Warbeats General Discussions

For Da New chat

Dmarc Beats — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 03:43:28 GMT

if you dont have a cam you can download http://download.manycam.com/
it dont record it just display your desktop or zoom in to a certain spot
who knows we can prob have live beat battles lol

Sticky Thread

2nd Man — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 02:59:05 GMT

I noticed we didnt really have one, and think one would be useful. So I'm going to sticky this thread, basically, everyone post up threads that are useful and interesting and cover those often asked questions (whats a soundfont, what sound is this, how do i sell ebats, contracts for leasing etc etc).

Just post a title and a small description of the thread and a link, like such:

Budget Monitors - Ins and Outs Of Budget Monitors Discussed

Link

And hopefully this will be a good page for everyone to bookmark (coz you know theres always threads that have a lot of knowledge but arent of importance/relevance to you at the time) and a place to direct newbies to.

Before you post about the Beat Feedback System...

Administrator (NFX) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 03:43:28 GMT

Please put all posts regarding the beat feedback system- questions, complaints, suggestions, etc - in the new sub forum under the Beat Show called : Beat Feedback Complaints/Suggestions

The intended purpose of loops?

dwse — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:12:37 GMT

This is probably going to sound like a pretty strange question but I'll try to elaborate.

I keep finding myself with these audio loop sample packs. Honestly, I'm at a loss for what to do with them. I know I can probably just sample snares or whatever I find useful in them, but I'm a bit baffled about what they're intended for.

I do know I can always grab one at a tempo I'm working at and use it or change the tempo to fit what I'm working with, but I keep hearing about these loopcentric DAW's and I'm really not clear on what that really implies. Are these intended to be used as song in a box kits (Throw your drum loop and slap some horn and pad loops and call it a day kind of thing)?

I realize the irony of using fruity loops ..er ..fl studio and not having a better grasp on this, but what exactly is the core workflow for utilizing loops in a loop-centric DAW exactly?

As a sidenote to maybe clarify my confusion here, I found this horn loop at a bpm I was working with and felt a bit guilty when I threw it into my project and liked the effect.

Not asking for everyone's 'secret sauce' recipe so to speak, but what do you do with your loopfiles?

SERIOUS PRODUCERS ONLY - MUST READ

Maine — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 16:00:16 GMT

Whats up WARBEATS!!! (shout out to GP)

For those of you that don't know me, I used to frequent this website when I was starting out in the music industry....After years of networking and placing major records I feel obligated to give back to the people at the very place I started. Now I have a few questions below that I feel will help you succeed if you let your heart answer them.

The music industry is constantly changing isn't it? It is vital to adapt to survive don't you think?
So what I have done is..during the last few months of traveling. I was able to compile the most recent sounds used on todays hit records. I.E (Drake, The Dream, Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Eminem, Keri Hilson, Jay Z). P.S, To the members that already have the original kit..consider this one free..to the new members read on.

I have come to a point in my life where I've realized how hard it really is to acquire good quality "Industry Standard" sounds. I know a lot of you would probably hit me with "Man.. why would I want your sounds? when I can download drum kits off the internet!!" well my answer to that comes with a question, now I understand that your concerned that there is a cost for quality sounds, but wouldn't you prefer to be using sounds that not everybody and there mama has? my sounds have made me thousands of dollars throughout my career as a producer, because they STAND OUT! (No bragging here just being real). With the number of producers rising constantly wouldn't it makes sense to stand out amongst them?.

May I ignore any doubts that you are having if I could prove that these sounds WOULD MAKE YOU THE MONEY BACK? Isn't it true that the drums in a beat are more important than the melody these days? Now some may disagree but here's an example.. you could have a bangin melody but if you have some WEAK drums it's a waste of a hot melody hence a weak track right? The drums carry a track, they are the foundation isn't that true? Haven't you always WANTED the luxury of knowing that you are using the same sounds that are used on todays HIT RECORDS?

I was once in your shoes... lookin for the "right" sounds, downloading kits.. and all that but it wasn't until I stopped looking and that's when the REAL sounds found me. Now I know that if your in the stages of looking for free sounds that you don't have the biggest budget and you haven't sold beats like you wanted to.. I understand that and I respect that, thats why all i'm asking for is $60, that's all consider it a donation. I'm not trying to take your money, i'm trying to help you MAKE money.

