Yo, I jacked this from my boy Paul Who's spot.. Producers UNITE! "Ever wonder why artists are always saying, "I don't pay for beats." or "Can't you just do it for the love?" Well that's the easy part: Because they KNOW that most people who make music are STUPID and EGOTISTICAL.. Some of us would be so happy that someone wants to use our track, we'll give it away for free. Some of us feel bad for the "broke" artist, who manages to ALWAYS be high as shit and always have a hat that matches his outfit, and we think the artist has some talent. The REALLY stupid ones think that the artist in question is gonna put out their project and actually sell copies (crazy enough) and they also think that the artist is gonna GIVE THEM their fair share, even without soundscan numbers and ASCAP or BMI registration. Good luck with that. So, how do we fight back? ...by not giving away FREE SHIT!!! 1. An artist makes money from selling their CD's. The only way to go about this arrangement, is to bootleg their project and sell it to keep ALL the proceeds from the copies you create. And that is a long term idea, taking in account the artist wont give up on the project half-way through 2. An artist with somewhat of a name MAKES MONEY doing SHOWS using your beats for their songs. They get paid for the show AND get paid for the cds they sell at the show. What do you get? Exposure? - NO. Money? - NO. You don't get ANYTHING. 3. An artist with a mid-level name gets PUBLISHING for their music. Most of the time, a producer that didnt get paid up front ISNT getting that publishing either. Their name isnt on the split-sheet. They get nothing. When its played on the radio, does it say produced by...Nope. You know what you get? More people that want shit for free. So what happens when artist gets free beats?? Well...the album sucks for the most part. Think about most independent albums. The beats are HORRIBLE, done by amateurs. You know why? Because they're free. And even if an artists project sells 500 copies, at a $5 profit per disc, thats $2500 to the artist and $0.00 to the producers. Something wrong here??? No one will buy an acapella cd, BUT, some people WILL buy an instrumental cd. The producers hold the cards, so stop fucking up. Make em pay. Yeah if you have no credits, no connects, you're gonna need to pay dues. but make em pay SOMETHING. Even if its $20. Make em pay. So don't even approach me with the "I don't pay for beats" story. If that's you, just move on, unless you can offer something other than your dream of blowing up. Because if you can't get up money to buy beats, how are you gonna get up money for a promotional campaign?? Look in the mirror and ask yourself that." Remember, WE hold the cards! TIMBO, DRE, NEPTUNES, etc.. THEY make the hits, not the "artists" that rap on them! Where the fuck would Justin be without.. well, you know!