You’re about to start building your very own digital music marketplace, so it’s probably important you have a way to accept payment from customers. You can set up your payment methods by selecting “my media,” then selecting “payment accounts.”
From here you can connect your PayPal and Stripe accounts to your BeatStars marketplace. We highly recommend connecting both payment methods to your marketplace so you can maximize your sales. Once your payment methods are connected you can start receiving payments instantly. It’s that easy!
Let your listeners know who you really are by customizing your profile! Add a profile picture, set your location, and create a biography to fully personalize your BeatStars profile. To edit these areas, just go to “Account Settings” and select “Profile”.
From here you can edit all the details of your BeatStars account. Remember, your BeatStars account is representing your brand. Make it look as professional and true to your creative self as possible!
For producers, social media is essential for building a following and creating a client network. Link all your social media to your BeatStars account so your listeners will know where they can find you! You can link your social media by going to Account Settings —> Social Media.
From this page, you can link all of your social media accounts and link your BeatStars profile. Remember to add every social media account that you use. The more ways your fans have to connect with you, the more they will stay engaged with your music.
Find your favorite artists and producers that are a part of the BeatStars family and follow them to stay up-to-date with their content. You can even reach out to them personally using the internal BeatStars messaging feature.
Discover like-minded creators and reach out to them to start collaborating with new artists. BeatStars is a vibrant community with thousands of producers just waiting to make that next hit track. Explore the community and start connecting with other creators now!
Now you can start posting content and build up your BeatStars marketplace. Just hit the “Upload” button to start sharing your music with the entire BeatStars community.
You can upload much more than just beats to your marketplace! You can also offer Sound Kits, Services, Merchandise, and much more! It’s your marketplace, so you choose what you want to offer your customers.
Upload content frequently to get the most out of your BeatStars marketplace! The more beats you upload, the more artists will discover you! Establish an upload plan by deciding how many beats you want to upload a week. Uploading 2 – 3 times a week will guarantee that your listeners are always up to date on what you are working on. Uploading as many beats as possible will result in more listeners, more followers, and more sales!
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Let’s start with the most essential piece of any producer setup - the DAW (Digital Audio Workstation).
Choosing what DAW is right for you can seem like an impossible task. Depending on what products you’re looking at, a DAW can cost anywhere from $100 to $1000. Let’s be honest - that’s a pretty steep asking price for someone who’s just starting out. Luckily, there’s a variety of free DAWs and demos available that you can download right now to get you started!
So, what are the best free DAWs out there? There are tons of them, but some of the most popular options we recommend for new producers are Pro Tools First, Akai MPC Beats, Waveform, and even GarageBand for Mac users. These options include many of the powerful features found in some of the most expensive DAWs. If you’re just getting started, these DAWs provide all of the essentials that you’ll need to start making great beats.
These free software options are user-friendly and developed by some of the most innovative music technology companies in the world. Through experimenting with these free programs, you can learn the fundamentals of music production and gain a basic understanding of drum patterns, melodies, and structuring. Remember, they’re all free! Don’t settle and explore all the different options to find out which program is right for you.
For a producer who is just starting to make beats, spending hundreds of dollars on a DAW may not be a viable option. We recommend taking advantage of the free demos that are available for all of these programs. FL Studio, Ableton Live, Pro Tools, and Logic Pro all offer free demos so you can experiment with the program before they make a big purchase. The functionality of these demos are limited, but they give you an idea of what to expect when you eventually decide to upgrade your DAW. Take the time to explore each demo and find out which program is right for you. You don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars when you don’t know the first thing about making beats.
Selecting a DAW is a significant decision for any music producer, so make sure you make a smart and educated decision before emptying your wallet first.
If you’ve seen any of your favorite producer’s set-ups, you’ve probably noticed that the room is littered with flashy drum machines and giant MIDI keyboards. The truth of the matter is, you don’t need any of that to start making great beats! All you need is a DAW you feel comfortable with and a creative idea. Expensive drum machines and MIDI controllers don’t make great beats - it’s the producer!
When you’re just starting, don’t feel like you have to spend thousands of dollars on hardware to start making quality beats. Those tools can help in the future, but it’s much more important to spend your time and money honing your skills.
Most of the hardware that producers use just controls functions on your DAW. All of the things that a drum machine or a MIDI keyboard can do, you can do yourself by simply clicking. Buying expensive hardware may make you look like a good producer, but your skills and style are what will really help you stand out from the rest.