Feel free to email me on the address below anytime.

maine1234432@aol.com

Having an own domain

M. Goldway — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 02:57:55 GMT

I've seen that alot of people on soundclick have their own domains redirecting to their soundclick pages. I'm considering to buy a domain and do this as well. It's not very expensive, only like 5 dollars/euros a year, but on the other hand Í'm wondering if it is actually useful. What are your experiences?

How to assign album art and details to songs

yehoshua — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:52:09 GMT

Hey yall

How do I stick an album art to a track, and how do I put the song details on it?

when i say song details i mean something like this:

for example:

Artist: Lil Wayne; T-Pain
Title: Got Money
Album: Tha Carter 3
Genre: Hip Hop
Year: 2008
Composer: so and so, so and so.

know what I mean? it's the stuff that you'd see in windows media player and itunes.

edit:

I have nvr uploaded a song to myspace before, but i notice that my homie who is a musician doesnt have any album art on her myspace music page. the song title is also kinda screwed (screwed meaning the 1st letter isnt capitalized, stuff like that).

Producing Tips & Hints (Knowledge dropping)

K-Ta-Klysm — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 23:34:07 GMT

I think we gotta have a topic like this.
Ok, here it goes: everybody can post here different tips, hints, advices for producers, things they learned within their music-making experience. Some may have been said already, but I think it's good to re-read them. I'll start:

DON'T BE ARROGANT, STAY HUMBLE! The mentality "I'm the best fuck the rest" is NOT what you need to progress. In fact, if you think you're the ish, then you might never advance, because you don't want to learn anymore. BUT this doesn't mean you should think "I'm the whackest" because that is not going to help either.
Be real to yourself. Is your stuff dope? Are your mixes good? Do you think people will like your stuff? Be honest when answering these questions, you gotta know where you're at in order to progress.

BE ORIGINAL, DON'T TRY MAKING TIMBO/DRE/DILLA/ETC TYPE OF BEATS! Don't be a wannabe. Be yourself, have your own style, make what do you feel like, not what you set your mind to, let the vibe get you while making the beat, don't try manipulating the vibe, because you'll be like a fake thing - no one likes fakes, and fakes are NEVER as good as originals. So if average people tell you your beats are different, uncommon, it's a good thing, if they criticize you for that say F THEM, because this is what MUSIC needs - originality.

Ok, now Sab, NFX, 2nd Man, Saha, Mart, etc's turn.

What influences you the most?

Shane Jay AKA RockNRolla — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 01:40:15 GMT

Just curious to know what you guys are most influenced by ?

Personally, Storch is my favorite producer, but he does'nt influence me as much as the Warbeats chart

I get much more pumped of watching bedroom producers doin their thing on YouTube and listening to beats on WB by unknowns than the industry stuff.

Here's a list of my influences

Boon Doc, MDL, Mysto and Pizzi, Ryan Tedder (not the guy outta One Republic), SAHA (WB lol), Ronald Jenkees and many more, but theyr some of the main ones

Lets hear yours

composing background music for documentary video, commercials, etc

eMTau4real — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 18:43:20 GMT

hello...i was just wondering if any of you have any tips or links to where i can find resources or tutorials on how to learn to compose some kind of background music or sounds just like you see in the movies, commercial videos, documentaries, etc...

I know it would take alot to explain what kind of music or sound goes with what type of scene....but since I've been composing many kind of beats in different styles (hiphop, reggae, rock, country, etc...), they are all meant for songs. So I have this oppotunity on getting a job in a TV station here in my country, and they require someone who can produce/compose background music for documentaries, commercials, etc.....I know its common sense that you wouldn't put hardcore music on a sad part of the movie....I'm not that stupid FYI. I just need you guys to help point me in the right direction...

So since you are all well experienced in different areas of compositions....pliz give me your ideas or links on how exactly are you going to achive the right sounds/music style that matches the right scene on the video clip, etc...

thnk you very much.

i Love the background music of BBC World News by the way

What got into into hip-hop?

