How To Sell Beats

So you’re a music producer with a catalog full of beats. You know your beats are fire hot and you believe you can make some money off them. You can create beats in no time but one thing you don’t know is how to sell beats. You’ve made beats CDs and sent them out to labels and artists but you never got anything going consistently. How to sell beats is the burning question in your mind.

First of all, you need to begin to look at beat selling from a different point of view. You should look at selling beats as a business and not just something to do every now and then.

The foundation of any business success is to get education about the business. It doesn’t matter what business it is. Learning about the business of beat selling should be you first step. There are several courses on the Internet that teach you how to sell beats. They come in different formats such as ebooks and/or videos. I think videos are the best because you can actually see what to do instead of just reading about it.

Once you’ve got the knowledge of how to sell beats, your next question should naturally be “where do music producers sell their beats?”

The Internet is a global marketplace and your beat buyer could come from anywhere. You’re job is to make it easy for them to find you. There are free sites like MySpace and Soundclick that allow you to upload beats and sell.

You can also buy a domain name, get a web host and sell your beats on your own website. Selling from your own website gives you more control of how to sell your beats. It will cost money but if you learn how to market your beats you should make lots more money than you’re spending each month on hosting and advertising. A combination of selling on your own site as well as free sites is the best strategy.

Either way you choose to sell your beats, you’ll need a Paypal account or some way to process the payments. Paypal is free to join and the transaction fees they charge are tiny in comparison to the money you could potentially make.

Once you’ve got your websites set up and your Paypal account then its time you use what you learned about marketing your beats and start driving traffic to your sites. If people don’t know you have beats for sale then you won’t make much money. The key is to keep your website in front of potential beat buyers.

To get more information on how to sell beats, check out www.HowToSellBeats.info.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.Beats4ADub.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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How to Win In the Music Business with Persistence

As children, most people learned the story of the tortoise and the hare. The hare was quicker than the tortoise but in the end, the tortoise won the race because of his persistence. Getting anything you really want in life is the same as this story.

This theory can also be applied to the music business as well.

There are no overnight successes. There may be artists who seem to have this type of success but what the public does not see are the long hard hours which have been sacrificed to get them where they are today. To prove a point and put this theory in perspective, let us compare two types of artists. We will call the first artist, Big Mack and the second artist, Small Fry.

Both Big Mack and Small Fry have talent but they have very different mentalities. Big Mack sees the music industry as a “get rich quick” scheme and does not care about learning the business of music. All he wants to do is get the fame and fortune by any means necessary. He gets a record deal and has a hit song on the radio.

He spends his money on cars, clothes, women, jewelry, etc. Big Mack’s career seems great in the beginning but he fails to make another hit. His second album is a flop and he owes his record label $500,000 because they did not recoup their investment in him.

Big Mack never even took the time to find out what recoup meant.

Now he lives with his mom in her basement. He still has at least one of the fancy cars but the engine is going bad and it needs a brake job. The clothes went out of style, all the women left, and he had to pawn the jewelry. He now works in a warehouse making $8 an hour and complaining how the music industry was unfair to him.

Small Fry on the other hand never had a big budget. He learned as much as he could about the music business through books, attending music conferences, and finding mentors who he could model. He started his own record label, Hot Fries Records and a publishing company, Supersize Fries Music.

He learned how to market and promote his music using guerilla marketing techniques because he did not have much money. Small Fry became a regional success and secured an independent distribution deal with an international distributor.

Small Fry invested his money back into his businesses and bought a nice piece of real estate to build a recording studio so he could continue to create music for himself and others. He became a music mogul and will probably never be able to spend all the money he has earned in his lifetime.

How can you apply this to your music career?

You must have a vision of where you want to be. People hear this stuff all the time but most never act toward making their dreams reality. You should also have some written down goals for you music career.

Then you must act. Nothing replaces action. This is where things can get tricky because even though you do take action, you may not like the results you get. You can make one of two choices: quit or persist.

If you quit, you may never know the realm of possibilities you may have achieved. You will never know if you were the next “big thing” because you gave up.

If you persist and continue on even though you have setback after setback, you will be successful. Your music career may not end up exactly like you planned in the beginning but most of the time, you will end up better off in life and much happier.