Even though hardware is not a necessity, you may feel the need to buy a set of keys or a drum pad to help your creative process at some point. Brands like AKAI Professional offer great beginner MIDI keyboards like the LPK25 and the MPK Mini that you can get for as little as $70. They may not be the most advanced MIDI keyboards on the market, but they offer enough functionality to help you get familiar with using a MIDI controller.
AKAI Professional has affordable options for drum pads as well, such as the MPD218 and the MPX8. These are great for any producer who wants to make beats with a hands-on approach.
You’re a musician, and you need a quality way to listen to the music you create. Having the right sound image is key to knowing what you’re working with.
When you're starting, it can seem like you need the latest and greatest audio equipment to hear and critique what you're creating. It can be intimidating seeing some of your favorite producers using the newest KRK Rockets or Yamaha HS5's that can cost upwards of $500 a pair. The truth is, you don't need expensive studio monitors to create amazing music!
There’s an ever-flowing number of affordable ways you can hear your audio in high quality. Yeah, a big pair of studio monitors on your desk may look great, but there are better ways to listen to your music for a much more reasonable price. There's nothing wrong with using headphones instead of going out and getting an audio interface and a pair of monitors. Most of the time, you can get a clean mix by just using headphones!
When it comes to which headphones you should buy, there are so many options out there that we couldn’t even begin to list them here. A good brand to start with for budget-friendly headphones is Audio Technica. Audio Technica offers a plethora of headphones that are great for beginners.
Audio Technica’s ATH-M40x model is less than $100 and offers reliable sound for whatever kind of beats you’re creating. If you're not looking to spend that much on headphones, it’s never a bad idea to start with what you have. Even just using the basic headphones that come with your cell phone can be suitable for hearing your beats in higher fidelity.
If you don’t like how your beats sound in headphones, purchasing a more affordable pair of studio monitors is never a bad idea! Investing in a pair of budget monitors like the Mackie CR Series will help you hear your music in better quality without being weighed down by headphones. They’re cheap, reliable, and you can get the pair for under $100.
Check out what BeatStars producer Pat Ryan can do with minimal equipment. He’s a great example of not needing expensive hardware to make dope beats.
Music Publishing is the oldest vertical of the music business, generating opportunities for compositions to be performed and reproduced. The history of music publishing can be dated back to the late 1800s in New York City, where a collective of music publishers and songwriters connected to create and release popular music outside of the religious and classical genres. Fast forwarding to now, Publishers are concerned with ensuring artists and songwriters are paid from digital music consumption such as streaming and downloading. In this case, BeatStars Publishing was created to ensure artists and producers get compensated for the commercial use of their songs, and ultimately represents creators to guarantee they receive royalties for their songs. In short, music publishing is all about songwriters and copyrights. When music licensed, publicly performed, or sold the songwriter and copyright owner are owed royalties. BeatStars Publishing is essentially acting as a ‘Publishing Administrator’, administering the copyright and protecting the use of your songs as well as collecting royalties owed from the use of those songs. With BeatStars Publishing, you can worry less about getting “screwed over” and focus more on creating music.
If you read the ‘What is Publishing’ paragraph, the answer is simple - so you can get paid appropriately for the commercial use of your songs! That means getting paid for your streams, downloads, and any other commercial use of your tracks. Publishing your songs through BeatStars Publishing is a simple, straight-forward way to ensure you’re getting paid the royalties you deserve.
Once you have access to BeatStars Publishing, you can get started with the onboarding process.
Want a quick overview of how your marketplace is performing? Visit the BeatStars dashboard to view your Quick Stats! The Quick Stats section of your dashboard gives you a general look into how your marketplace is performing for the week. We’ll let you know your total net sales, new followers, net plays, free downloads, and much more! This is a great way to quickly check in on your BeatStars marketplace and gain an understanding of how your content is performing.
By default, your quick stats will display your statistics from the current week. To adjust the range of your quick stats, just click the “This week” button and select the desired range. You can go far as back as 90 days to see how your marketplace has performed over a long stretch of time.
Analyzing your statistics doesn’t have to be a long arduous process! Just take a look at the Quick Stats to get an idea of what your marketplace is accomplishing.
Want to know who your most loyal supporters are? The Top Fans statistic lets you know which BeatStars users are enjoying your content the most! Figure out how often your Top Fans are visiting your marketplace and what tracks they are enjoying the most.
Try to reach out to your Top Fans and thank them for their continued support! Even just sending a quick thank you message can go a long way in building a relationship with your fans. You can even offer your Top Fans exclusive bulk discounts and coupon codes as a token of appreciation.
