Every artist I know has the same two complaints about producers. The ones they want go quiet. The ones who send never send anything that fits.
Both problems have the same cause, and it is not on the producer's end. Producers send beats to the artists who make sending easy. Here is how to become that artist.
Answer One Question Before You Ask For Anything
When I get on a call with an artist, the first real question I ask is this:
Are you still developing your sound, or do you have it locked in?
There is no wrong answer, but the answer changes everything a producer sends you. "Still developing" means you need someone to help you find the lane, and a producer who hears that will send you range. "Locked in" means you know exactly what you want, and a producer who hears that will send you three beats instead of thirty.
Most artists never say which one they are. So producers guess, guess wrong, and go quiet. Say it up front.
Tell Them What You Are Dropping Next
The second thing I ask: is this what you are planning to drop next? A producer will always prioritize the artist with a release in motion over the artist who is "just looking for beats." If you have a date, a project, a single, say so in the first message. It moves you to the front of every send list you are on.
Reply To The Twenty-Second Preview
Producers who know what they are doing send a short MP3 preview that plays right in the DM, labeled with the key and the BPM. Play it. Reply in one line, even if the answer is no. "Not this one, but the drums are crazy, send more like this" is the most valuable message a producer can get, and almost nobody sends it. The artists who reply are the artists who get the next pack first.
Be Findable Where Producers Look
Producers who are serious find artists the same way I do: new releases every Friday, the platforms that surface new songs, and Genius credits to see who is working with who. That means:
- Release consistently. A single every few weeks puts you in the scans. Silence takes you out of them.
- Get your credits right. Make sure your songs list who produced and wrote them. Producers read credits to find their next collaborator. If the credits are empty, they cannot find you.
- Lock in with the circle, not just the star. Producers reach the artist through the people around the artist. Make sure your people know which producers you are feeling.
Ask Where To Send, Then Make It Easy
The DM that works both ways is short: where should I send beats? Answer it in one line, with an email or a DM and the two things above: your sound (developing or locked in) and what you are dropping next. That message gets beats. Long paragraphs about your journey get bookmarked.
What To Do Tonight
Pick the one producer whose beats you keep coming back to. Send them: your sound status in one sentence, what you are dropping next, and where to send. Then reply to the first preview that lands, even with a no.
You are not waiting on producers. Producers are waiting on an artist who makes the send easy. Be that one.
Billboard #1. RIAA Platinum. Placements alongside Future, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Rod Wave, NBA YoungBoy, Swae Lee and Gunna. Built from a bedroom studio through consistency and relationships. This post is one page of the artist side of it.
0 comments