Are you at the verge of quitting the music business? How will you truly know if you don’t at least try again? If you fail at something, pick yourself back up, dust yourself off, and keep going. You didn’t really fail. You just found one way that would not work.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

www.Beats4ADub.com

www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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The New Music Industry: The Online Revolution

Technology has leveled the music industry playing field. It used to be that artist had to make a demo, submit it to many record labels, and hope and pray they were at least called.

The next best thing to getting a record deal was starting your own label but doing so was expensive & risky. There was no guarantee of success and all the rules still applied for a traditional business: most of them fail within the first 5 years. Let’s not even talk about “Industry Rule #4080” and the shadiness that exist with some of the people in the industry.

There are countless stories of artist who have gotten jerked in the music business. From poor money management to getting robbed of publishing rights, it’s all happened.

In comes the Internet to change the music game forever.

Most music websites in the beginning of the Internet were static webpages. You had sites that allowed you to put up a picture and some words. Then came websites with sound bites and finally the ability to upload songs. Later the ability to upload videos was developed and the game changed.

With services like Paypal, artist could sell songs and beats directly online. With sites like YouTube, artists could post videos of themselves online to widen their fan base. The Internet kept expanding and sites like MySpace were created to help music artists get massive exposure. MySpace and other social networking sites allowed artists to get worldwide exposure and seek out people that would be interested in their music.

It was like putting your marketing on steroids! Regular Average Joe’s started popping up on the Internet and getting major deals because the big labels started coming to the Internet for the next big thing. These artists basically had a built-in fan base and this made them easy to market and promote because essentially they had already done the initial legwork.

Some artists even got smart and decided to diversify and figure out other ways of making money online. In addition to selling songs online, some artists began to sell music information products, sell website advertising space, affiliate marketing, and offer web design services.

Let’s look closely at these other ways of making money off the music industry online.

Selling music information products online include things like ebooks and video courses. There are courses on everything from songwriting to how to market your beats online. Information products are cheap to produce and they can be sold over and over very inexpensively.

Many artists have written about what they have done to be successful in the music business. There is no shortage of people trying to get into the music business and people will gladly pay money to learn how to the get ahead of the game faster.

Another way of making money offline in the music industry is create a website or blog and sell advertising space. If you have a high traffic website you can place ads throughout your website that are targeted to your fans. There are companies that will pay you to bring traffic to their sites by clicking on special links that you have place on your site. The more people you send to their sites, the better for you.

A different and popular way of making money online is affiliate marketing. Affiliate marketing is when you sell other people’s products and services. You do not create the products or services but you get paid a percentage of every sale that comes from your special affiliate ID. There are plenty of music affiliate programs all over the Internet. Most of them are free to join.

You should do you homework when picking out products to sell. There are different programs and rules for each merchant. Read up on any merchant that you like and find out as much as you can about their company and product.

Last but not least, some artists not only sell music on and offline, they also sell other services like web design. Most businesses online hire web design professionals to carry out the company’s vision for the future. A good freelance web designer can make a living building quality websites.

The online revolution has definitely changed the music industry. An artist who once would not have had a chance to get exposure in the music business can not only get that exposure online. They can also generate money online as well to help them advance their career and allow them to do what they love more easily.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist

www.RapBeatCreator.com

www.Beats4ADub.com

www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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Music Publishing For Dummies

Creating songs is not only fun, it is a great way of making money. Songwriters get paid major money for making hits and the residual income can support a songwriter for a lifetime.

Having control of a collection of hit songs is like having a money in the bank or better yet, a money tree. The songs just keep generating income.

There are plenty of great examples of songwriters we can see everyday as living proof that songwriters get PAID! Look at people like Neo, The Dream, Keisha Cole, Keri Hilson, Jay Z, Kanye West, and the King of Pop, the Micheal Jackson, R.I.P.

Songwriting gets you paid.

Its great to be able to know how to rap and/or sing but the real cake gets made by people who put the words to the paper and the music to those words. If you can do all three: sing, write, and make beats, you then become a triple threat.

So there it is...music publishing is a nutshell boils down to this:

Get busy writing and creating marketable songs, learn how to market and sell those songs, then go to the bank.

I'm kidding by being simple but at the same time I'm using a bit of seriousness. It took me six years after being serious about the music business to find out about music publishing. There was no Internet. Only books, classes, and networking.