Joaquin aka Cosmic Gypsy — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:51:59 GMT

Was there a particular song, or a particular moment that made you go "wow, this music is incredible"? I know it sounds cheesy, but be honest. I gotta tell the truth, I used to hate rap. I annoyed the hell out of me - thought it was repetitive, monotonous and stupid. Then a friend of mine played "Changes" by 2Pac while I was in his room, and I was listening to the lyrics. I'd never heard anything like it, and I thought it was one of the most incredible songs I'd ever heard. The beat was incredible too - very emotional. Never looked back since then. Hip Hop ftw

{youtube=psBEj6cUXyk}

your story?

Lets become fans (The List)

Tankster — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 20:00:59 GMT

Rarely finishing beats

King Size Productions — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 13:50:15 GMT

Guys I must have a crazy low attention span or something because I have hundreds of partial beats/ideas but I rarely ever finish a beat. Of course I cant do much with a shitload of ideas haha. Why is it so much harder for me to add things to a beat that don't clash and add to the beat itself then it is to just start a new one and make a dope melody?

~THIS IS HOW RECORD LABELS MAKE MONEY~

DJ Jeffrey — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:21:48 GMT

Record companies make money by selling recordings. It is a high-risk business. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), approximately 90% of the records that are released by major recording labels fail to make a profit.

Independent labels have to be more careful in their choices and in their allocation of expenses because they do not have the resources to cover many failures. However, they can make and promote records for far lower costs than major labels and be profitable with far fewer sales.

The budgets for making and selling recordings are tied to what labels estimate they will sell. Knowing how many recordings might be sold makes it possible to budget recording costs. Most profitable labels have histories of selling and promoting that enable them to estimate gross income.

Recording Costs
Recording costs are borne by artists, not record companies. Record companies commonly make loans to artists (all-in advances) for these costs and recoup them from royalties.

With the exception of jazz and classical artists, new major label artists can spend between $100,000 and $500,000 to make a record, but recording budgets of one million dollars and more are not uncommon. Many independent artists will spend less than $15,000.

Manufacturing Costs
Manufacturing includes replicating recorded material and packaging. The costs depend on the number to be manufactured. Manufacturing costs are generally borne by recording labels, although labels try to deduct packaging costs from the base price on which they pay royalties.

Major labels pay approximately $.50 to $.55 per CD. Independent labels that order more than 100,000 CDs a year pay approximately $.65 per CD. Labels that buy less than 10,000 CDs a year pay approximately $1.20 per CD. These costs include the printing of 4-page package inserts and tray cards.

Royalty Costs
Record labels pay two royalties: The first is a record royalty to the performing artist(s); the second is a mechanical royalty to composers and publishers.

Some companies pay record royalties on a percentage (8% to 16%) of the suggested list retail price (SLRP) less a packaging cost, generally 15% to 25% of the SLRP. Others base royalties on the wholesale price to distributors. For a CD with an SLRP of $16.98, a common packaging deduction of 25% is $4.25 and the amount paid to the artist will be calculated as a percentage of $12.73. Thus, at a 10% royalty, artists will receive $1.27; at a 14% royalty rate, $1.78.

Record labels pay composers and publishers mechanical royalties. They try to cap mechanical royalty budgets at ten songs payable at 75% of the statutory rate ($.80 per song in 2002), which equals $.60 per song under the controlled composition clauses of recording contracts.

Promotional Costs
Major labels budget approximately 20% of annual gross income for promotion and selectively allocate the funds according to sales projections for each artist. Independent labels generally budget 10% of projected gross sales of all recordings annually and selectively allocate that budget.

Promotional costs include designing and printing promotional and packaging materials for recordings; press kits and Web sites; and advertising, radio promotion, videos, public relations and mailing costs. Some or all the costs for packaging, video production and radio promotion may be recouped from artists’ royalties, depending on contractual agreements.

Distribution Costs
The record companies decide on the suggested list retail price (SLRP) of each format. The SLRP helps stores to determine the discount price they charge customers and helps performers determine the price to charge to fans at gigs and by mail order.

The price at which distributors buy from recording companies (distributor wholesale price) is also set by the record companies. This is commonly 50% to 55% off the SLRP. If the volume is high enough, the discount can go to 60%.