Remember, your Top Fans will most likely turn into some of your most loyal customers. Build a strong relationship with your Top Fans to keep them coming back to your BeatStars marketplace!
To figure out which tracks are performing the best on your BeatStars marketplace, you can take a look at the Top Tracks statistic. The Top Tracks stat will show you what tracks are garnering the most plays and what content your listeners are enjoying the most. This is an extremely useful stat to understand what type of beats are resonating the most with your audience.
Can’t decide on what type of beat to make? Analyze your Top Tracks for the week to get an idea of what content on your marketplace is most popular. Once you know that, you can work towards creating similar beats to supply your audience with more content they’ll love.
Remember, your BeatStars marketplace is an international business! Discover where your content is being enjoyed by viewing the Top Countries statistic! The Top Countries stat will give you an idea of where your listeners are located.
Are your beats especially popular in Germany? Then reaching out to a few German artists might be a great way to grow your following even more! Knowing where your listeners are located is extremely useful for planning future content. Try to expand your outreach and create content that can appeal to users from all over the world!
Want to know how your listeners are consuming your content? Then take a look at the Top Sources stat to understand how your fans are visiting your BeatStars marketplace. The Top Sources stat will let you know where your listeners are discovering your tracks on the web marketplace, your Pro Page, or the mobile marketplace.
This is a great way to understand what platform you should focus on the most. Are you noticing more users are discovering your tracks via the Pro Page? Then focusing primarily on your Pro Page might be a good marketing tactic. Understanding how your listeners are interacting with your content is vital to the success of your marketplace.
Analyzing your sales statistics is the best way to see how your BeatStars marketplace is generating income. The sales overview will let you know how many items you sold, your gross sales, your most popular products, and much more. Take a look at the sales timeline for a visual representation of how your marketplace is performing over time. This is a great resource to discover how and when your beats are selling.
Clicking the transactions tab will reveal all transactions made on your BeatStars marketplace. This detailed transactions page will log your successful transactions, pending transactions, and canceled transactions. You can also discover whether your customers are using PayPal or Stripe as their payment method. This is an extremely useful resource to help sellers manage their marketplace activity.
The Customer Tab will let sellers view their customer’s information. Sellers can see whether a customer is a guest or a BeatStars member and even get access to their email address. This is ideal for getting in contact with customers and dealing with any issues or concerns they may have.
Managing your sales is the key to building a successful music marketplace. Make sure you are always analyzing your sales statics to understand what products are selling the best and how you can better serve your customers.
Retargeting is one of the most effective ways to create repeat customers and re-engage your audience. In fact, retargeting can generate nearly four times more revenue and 18 times greater net profits compared with marketing using simple non targeted marketing. (Source: Moz) Retargeting your customers can be done in a variety of ways such as running paid ads, however you don’t need to spend a pretty penny to remarket - you can do this for FREE on the BeatStars platform . If you’re brand new to the world of email retargeting, don’t sweat it. Take this as your formal introduction to this game-changing revenue generating form of marketing.
Email Retargeting, or Email Remarketing, is the act of following up with a customer who has visited your website, engaged with your beat downloads, subscribed to your email contact list, made a purchase, or left a purchase in their shopping cart. Email retargeting is a way to make your emails convert more people into customers, because emails sent in a retargeting campaign are more relevant than the average marketing email.
It’s impossible to bring up email retargeting and not touch on customer journeys - the two go hand in hand! When you re-engage your customers through segmented and automated emails, you are creating customer journeys. A customer journey is a roadmap of communication to your audience. You can build out which emails your audience will receive, set requirements for receiving emails, and create different branches depending on actions your customers take. This tool is meant to automate communication while keeping contact segmenting at the forefront of your priorities. Building out a single campaign that goes out to everyone in your audience, regardless of their unique experiences with your products, can hurt your overall ability to make music sales. Building out a customer journey will enable you to set up multiple emails over a period of time, and use the knowledge you obtain through early emails to market better.
If you offer free beat downloads to your customers, don’t hurt your chances of making a potential sale by not reengaging! The customer journey for free beat downloads can look something like this:
Who to Send To: Customers that download a free beat from your beat store.
When to Send: This email journey should last around 1-2 weeks.
Email 1: Send this 1-2 hours after a customer clicks ‘Download’ on a free beat. Keep in mind that an email with the song download is sent immediately after clicking ‘Download’, so this first email will technically be the second in this ‘Free Beat Download’ email series. This first email created by you in Mailchimp should thank the customer for downloading your beat, and a coupon code or special deal to entice purchasing. Some personalization - whether that’s a little about yourself or some background into your music career and credentials, is also a great way to go.