Even with the Internet, you still need to learn the business and what better part to learn than the part that generates the most income?

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Beats4ADub.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. Buy 1 Beat, Get 1 FREE for $20 Dollars at www.Beats4ADub.com

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More Success, Beats, & Money In 2010!

Happy New Year!

I hope you had a wonderful 2009 and I hope 2010 is a much better, more prosperous year for you. I want to start off this year like I started off last year with encouraging you to make written goals. You'll be surprised at how fast you can moved through life if you just take the time to write your goals down on paper or type them on a word processor and make yourself a plan to achieve those goals.

Last year I didn't make as much money online as I wanted to but I did make more online than I made in 2008. I also made more beats and created some podcasts too. I spent some great quality time with my family and I helped lots of aspiring artists and producers get a grasp on the music business.

I expect 2010 to be even greater!

What about you? Are you expecting to do more or less with the time you have this year? Really, time is the main difference between success and failure. We all get the same amount of time every day. Its how we use this time that determines where we are going in life.

All I'm saying is lets use our time wisely. Its cool to admire big name successful artists and producers like Jay Z, Lil Wayne, Timbaland, Pharrell, Kanye West, Ludacris, etc., but you have to spend time and money not only perfecting your craft but learning and applying what you've learned about the music business.

This is a real business with real money, real people, and real jobs. Where do you fit in the equation this year? Let your written 2010 goals help guide you to success in the music business you desire.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Beats4ADub.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions

What Is Your "Why" For Making Beats?

Check out the latest Rap Beat Creator Podcast, "What Is Your "Why" For Making Beats?"

Click here to listen now or copy and past the link below in your browser:

http://free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep8.mp3

As always let me know what you think...

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 8

I know you've been waiting for this. It's been hectic but I finally put together another Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Episode 8 is called "What is Your "Why" for Making Beats?" Its from an article I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

Click on the link below to hear the mp3 file. It will play instantly on your media player and you can even download it.

"What is Your "Why" for Making Beats?"

If the link won't play, you can copy and past the link below into your web browser and it should begin to play.

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep8.mp3

Let me know what you think but most of all, use it!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com

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What Is Your "Why" For Making Beats?

I've been working on this blog post in my mind for several days now. I learned this question from a top producing real estate broker several years ago. I was at a seminar and he was the main speaker. One of the things he said that really stuck out then and it still rings in my head today is: What is your "Why" for doing what you're doing?

What he meant by your "Why" was what is your core motivation for doing what you want to do. What are you primary reasons?

That really struck a lasting note for me and every so often I ask my self that question.

What is my "Why" for being in the music business?
What is my "Why" for making beats?

My "Why's" may be different from your "Why's" but its crucial to identify what your "Why's" are.

Some of my "Why's" for being in the music business include being passionate about my art and being in control of my own destiny. I am big fan of being self-employed or operating a true business where you don't even have to be present for it to operate.

Another "Why" would be because I like to travel and the music business gives me the ability to do just that. Its great to get paid to perform in a place you've never been to but have always wanted to go. I've been from Vermont to California because of my involvement in the music business.

Some of my "Why's" for making beats include being able to record lyrics whenever I want and with the sounds I want. I want the music to sound as close to what's in my head as possible. Another "Why" is the ability to create another stream of income. The music producer gets credit for writing songs as well.

So there you have it. Think about his question and memorize it. Use it as a gauge to constantly measure how you feel about making music. Once you know your "Why", its like you'll always have an internal compass to guide you on your path to success.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.TheRapBeatCreator.com
www.Free-Hot-Rap.com

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How I earn money with my music web site

If you've been following my blog or have been on my email list for a while, you know I've been building The Rap Beat Creator website since 2007. I've had some ups and downs but I still make money everyday. I'm not saying I earn millions or even thousands of dollars but I know I'm on the way. What I have learned, through lots of trial and error, is that there is a better, simpler way.

I've been online since 1995. I started with a simple America Online dial-up account. All I knew how to do was send email and surf the web. I knew the web would be big and I knew that someone was making money but I didn't know how.

