selling beats to mc's (?)

MARLZTAH

MARLZTAH

++DuB PrOFesSoR++
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Jul 22, 2003
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i know this is a dnb forum but i just thought id see what you lot say on the subject.....

anyways..... ive made a hip hop track, and some guy on myspace has said he would like to buy my beat

i havent got a clue what to do

the track is made PURELY from breaks, samples and loops from old funk & soul records, so i dont understand why he would want to pay for it as i dont own any copyright on it and neither would he unless he got all the samples cleared

so i feel like saying he can use it for free but if hes willing to pay for it, hes obviously gonna try and make money on it once hes put vocals on it, and if i let him use it for free i feel i would be missing out

if i was to sell it what should i ask for it???? he said he'll pay whatever im asking for it

im really stumped on this o_O
 
recently been in the same situation and not sure myself
not sure whats high and whats low
i told the artist 100 us bucks a track for 3 tracks not sure if thats good or bad
but 300 $$$ sounds nice to me
 
Don't think that you don't have a copyright on what you create.

In most jurisdictions, you have copyright on what you create even if you make it out of samples of other people's works.

However - if you get paid for your track, then you can be sued, succesfully, for the money you made, by the author of the original work. You can also be sued punitive amounts. So say you sold your track for a $100, then the original artist could turn up and demand that $100 AND more.

If you're selling your beats, try and get a royalty agreement so you get a % out of sales plus the flat payment.

Oh and if somebody is buying a track from you that uses uncleared samples you must make sure he is aware of the situation. That doesn't mean he can take your track for free - as I said you have copyright. BUT you want to make sure he is aware the original author (s) might have claims. The buyer must acknowledge this so he doesn't try and blame you (sue you) if he gets sued by the original author (s).

All in all though, watch out, clear those samples and talk to your friendly lawyer.
 
thanks for the input, its really appreciated

gonna try and find out abit more about want he wants do do with the track first before i decide what to do
 
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