Email 2: Now that you’ve introduced yourself in the first email and provided additional value, try centering your next email around additional free downloads and a call to action to encourage a response from your customer. We recommend sending this email out 48-72 hours after your first email, this way you aren’t spamming your customer’s inbox.
Email 3: After you’ve given your customer time to engage with their beat downloads and create some music (after 1-2 weeks), reach back out with a third email asking your free downloaders and customers to send you the songs they’ve created. This is a great way to establish lifelong professional relationships and brand loyalty with your buyers, as well as build up your discography of songs your beat has been placed in.
About 60-80% of shopping carts are abandoned before customers finish a sale. (Source: Active Campaign) If the primary end goal of your email retargeting is to increase your music sales, then setting up your abandoned cart emails should come first. With the right email retargeting, you can expect to recover about 10% of that lost revenue. Abandoned cart emails have an open rate of nearly 45%, which makes them one of the most well-known email retargeting campaigns. An abandoned cart email journey can look something like this:
Who to Send To: Online customers who add items to cart but don’t complete checkout.
When to Send: Send a series of three emails - the first one two hours after abandonment, the second after 24 hours, and the third after 48 hours. This email journey should last between 2-3 days.
Email 1: Send this 1-2 hours after your customer has abandoned their cart. This can be a friendly reminder that they have your music waiting in your cart, and that “checkout” is only a click away.
Email 2: Send this 24-48 hours after your customer has abandoned their cart. We suggest including a percentage off coupon code within this email to encourage the customer to close the purchase feeling incentivized.
Email 3: Send this email a few days after your second email. This can act as a final reminder, with a larger percentage off coupon from your second email (for example, try increasing the percent off from 10% to 20%).
Watch our exclusive, step-by-step BeatStars Live+ tutorial video on email retargeting to learn more about how you can start retargeting through BeatStars’ free MailChimp integration. After, download our FREE retargeting email templates below to assist you during your email set up.
So the music you’ve been working on is finally finished. You’ve listened to it a million times, edits have been made, and you’re ready to present it to the world in the most ground-breaking way possible. You know that a lot of that comes from delivering an amazing visual image, but you aren’t a professional designer. The fact of the matter is, your music deserves to be wrapped up in the prettiest bow because it’s YOURS. Album, track, and even marketing related artwork like social media assets can feel daunting because it’s a visual representation of the sound you’ve crafted. If you aren’t a Photoshop wizard or can’t afford a freelance designer, don’t worry - there’s a solution to this, and it’s accessible through BeatStars.
Unveil the curtains to reveal Canva, a graphic design platform used to create social media graphics, presentations, posters, business cards, and other visual content. It’s a simple to use tool that offers drag and drop features and pre-made templates so you can spend less time worrying about crafting the perfect visual assets and more time creating music. There’s a number of reasons why you should be taking advantage of the free BeatStars Canva integration, but we’ll run through three of the most important.
Growing and scaling your business means establishing a strong, recognizable brand identity. Without solid brand identity, it’s hard to gain recognition or paint a picture of what you’re all about. Everybody knows McDonald’s red and yellow arch or Coca-Cola’s iconic lettering. While you obviously aren’t a global food or beverage brand, that same recognizability can be achieved by making use of consistent fonts, colors, and styling. Strategic use of color can convey different feelings and emotions, while specific typeface can help your listeners perceive your brand in the way you’d like for it to shine.
Not only can you create playlist, track, and album artwork in Canva, but you can also design social media posts, Gifs, business cards, YouTube thumbnails and videos intros, and website pages. Marketing is 50% logistical strategy, and 50% visual storytelling; the two work cohesively together, and your brand’s design can ultimately help or hurt your marketing efforts. If your image is all over the place, then achieving visibility will be a difficult feat, which is a majority of what marketing is. Once you have your colors, fonts, and feel narrowed down, creating quality materials for social media or traditional marketing efforts (like posters and business cards) will be a quick and simple task.
Creating consistent brand identity across your channels doesn’t just create a good first impression, but it’s also known to increase your business’ revenue. In fact, consistent presentation of a brand has been seen to increase revenue by 33 percent. (source: Lucidpress) When customers buy from you and enjoy their exchange with you and your music, it’s easier for them to remember you for repeat business if you have a signature color and style. According to Reboot, using a signature color can increase brand recognition by 80%. If past or existing customers remember your brand through its visual aspects, you are improving your business’ retention. Finding new customers can cost five times more than selling to existing customers. A five percent increase in retention can drive a 25-95% increase in revenue. (Source: BrightEdge) Make a visual identity so compelling that existing customers will have no choice but to keep visiting your page for more.
