For somebody that is a beat maker, the term “placement” is something you surely have come across.
Placements are a huge part of the music producer business and it actually is important to have an understanding of what it means to have your beat placed.
With that said, What is a placement in rap?
A placement in rap is when you as a the producer sell your beat or beats exclusively to a rapper that they end up using for whatever purpose. This purpose could include using the beat for a song on an album, EP, LP, Ad, Broadway etc.
With placements, the producer sells exclusive rights to the artist. Which means the producer can not resell the beat to another artist.
Most producers usually get an upfront fee for the beat that is placed as well as a percentage of the royalties that the song generates.
How to Get Placements
Rap music producers find it easy to have placements after establishing their name in musical circles. For a complete newbie to the world of placements, knowing how to get beats to artists can be a bit of a challenge, therefore, this section of this post will describe some ways in which a producer can get placements.
Send emails
One of the rather effective ways to get your beats in front of an artist without being physically present with them is email.
Email can be an effective way for you to send a variety of beats that you feel the artist in question can find appealing.
A lot goes into determining this and it usually begins with understanding the artist and their music.
The last thing you want to do is send a bunch of random beats that will be played and forgotten because they do not appeal to the artist. Therefore it pays to do your own due diligence.
Research the artist, understand their music and see how best you can bring your unique sound to match the artists overall sound.
You can then therefore listen to the artists music to get a good sense of their style and what kind of beats compliment their style.
Sending beats via email is a good way to get placements with artists that you have a relationship with… if you’re sending beats to an artist for the first time then you should ensure that you make a good first impression with the material that you send because your chances of actually getting beats placed will be very low.
Sell beats online
Another great way that can help you as a producer get more placements is selling beats online…
You can sign up to any beat selling platforms on which you can advertise your beats both non exclusively and exclusively.
This can be a sure way of getting artists to purchase and place your beats on projects. Just be sure to get your marketing and promotion in place to ensure that artists can find you.
The more established you can get your brand, the more you can easily bring in more clients.
Selling beats online can also be a great way to network with fellow producers that can share with you great knowledge that can help you get more records placed.
Use A&R’s
Another great way of getting some placements is by using A&Rs. The advantage of doing this is that you can get placements with signed artists that are able to pay higher amounts for beats and a give you a good deal on royalties/points.
Record labels have the resources to pay good money for your beats. Which makes them the ideal clientele for placements.
Therefore, get in touch with some A&Rs and build some relationships so they can help you score more placements. The advantage of using A&Rs is that they can connect you to a record label which can mean repeat business and more stable clientele.
Definitely consider building industry relationships with A&Rs and record labels because they’ll be able to help you grow your business and your overall brand.
Submit Demos
Demos are a great way to get signed to a record label and most people use this opportunity to submit their best work for the record label’s consideration.
What you can do as a producer is to submit a good number of beats to a label (maybe 10 or more) as a demo. Make the beats you submit are of top tier quality.
The record label can easily pick some beats to give to their artists from your demo.
This can be an easy way to make a statement with a label.
Just be sure to submit exclusive work that hasn’t been already offered up non-exclusively to other artists.
Sessions with artists
Another effective way of getting your music placed is by digging deep into the music industry and connecting with a bunch of artists…. get in on sessions as this can also help you meet new people.
Recording sessions are so powerful because they can easily get you in a position to work with a lot of artists.
Just be sure to get in on the right sessions and be sure to play your beats as this can easily get you placements.
Meeting with artists in person is better way of getting your records placed because face to face meetings are more effective and a rapper can easily hop on your beats if you’re with them in person.
It can be disadvantageous to email beats to random rappers because they can easily overlook your stuff therefore it pays to have a relationship with an artist.
FINAL thoughts
Music placements in rap means selling your beats to a rapper exclusively so they can use them for any purposes which is commonly on projects like albums, eps etc.
Above are some of the methods you can use to get your beats placed.