I read about affiliate programs back in 2001-2002 but I wasn't focused at making it work. I even had the free Affiliate Masters course that Internet marketing guru Ken Evoy offered but I wasn't ready for the work commitment it called for.

By the end of 2002, my group Prophetix, had a professionally built website and the webmaster added a blog to our homepage (http://www.prophetix.net/). This was great because I could connect with our fans and back in 2002, almost no one had a music blog at that time.

But I still wanted my own personal music related website where I could become financially independent.

In early 2007, I bought a course on Internet marketing from one of the leading Internet gurus Derek Gehl and I got lots of valuable information from that course. The thing I didn't like was designing the website myself. I could have paid someone else to do it but I didn't have the money to pay anybody. I took too long for me to built and I'm more of a marketer than a designer. I made a few sales but I really didn't have a good blueprint to make money consistently.

But I still kept on going with the website and I ended up learning more about affiliate marketing. I revamped my whole business model and web site to recommend affiliate products. I bought another course from affiliate marketing guru, Rosalind Gardner, and I learned a little bit more and...

...I made a few more sales.

Then one day while I was reading Rosalind Gardner’s book, I saw a reference to the Affiliate Masters course that I talked about earlier by Ken Evoy. I decided to read it again...this time all the way through. Finally, I realized I had found it. This was the blueprint I needed! And the best part about it...

It was still absolutely FREE!

All these years had passed and I had a great step-by-step roadmap at the palm of my hands that could have made me financially independent long time ago.

No use crying over spilled milk now, right?

I had previously read another on of Ken's free e-books called "Make Your Content PREsell". I knew he had been around the Net for a while and he had some good quality material.

I began to change up my site using his materials and I began noticing my revenue going up! What really got me hooked on using some of his strategies were some of the case studies that he offered on his site.

He calls his customers, his "fans" and here's why:

Honest to God, no kidding, one of his "fans" created a web site about the healthy benefits of juicing. Yep you heard it right. Juicing. Literally squeezing juice out of oranges, apples, and other kinds of fruits to drink. Its healthy and its what she likes to do. And she's making enough money online to quit her full-time job, but she likes her job so she doesn't want to quit.

But that's her choice. She has achieved financial freedom.

Another man built a site with his sister about organizing kids birthday parties and within the first 2 months, he was making over $2,000 a month. By the next year he was financially independent. I'm serious as a heart attack. Check out the case studies for yourself.

Checking out these case studies made me rethink my strategies and revamp my site even more. I had set a goal this month to increase my revenues by 20% and using Ken's strategies I did it!

How cool is that?

If I had to start over again, I would have used Ken's flagship product, Site Build It (or SBI! for short) to build my business. When you are building an online business from the ground up, there are so many things you have to learn, its ridiculous.

You have to learn about web hosting, securing a domain name submitting your web site to search engines, etc. SBI! does all this for you and if you follow the steps and stay focused I believe you can duplicate the results of his best students.

Starting a business is risky and many businesses fail within the first 5 years. SBI! teaches you how to build and operate a business and how to minimize the risk for success.

Even if you don't purchase SBI!, he still teaches you how to build a successful affiliate business and he gives you his flag ship products to sell. This dude is serious. I signed up as an affiliate again this time because I saw how SBI! was changing lives and its growing my business already.

Another young lady I follow named Lisa Irby is a successful SBI student as well. What's crazy is I discovered her on YouTube. She was doing a video on Internet Marketing and I began to check out her site. She admitted to being financially independent since 2006. She even made a video about how much money she had made from Google Adsense in July 2009. She made almost $6 grand ($6,000.00 USD) and called it her best month ever from Google.

I knew the game was REALLY serious after I saw that video.

So for anybody who's ever asked me how I earn money with my web site. This is the way. I just follow the steps of the people who did it before me. But if I could do it all over again, I would have stuck with the free Affiliate Masters course Ken Evoy offers and followed it step-by-step.

If you want to learn how to build an online business and become financially independent doing something you love, I highly recommend learning from Ken Evoy and SBI!. Start with his free stuff and learn all you can from him. Its like having a license to print money.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
http://www.rapbeatcreator.com/
http://www.free-hot-rap.com/

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Music Downloads: Can Your Fans Find Your Music?