A solid brand identity can only help you. Learn more about how you can get started making album, track, playlist, social media, and marketing artwork through Canva with our official ‘Canva For Musicians’ sheet. Download the resource for FREE below and start leveling up your brand’s image.
The BeatStars Blaze Player is a must-use tool for selling your beats anywhere, anytime. The internet is a huge place, and your music deserves as many eyes as possible, which is why our embeddable player is available with the Free, Marketplace, and Pro Page Plans.
Users that visit your Blaze Player can quickly and easily listen to your tracks before purchasing via PayPal or credit card (Stripe).
Similar to the BeatStars Pro Page, customers can register/log in through your Blaze Player to save their lyrics, negotiate prices with you, and access their files/purchases. As an added bonus, when people register through your page, their information is saved to your Customer Section so you can stay in touch with your customers.
The Blaze Player is built around the same framework as the Pro Page, so the design is sleek, modern, responsive (for mobile) and fully-customizable. You can modify fonts, your logo, backgrounds, and much more.
The best feature to come with the Blaze Player, though, is the incorporation of YouTube videos as motion backgrounds for your tracks.
BeatStars users have traditionally kept YouTube in sync with their BeatStars account; when a beat is uploaded to BeatStars, producers like to also upload that beat to YouTube, as YouTube is still a very big avenue for producers to earn sales and recognition.
With the Blaze Player, you can add related videos from YouTube to your tracks. What this will do is embed a YouTube video behind your track player, so when users play that track, they are also “viewing” your YouTube video.
This means that for every play on your Blaze Player, you also earn a play on the YouTube video that you embed in the track, thus driving plays to your YouTube videos and BeatStars tracks at the same time. As if you needed a better reason to start using Blaze Pro!
If you love the YouTube integration with the Blaze Player, you should know that you can make several “featured” tracks and add related videos to all of them, meaning you can be earning views on multiple YouTube videos and BeatStars tracks.
Another new feature is the ability to create sub-playlists for your beats. This way, you can organize your beats into specific categories so users can easily organize your beats by playlists. Common playlists would be “artist-type” playlists or genre-specific playlists (i.e. trap, west-coast, old school, etc.)
You can also install your Blaze Player to your FaceBook account, giving your FaceBook audience the convenience of listening to your music without leaving your profile.
BeatsbyStellar's Blaze Player
You may be totally new to the BeatStars World (and if so, welcome!), or you may be considering a switch of plans. Whatever your situation may be, we’re here to help with that important decision making process with our official BeatStars Plan Quiz!
Before we send you off into the world to embark on our BeatStars Plan quiz, you should probably have some knowledge on what each plan is even about. We’ll set the scene:
If you’re still in the elementary school era of your music career and are just starting off, then consider the BeatStars Free Plan! While you’ll inevitably need to graduate on to bigger and better things, the Free Plan is the perfect stepping stone to getting acquainted with the world of music entrepreneurship and beat selling. The Free Plan allows you to upload up to ten tracks, accepts both Stripe and PayPal payments, comes with two premade licenses, and opens up the floor for building connections with 5 private messages a month.
If you’re curious about the features that BeatStars has to offer, but aren’t quite ready to commit, then the Marketplace plan could be the right fit for you. While the Marketplace Plan is still limited with all of the features BeatStars holds, you unlock unlimited track uploads, 20 monthly private messages, premium statistics, 4 premade licenses, the ability to sell customer services and sound kits, and more. If you’d like to get your toes wet before committing to the Pro Page Plan, the Marketplace Plan is the perfect route to go.
If you’re ready to take your music career from 0 to 100, then the Pro Page Plan is IT. You can find the most successful Producers and up-and-coming creators on the BeatStars Pro Page, utilizing the plan as their one-stop shop for all their music business needs. The BeatStars Pro Page Plan unlocks unlimited track uploads, unlimited monthly private messages, 100% of revenue into your pocket, not one but two submissions per Opportunity and Challenge, and a customizable web page so you can make a lasting impression on buyers and fans coming to your site to purchase beats. The Pro Page Plan is a Grade A investment if you’re serious about succeeding in your music business.
Now that you have the gist of what each BeatStars Plan has to offer, let’s focus on YOU. Take our quiz below to find out which BeatStars Plan would work best for you.
