Taking action – put yourself in the right place at the 
right time

Placing records is tricky in the beginning because you haven’t done it yet—there is a huge learning curve, from finding artists or companies to solicit, to negotiating and signing agreements you have never seen before, to registering and collecting royalties, to getting paid. If you don’t have any connections to the artists, the media company, an artist’s team, a label, or someone in the inner circle of the business, it is extremely hard to get people to pay attention. All of these stakeholders are constantly being solicited for beats, and they tend to only listen to beats that come through very specific channels. This doesn’t mean you can’t get a placement if you don’t know anyone in the business; it just means it’s a longer game that takes patience. Now, here is the thing—you hear this from all of the gurus—you need to be at the right place at the right time. That’s true! But the reality is, you create the right time by always being at the right place. What do I mean? I mean, if you make a general effort to put yourself in front of opportunities, you will see opportunities. The reality is, the producer industry is extremely competitive and challenging.

Here are some high-level examples of how you can put yourself in the right place:

• Networking: Networking is a key component of being in the music industry. Ultimately, it’s a small business at the very top, and everyone knows each other. Producers can attend industry events, connect with A&R representatives (Artists and Repertoire representatives, commonly referred to as A&R reps, are individuals who work within the music industry, specifically within record labels and music publishing companies. Their primary role is to discover and develop musical talent), and reach out to artists and their management teams to build relationships and create opportunities. It’s crucial you do this at every chance you have. This can mean hopping on a plane and going to LA or Atlanta, or it can mean befriending an industry stakeholder on social media. The key to networking is you need to add value to the other party first. Most people just think because their music is good, people will give them a chance. But it just doesn’t work like that in the real world. You need to make a strategic plan, study the person you want to network with, and figure out how you can exchange value. Life is about give and take—give more and you will eventually get back.
• Online platforms: Producers can leverage social media and music platforms, such as SoundCloud, BeatStars, and YouTube, to showcase their work and attract attention from artists and their teams. Building your beat-selling website and YouTube channel will pay off in the long term, and although it’s not a quick vertical, if you build it correctly, you will be able to make a living off of your music while you are pursuing major placements and Billboard-charting spots that you can leverage for publishing and label deals later.
• Collaborations: Producers can collaborate with other producers, songwriters, and artists to expand their network and gain exposure to new audiences. Today, at the time of writing this book, this has become one of the best ways to secure placements. A lot of chart-topping songs have more than one producer or co-writer on the record, where one producer will supply the melody or chord progression, and others will add drum programming or additional musical effects to the record. Collaborations are a key focal point from the beginning of your career to the advanced stages. Some producers’ strengths are drum programming and arrangement style, while some tend to be better at cranking out chord progressions and sound design. The best way you can maximize your efforts in collaboration is to offer value to the other side first, and see how you can help that established producer streamline their own placement process. Find producers that have different strengths than you.
• Referrals: Producers can get referrals from industry professionals, such as managers, agents, and record label executives, who may recommend them to artists and their teams. This will typically happen once you have proven yourself in the market; it’s up to you in the beginning to build the momentum to get other people to share your name and work.
• Contests and competitions: Producers can participate in music contests and competitions, to gain exposure and potentially secure placements with major artists. In my experience, a lot of the participants will be other producers, and this is a great opportunity to network with other producers to create collaboration opportunities within the community.
• Music licensing: Producers can license their music for use in film, TV, and advertising, which can help them gain exposure and potentially lead to collaborations with major artists.
• Producer camps and retreats: Many producers attend producer camps and retreats, such as the infamous “writing camps” where songwriters, producers, and artists come together to create new music, meet new people, and potentially form relationships that lead to placements.

Now that we have some of the key action items down, and know that we need to maximize our time to start participating in these types of approaches, let’s discuss how we can start getting the ball rolling.