The music business is constantly changing because of the Internet. Let's face it: the World Wide Web isn't going anywhere and more and more people are using it everyday. Music downloads are revolutionizing the music business. An artist who is not taking advantage of the Internet and posting their music on the web for downloading is not going to be ahead of the game.

There are plenty of sites where you can post your music downloads. MySpace.com is one of the biggest social networking sites that specialize in music downloads. Its catered to artists of all genres so if you don't have a MySpace artist page then you're missing out on some really good exposure.

In fact, record labels are looking to MySpace and other social networking sites to sign new artist. For example, 2 big music success stories include Tila Tequilla & Soldier Boy Tell 'Em. Tila Tequilla even had her own reality show. Soldier Boy Tell 'Em was picked up by Atlanta music producer Mr. Colli Park who had previous signed platinum selling acts the Yin Yang Twins. He's had several Billboard #1 hits since he got signed a few years ago. You could be next but if you don't have web exposure, its a good chance you might not get a label nod.

In addition to getting a label to sign your act, you may also build your own fan base online. MySpace keeps track of your music downloads, how many times your music has been played, and how many times your individual page has been viewed.

MySpace isn't the only site that offers music downloads. There are other sites like IMEEM and Soundclick.

Even though you post your music downloads on other sites, you should strive to get your own web domain name and web site. Having your own site willl offer you more flexibility as your market your music online.

Music downloads are the present and future of the music business. It's still good to make demo tapes and press kits because you can put something physical in your prospect's hands. Making your music available online gives you another option for marketing your act.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com


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The Power of Planning In Your Music Career

There is an old saying that goes, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

There is also another saying, "There's nothing new under the sun."

Let's put these two sayings together and apply them to the music business. In reference to planning, you REALLY need a plan if you want to succeed in the music business. In reference to the second saying, planning is not something that was just created within the last 10, 20, 50, 0r 100 years. Planning has been around since the beginning of time.

Ancient warriors would plan their attacks on their enemies, way before there were guns & cannons. Planning not only gives you the advantage over your competition but it gives you a compass to help you reach your goals.

If you plan to make beats online or make your own beats, then you will need to do some planning if you haven't started yet.

How do you make a plan? What are the first steps?

The first thing you must do is write down your goals. Make sure you make your music goals S.M.A.R.T. goals. This means your music goals must be Specific, Measurable, Action-oriented, Realistic, and Timely.

Let's say your goal is to make beats online and post those beats up on MySpace.com for the world to hear. The first thing you would do is WRITE IT DOWN! Once you write your goals down, something magical happens. You take your goal from being a thought to something physical, something tangible.

From there you will set a deadline for reaching your goal. A goal without a deadline is dream.

Once you have a deadline then you need to figure out what steps its going to take to reach your goals within the deadline you've set for yourself. Make sure to give yourself some realistic but challenging expectations. Set a deadline for each step in the process.

This next step is where most people fail because it takes action. Do something everyday toward the completion of your steps to reaching your goals. You must do something. Nothing is going to happen by accident. It could happen but would you really want to bet your life on that?

Putting this in practice would look something like this:

"In 30 days I will make beats online and post my music on MySpace.com.

In order to do this, I need buy an online beat maker like Sonic Producer. Once I make some beats I really think are hot, then I'm going to export them as mp3 files so I can upload them to MySpace.com.

On MySpace.com, I will upload my mp3 songs and post them on my profile page on MySpace. "

This is a very simple plan and anyone can do it. Once you really understand the benefits of planning and setting goals in your music career, you'll wonder why you hadn't planned a long time ago.

Don't hesitate start working on you plan today.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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Unlimited Potential to Make Your Dreams Come True

I was thinking about something the other day. Its a question you've often heard from many motivational and educational speakers.

I think its worth repeating over and over again.

What is the one thing that you would do if you knew you couldn't fail?

Or put a different way, if you had $1,000,000 ($1 million) dollars and you could do whatever it is you wanted to do, what would you being doing?

The answer to these questions can point you in the direction of what just may be your life's work.

Why am I even bothering to talk about this? And why, right now? We'll I remember going through these questions and even though I'm older (and hopefully wiser) I still ask myself these questions and I still come up with same answers:

I'd be doing music.