When it comes to gaining exposure on various digital channels, using hashtags (once known as the pound sign) proves to bring major results for content discovery. The same reigns true for hashtags or keyword tags on BeatStars. Every time you upload a track to the BeatStars Marketplace, you're required to use three tags on your track - no more, no less. While mandatory, we promise it's worth your while.
Abe Batshon, CEO of BeatStars, has even said that keyword tags make “a huge difference for producers, and can ultimately increase listenership.”
Let's dive in and talk more about how you can best use keyword tags to get more eyes and ears on your productions.
Keyword tags, similar to hashtags on social media, are words or phrases preceded by a pound symbol or hashtag (#) used to associate with or identify a particular keyword.
You can easily see these keyword tags come into play on BeatStars when using the Marketplace's powerful search tool.
Try this simple test: log in to your BeatStars account and navigate to the top of your Feed. There you will see a search bar. Enter in a keyword (i.e. a search term) – this can be an adjective, such as “dark” or “deep,” or it can be something like “future type beat” – and look at the results that come up.
Producers that tag their beats with the keywords you searched for pop up. In essence, this allows artists looking for specific beats to land on the exact type of production they are looking for via these specific keywords used in the search engine.
Naturally, some keywords are going to work better than others. Even still, some artists may have more success with certain keywords than other artists using the same keywords. That doesn’t mean you can’t find success with the right keywords though - you just need to do your due diligence.
Don’t run away just yet! Yes, the word “research” was uttered, but it’s probably not what you think.
Here's the situation. If you're reading this, there's a high chance you're a BeatStars producer, and it's safe to assume that you probably take your music very seriously if you've made it this far in this article. Therefore, don’t expect to just post your music and have it take off – you need to put in work to get your music in front of eyes and ears in order to find success.
One way to do this is by not only using keyword tags, but by researching the right keywords to use. Lucky for you, we've gone ahead and done some of that research for you (thank us later).
We corresponded with some of BeatStars’ most successful producers – GHXST and The Cratez – to find out what works for them and how you might be able to benefit. In addition, we analyzed some of BeatStars’ top-performing beats to see what trends we could find within beats that made their way onto the charts. A member of The Cratez shared that they keep a personal document that has a running list of keywords that are/were popular, as well as artists that were popular at the time. We suggest that, upon doing research, you also keep a list of keywords in a spreadsheet so you have a reference of what to use. This can also help you to refine your keyword targeting and make the most out of them.
There are a few different routes you can go down when picking out your keyword tags, but for best results we recommend trying the following three approaches.
What are artist tags? You've probably seen these tags in titles on YouTube – “Drake Type Beat,” “21 Savage,” “Waka Flocka Beat,” etc. You’ve probably also heard stories about artists like Joey Bada$$ and A$AP Rocky finding beats by searching “[Artist Name] Type Beats” on YouTube.
Listen to A$AP Rocky talk about this discovery in the video below:
These tags find their way into many popular beats on BeatStars and other music platforms. Before you go tagging all of your beats with “Travis Scott Type Beat,” you should be aware that this tagging method is heavily used by an array of producers on the BeatStars Marketplace. Looking at the Top 10 Beats on BeatStars, several of them feature an artist as one or more of the three allotted keyword tags.
Producer GHXST clued us in on his strategy to combat this over-saturation, sharing, “I spend [time] trying to hit a sort of Tier-2 artist, where the competition might not be so cluttered and a channel my size might be able to get a strong and dedicated hold more readily, which I think converts into sales pretty well.”
We can conclude that including one major artist as a keyword tag is an effective strategy. You shouldn’t throw any old artist in as a keyword tag though; choose artists that you can hear rapping on the beat the way you intended in order to get artists to find you by searching for a specific style of production. In addition, we can venture a guess that including a less-popular but relevant artist as a keyword tag can also have its benefits by targeting a niche market that may result in more refined listens and potential purchases.
Another common trend in keyword tags has to do with the style and form of the beat.
When looking at a selection of the Top 10 Beats featured on BeatStars Charts, a majority have some form of genre as one or more keyword tags. Targeting a genre or style/sub-genre will help increase your listens by people who are searching for the genre in which your production fits. If you're looking to increase your fanbase and exposure, staying on top of trending genres can help you reach a broader audience. You can keep track of trending genres through one of our favorite trend tracking tools - Google Trends. Our exclusive BeatStars Live+ video covers how you can use Google Trends to increase your music's exposure - simply watch the video below to dive in.