The price at which stores buy from record distributors (store wholesale price) is determined by the distributors. This is commonly 55% to 65% of the SLRP. Stores return unsold product at 100% of their cost.

The price at which record stores buy from record companies that own their own distribution warehouses is approximately 75% of the SLRP.

Potential Profits
How do these costs relate to a million selling album?

At common discounts, record companies receive approximately $10.00 per CD ($16.95 SLRP). Thus, projected record company gross income is ten million dollars.

Out of this the record company will spend approximately $625.000 in manufacturing costs; approximately $1,000,000 in promotion (another $1,000,000 will be charged against artist royalties); $1,780,00 in royalties to the artists (at 14% of the SLRP of $16.95, less packaging); and $600,000 in publishing royalties (at 75% of statutory). After subtracting $4,005,000 from its ten million gross income, the record company has a gross profit of $5,995,000. It will recoup its million- dollar advance to the artist and its promotional costs.

Making a new genre of music?

Rhythm & Persia Productions — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:44:39 GMT

have you guys ever thought of making your own genre instead of just following what you are supposed to do? whether its

hip hop or techno, dont u get tired of having the same patterns like "BOOM KLAP BOO BOOM KLAP" or if its techno "UNCE

UNCE UNCE UNCE" . i just wanna make something new, you know? a while back this producer came to my studio and he

showed me beat, he said "This is not ur ordinary beat, its my own genre called COOL HOP" and i kinda laughed at him but

when he played the instrumental i was amazed. it was full of pads and nice melodies and went from R N B to HIP HOP and

TeChno... it was crazy, so lately i been thinking about it. what do you guys think?

Warbeats T-Shirts

NFX — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 07:49:06 GMT

http://www.zazzle.com/wb_grunge_badge_tshirt-235071431765417147

HOW DO A PRODUCER GET PAID??

boyrican53 — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 08:28:27 GMT

I BEEN GETTING ALL THIS ANSWERS ABOUT HOW A PRODUCER GETS PAID BUT NONE HAD HELP SOO ANYONE OUTTHERE KNOW HOW REALLY A PRODUCER GET PAID???

Possible Opportunity for Dirty South Producers

MrWhitfield — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:58:31 GMT

OK...so here's the story, I was asked the head of a management group to check out my work and see if there was anything I could submit to any of their artists, and they got back to me saying my stuff was "cool." I'm pretty ecstatic, even tho there's a good chance they wont pick any of the tracks, that they got back to me and requested some tracks. At least I'll get a LISTEN.

The artists aren't huge...but are big enough that many would know their names. One is a rapidly rising R&B singer with a rock edge...no albums out yet, but tracks on 106 & Park so this could be a big opportunity if a track gets picked. My beats are going to be for her.

The others are dirty south type rappers. One's a name you'll all know...other's a female up and comer who, in my opinion, kinda sucks....but is still signed to a major label. I don't want to say who, because I'm afraid the manager will all of a sudden get 100 e-mails from you guys with beats...sorry . I don't do dirty south, so IF you want me to send a track to him, and it's INCREDIBLE....no average Warbeats joints...I'll might pass it along. There's actually only 2 or 3 producers who's stuff I'd consider passing along anyway, so I should probably just contact them lol...but you never know.

If you think I'm gunna steal your shit, that's fine...I get nothing out of this.

And no, the R&B singer is all mine...can't send beats that would compete with mine, sorry.

how to showcase your beats to rappers/sites/mixtapes etc..

gakh730 — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 17:40:47 GMT

When making a cd full of your beats, ( is this what you do ?) if putting them on soundclick, any website where you can put your stuff up to show it..

what do you do with your beat, do you take a certain area, and put that up.. or do you put the first half, first minute ..

if putting them on a cd full of your beats, how much of each beat do put, do you put like the best certain time..etc.

what is the best way to do this.

how do we do this ?

Is It Possible Beatz Sale Artists.?

C.Johnson — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:05:37 GMT

I've been lookin into a few detail in the muzik bizzz RIGHT.! && I've found out that most of todays artist will say any thing over a producers (our) work and 9 out of 10 if the hook is clean they become famos...