Preferably performing with a live band similar to The Roots. And no matter how much I try to "do" something else. I still have this yearning or passion to perform live on stage with my own band. I mean I've performed with a live band several times and those were some of my most high energy performance. To put it simply, I felt great.

No other feeling for me can substitute that feeling of being on stage rockin' out with a band.

Now, am I saying this is what every artist should feel like? Nope.
Am I saying this should be every artist ultimate goal? Nope.
Am I saying this is the only way to be involved in the music business? Nope again!!!

What I am saying is this IS my calling. Even if I'm not performing on stage, I'm always doing something music related. It maybe behind the scenes helping out another artist. It may be making beats, it may be writing this blog, recording a podcast or video, or teaching aspiring artists how to break in the music business.

Whatever it is, you can rest assured, that music is involved some kinda way.

So think about these questions long and hard. Give it your full concentration. Set aside some time just to reflect on the answers to these questions. They may give you just the right insight you need to move forward in your music career or even to a career that you desire more than music. Who knows? You may discover deep down that music ain't for you but you love writing graffiti and drawing. You'll never know until you follow your heart...

Mello Melanin, The Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. Time waits for no man. Get busy moving in the direction in which you want to see you life unfold.

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 7

If you missed the videos about Music Publishing & Copyrights, you can always download or stream the live audio of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 7, right here on The Rap Beat Creator Blog.

Click here to listen now!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 6

Whassup? This is Episode 6 of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast. It's called:

"Starting a Hiphop Label vs. Getting Signed."

Click on the link below to listen to it right now:

"Starting a Hiphop Label vs. Getting Signed."

If you've ever wanted to learn about the pros and cons of starting your own record label then you NEED to listen to this free podcast packed with all kinds of music industry tips.

If you're just getting into the business this will give you realistic look at what is like to be an artist on a label versus running your own.

To listen now click the link below:

"Starting a Hiphop Label vs. Getting Signed."

I always encourage feedback.

Thanks for your support!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com

P.S. Since I started doing my podcast, it has gotten over 1,000 downloads. My last 2 episodes as of this writing combined for over half of that total. The Rap Beat Creator Podcast is getting big and if you don't keep learning about what it takes to be successful in the music business then you're gonna be left behind so keep listening...and watching...

How to make a vision come to life

What's up to my dedicated readers? I'm glad you're here for many reasons. Some people who follow me by blog and/or email have expressed how much they appreciate what I do and that's a great feeling.

Well, I've added another weapon to my arsenal. If you checked out my last blog you know I already use a webcam. The thing about the webcam that I don't like is that the video is very "grainy". No I didn't get the top of the line but I didn't get the bottom of the barrel either.

I did however have an 8mm analog video camera that had plenty of good show footage that I wanted to put on the web. The only problem was the video capturing devices that were on the market a couple of years ago were more than what I wanted to pay.

Well, (and this is why I love eBay) I found a video capture device for $15.00 with NO shipping fees...

...And it was shipped from Asia!!! How crazy is that?

It arrived at my house in about 7 days so immediately went to work to test it out. The only problem I had was that my old computer wasn't strong enough to capture from an 8mm camera. It would only capture from digital video camera. And if you've been following me since January you know what kind of computer issues I was having. Blah, Blah, Blah!

Now that the computer issue is straighten out, I can use my $15.00 video capture device with my $30.00 camcorder and make a million dollars by next Friday right? Not likely but I will be able to do more live product reviews, online interviews, etc.

I tested everything out last night and the quality of the video is GREAT!!!

So whether you want to learn how to make beats online, watch me make a beat, or get some good marketing and promotions tips, you'll be able to see all of this live with your own eyes instead of just reading and hearing about it.

I'll still continue to do The Rap Beat Creator Podcast (Episode 6 coming soon) but like I said the video is a new weapon in my arsenal. After all, you can never have too many guns, right?

Holla!!!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 5

Are you looking to make more money off of your beats?

In this weeks Rap Beat Creator Podcast I discuss "How to Make Beats That Create Residual Streams of Income Forever".

Click here now to listen to Episode 5!

Or copy and paste the link below:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep5.mp3

In this podcast you'll hear real life examples of how to make money in the music business by making beats.

The music game is wide open. Don't sit on the side lines!

Check out Episode 5 of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast today!