Lastly, consider the feel and vibe of your beat - this is the third most common keyword tag type.
Admittedly, this type of keyword tag was the least used by the beats on the top charts, but it appears frequently enough to be of potential value. Defining the mood is already a part of the BeatStars service when you go to upload a beat, but it also makes sense to use some moods as keyword tags when relevant.
It might make more sense to use a different keyword than the actual mood you select for your track to cover more ground. For example, say you define the mood of your beat as “Determined” when uploading your production. For a keyword tag, you may choose a similar or relevant mood, such as “Epic” or “Intense.” This will allow you to potentially gain traffic from both “determined” and “epic” or “intense” keyword search terms.
In summary, keyword tags are a required part of uploading your beats for a reason – they work. BeatStars' optimized search engine makes keyword tags even more essential for producers to use. We encourage you to do research – see which artists are trending, what keywords other popular acts on BeatStars are using, and ask your friends or family to describe your beats in one word and test that as a keyword tag.
Keyword tags are crucial elements of your success on BeatStars. It doesn't hurt to test a variety and experiment with which ones work for your art.
Your Pro Page is yours to professionally personalize any way you see fit-customize your website's look and feel! Design your webpage with tailor-made templates, logos, colors, and custom banners or add your personal touch to make your website pop and stand out among the rest. We give you a custom domain name to give your customers a simpler and faster route to your beats, driving traffic to your brand. Connect your domain if you have one already!
The Pro Page makes it easy to market your music and grow your fan base. Keep your customers up to date with e-mail blasts and direct personal messages with E-mail marketing and instant messaging. Set up a one-stop-shop for all of your merchandise and connect your page with speedy merch manufacturers like Printful. Rack up big sales and create personalized shopping lists for customers with cart sharing. Pro Page has a wide array of tools and integrations ready for you to utilize!
Sell custom products and services with the Pro Page. Stock your store with everything your customers want and need-from physical merch like records and t-shirts to digital sales of hooks, beats, and sound kits, the sky’s the limit for your Pro Page shop. Monetize and showcase your beat related skills with custom services like mixing & mastering, art & video production, music lessons, and more. Your Pro Page puts the power in your hands, to share every end of your music business with the world.
Just log into your BeatStars account and go to Account Settings > Subscription. Under Seller Plan, click Subscribe and then choose the Pro Page Membership. Click Get Started and then check out! Choose monthly billing or save 25% when billing annually!
BeatStars isn’t just a site for you to display and sell your beats on. It’s an all-in-one marketplace and business hub that equips creatives with the tools they need to run a successful music business and career. As a solo-preneur and aspiring self-sustaining musician, it’s critical that you effectively market your music to get your art out into the world and into hungry music lovers’ ears. Whether you’re a BeatStars novice or a dedicated expert, these three features on the BeatStars platform are not to be slept on! Level up your music’s marketing game and make time for these often missed features.
The BeatStars Blaze Player is a tool that’s exclusive to BeatStars members. The music player is a fully customizable and embeddable music player and store that you can use to showcase your productions and easily convert listeners into customers. Users that visit your Blaze Player can quickly and easily listen to your tracks before purchasing via PayPal or credit card (Stripe). Customers can also register or log in to their BeatStars account through your Blaze Player to save their lyrics, negotiate prices with you, and access their files/purchases. As an added bonus, when people register through your page, their information is saved to your Customer Section so you can stay in touch with your customers.
The Blaze Player is built around the same framework as the Pro Page, so the design is sleek, modern, responsive (for mobile), and fully customizable. You can modify fonts, your logo, backgrounds, and much more so your player can stay aligned with your brand.
As a beat-maker and business owner, you know that marketing your music is essential in order to garner streams and new fans. Social media and email marketing are no-brainers, but what about good old-fashioned blogging?
Blogging is a tried and true marketing tool that can improve your search engine optimization (SEO), tell your unique story, organically and authentically promote your music, and cultivate an online community. If you aren’t much of a writer, don’t stress it. Micro-blogging is a popular medium that focuses more on the sharing of videos, pictures, and other forms of non-written content (think Tumblr or Twitter!). Blog articles also make for great social media and email content, acting as a unique and enticing way to bring your followers back to your page.
Take some blogging tips from us, and learn how you can start blogging with your Pro Page plan.
Beats aren’t the only thing you can sell on BeatStars! If you have special skills that other producers or artists can benefit from, consider listing it in the ‘Services’ section of your account. Some examples of services that you can offer include:
Offering a variety of services can increase your chances of a sale, and ultimately bring in more customers to your music store. If you specialize in any of the service examples above, consider listing them on your BeatStars Pro Page!
