people.

Good luck. I'd be interested to hear updates if you go through with this.

~~Matt

Thanks, I'll blog about it or something. Keep in mind I'm 17, so I don't have kids to feed or rent to pay haha. My idea is to set the price cheap for each hook, like $100, but then to take 50% split IF they sell it (and they typically won't, or at least not much). That way, it's a win-win. They get a cool hook for cheap, and if they get a hit off it (unlikely, but y'never know) I'll get rewarded for helping them get there, and this gives me motivation to put out my best work.

[HenriettaAtkin]

+1 to Matt's advice.

You are certainly full of good ideas -- and my advice is to try them.

Taking action is the only way to go. You go step by step and see how you feel at each step.

1. Begin at the beginning
2. If it works, it works. If not, it's fine to change directions as you feel.

Yes, you are asking for quite a lot of money. If you ask nice, and believe in yourself, maybe you will get it. If not, no one can fault you, as long as you are professional.

No one can predict the future. When I was your age, I tried tons of things. Some worked (books, plays published). Some didn't (valuable experience).

Not every seed that is sown grows into the apple tree. But it's the nature of creative people to have a lot of ideas, and you are very creative.

Hope I don't sound too much like "Aunt Hillary"! But I think it's always better to try something.

I have two teenage daughters; I give them the same advice