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. In case you missed it, here's that link again:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep5.mp3

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Dagnabit, foiled again!!! But there's good news too...

Hey, I know I haven't blogged in a while but it's all good. I told you about all the trouble I was having getting Windows XP to act right on my computer a few weeks ago.

Well, its still acting "fugly".

I don't know exactly what I did but whatever I did it wasn't right. I mean the computer is mad slow and it still locks up every now and then. And upgrading it is out of the question because the motherboard...well...it sucks to put it bluntly!

What I've decided to do is to get a new motherboard and CPU. I've found a place where I can get a motherboard and CPU bundle for around $150 so I'm gonna take advantage.

Here's what I'll be able to do with a new motherboard:

• Make more beats (what else would come before that?)
• Have better sound quality while making beats
• Produce "The Rap Beat Creator Podcast" quicker
• Upload video footage from live shows and live product reviews
• And more!!!

I should have this completed by Saturday. This computer downtime stuff has been kickin' my butt since January...JANUARY. I'll let you know how it goes...

On to other things...

I'll be working on the next Rap Beat Creator Podcast tonight. I should have something for you tomorrow...

Music I'm feelin' right now:

• Keri Hilson - "Turning Me On" - This is just a well put together song. No question. Polo killed the beat and Keri and Lil Wayne slayed the lyrics. This is a great example of a well written song. Period!
• Rick Ross - "Magnificent" - Another banger. The track by Justice League is bangin'. Rick Ross drops some nice jewels and John Legend add his own soul spin to the track. But the biggest factor on this track is the beat with nice breakdowns and the xylophone loop. NUTS!

I really like well put together songs. These two songs will not just be hits, they'll be classics!

Holla..

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 4: 3 Essential Steps To Making Your Own Beats

Here's the link to this weeks Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Its called:

"3 Essential Steps To Making Your Own Beats...
...How You Can Make Beats That Make MONEY!!!

Click here to listen now!!!

I had a little fun with this one and I think you'll enjoy it.

For those of you who've requested to hear different beats, keep listening for This Week's Featured Beat segment during the podcast interlude. The Featured Beat is for sale for $29.99 until April 30th, 2009! If you want to get more info, hit me up at mello@free-hot-rap.com.

However, The Rap Beat Creator Podcast is absolutely FREE and you can listen to it or download it so you can listen to it later, right now by clicking the link below:

The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 4

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Here's what people are saying about The Rap Beat Creator Podcast:

"I look forward to your next Rap Beat Creator Podcast." - Mike DoubleD
http://www.myspace.com/treesreachingdown

"Mello, this was very informative. It is good to hear how creative people work." - Eric G.

Enjoy and make sure to leave me comments about the Podcast.

Let's shoot for 10 to keep a good dialogue going.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. In case the link doesn't open automatically in your media player you can copy & paste the link below in your browser:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep4.mp3

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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode 3

Yeah, I'm being consistent with The Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Gold star for Mello! Okay so I had an Eddie Murphy "Boomerang" moment but seriously, I've recorded one of my most published articles called, "The Fine Art of Hiphop Street Promotions."

In this episode, I cover a few promotions tactics like using flyers and how to get the most out of the money you spent making them. Or basically, making your marketing work for you.

Click here for this weeks episode of The Rap Beat Creator Podcast or copy and paste the link below:

http://www.free-hot-rap.com/rbcp_ep3.mp3

Let me know what you think. I need your feedback and comments so we all can grow.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com


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The Rap Beat Creator Podcast Episode #2

Here is my second episode of the The Rap Beat Creator Podcast. Episode 2 deals with developing your songwriting creativity and 6 tips for fighting writer's block.

Here is the link to the podcast below. You can download it to your mp3 player or burn it on a cd and listen to it when ever you want.

Podcast: "Developing Your Songwriting Creativity & 6 Tips To Fight Writer's Block"

Don't forget to leave me some comments. I need at least 10.

Let's Make It Happen!!!

Mello Melanin, The Hot Instrumentalist
www.RapBeatCreator.com
www.MusicMarketingPromotions.com

P.S. I now have under 50 free audio books left on "How to Get Thousands of Dollars Worth of Free Hiphop Advertising". If you haven't claimed your free copy yet, click here to get it now before the price goes back up to $19.99!!!