If the idea of sitting down and coming up with effective music marketing strategies stresses you out, you're not alone. Tackling the business side of your music career can sound daunting, but in reality the most effective marketing practices require creative, introspective work.
To help you get started, we've compiled a short list of three essential music marketing tips you should be practicing on a weekly if not day-to-day basis.
Defining your brand can be of the most difficult undertakings of your music career journey, but it's also one of the most worthwhile. Pausing to think about the driving force behind your music, what makes you unique, and how you want to make people feel are essential questions you should be asking yourself to save you hassle later down the road. Be as authentic as you can, and give your listeners insight into how you got to where you are now.
To start, think about the branding of artists you respect. What do you love about those artists? What makes them stand out? What do you associate them with? Journaling or bullet listing out your ideas can help establish a basis of how you'd like your artist brand to shine.
Everybody starts somewhere, and nobody that has a huge following got to where they are without networking. Make it a point to reach out for genuine conversation on BeatStars, and connect with other Producers or Artists by asking them about their marketing strategies, goals, or even simply complimenting their music. Shine Theory is a practice of mutual investment with the simple premise that "I don't shine if you don't shine". Committing to collaborating with others rather than competing builds intentional connections with others, and in turn helps both of you grow through your shared knowledge.
Social Media platforms such as Tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook are the most essential, free marketing tools. If you aren't already, make sure you're actively posting your new tracks and updates on your social channels, and research different ways to work with your platform's algorithm to increase content exposure. Utilizing hashtags and interacting with your ideal audience's posts goes a long way, and can help you gain a new followers and nurture your existing fanbase.
The music marketing advice doesn’t stop there. Turn up the volume as Beat Demons drops major gems on beginner music marketing tips and advice for producers starting off.
The Deal airs every Tuesday at 3PM EST! Don't miss out getting advice from our BeatStars Publishing Signees!
Sell beats, sound kits, services, merchandise, and more with the Pro Page for just $19.99/mo! BeatStars ProPages offers you an essential hub for your career as a producer. Broaden your offerings with your customized digital storefront and let your customers know that you're the producer they need!
We don't take a penny of the sales we collect for you: whatever you earn, you keep! Complete financial control is yours, as you set your prices for everything from beats to services. Define your income without worrying about cutting in any middlemen.
Get paid at the point of each transaction when customers purchase through PayPal or Stripe—no more waiting around for the next paycheck! Easy and instant payments through verified apps help you get paid immediately after each sale. Get paid in a timely manner- you earned it!
Your Pro Page is yours to professionally personalize any way you see fit! Connect your domain name to give your customers a simpler and faster route to your beats. Design your webpage with tailor-made templates, logos, colors, and custom banners or add your personal touch to make your website pop and stand out among the rest.
Take advantage of our premier music search engine and draw new business by helping customers find your beats easily by keyword, BPM, genre, mood, and key. Tag your tracks with the crucial information that puts your music in the right place for everyone to find!
Exclusive and Non-Exclusive licenses are available at the ready for all of your beats. Whether you have a custom beat exclusively for one artist or beats you're eager to offer up to the masses, we've got you covered with every license option needed and ready-to-edit terms and agreements.
Your talent, skills, and offerings are at the forefront for your customers to see. From mixing and mastering to art & video production, music lessons to songwriting, you can showcase and sell your services easily. Broaden your offerings with digital and physical products, whether it's your latest sound kit or merchandise like records and t-shirts. Take advantage of our custom products and services, expand your music business, and let the world know what you have to offer.
Keep in touch with customers with profile messaging directly from the app and keep them up to date with mailing list integrations like MailChimp. Customize a bundle sale with our Cart Sharing tool and be a personal shopper for new customers or your biggest fans. Keep track of your sales statistics to see where your music is most popular and learn how to keep everyone coming back for more. And that's just the start of it! Our vast array of premium tools and integrations enhance your marketing and sales from the get-go.
Don't put any barriers on your creativity! Upload as many tracks as you'd like. Whether you're dropping your latest single, remix, or album, the sky's the limit for your releases with Pro Page!
We are always creating new opportunities to work with some of the industry's best and help boost all of our premium members. From Remix challenges to special contests, we want to give our users a chance to win dope prizes and a chance to work with buzzworthy artists and creators. Submit to Premium-only contests and opportunities to launch your beats to wider audiences and customer bases!
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