Been on SoundClick lately? If so, you’ve probably noticed that 90% of producers are offering “Buy One Get # Free” sales. If you’re reading this article, you may very well be one of those producers. If so, for shame! Your dream / goal is to produce music for a living, right? If that’s the case, you need to consider your long-term brand equity.

What is brand equity? It’s the commercial value that derives from perception of your brand name, rather than the product or service itself. For example, Kanye West selling a $120 White Tee vs. a $5 White Tee you get at Walmart – the reason Kanye West can charge more is he has higher brand equity.

If you ever want to make a name for yourself in the music industry, you need high brand equity. It’s as simple as that. Tacky sales gimmicks – like “Buy One Get # Free” sales – are used by companies with low brand equity; think cheesy products being hocked on late night infomercials. Magic Bullet Blenders, ShamWow’s, Schticky’s, etc. In other words: CRAP. So you have to ask yourself, “Do I want artists to perceive me as the ‘Schticky’ of producers?”

NO! If you want a long-term career as a producer, you must market yourself as a professional. Brand yourself like Gucci or Ferrari, not like a SlapChop.

Side Note: Veteran producers will tell you that it’s tougher now than ever to make a living selling beats online, and “Buy One Get # Free” sales are a big factor in this. When 90% of SoundClick producers are running these sales non-stop, it creates a HUGE market force pushing downward on prices. $20-30 per beat lease used to be standard a few years ago, now it’s more like $5-10 per beat when you factor in discounts and ‘freebies’. And because there is no fixed cost associated with creating beats, prices will continue to slide if things don’t change. $0.99 beats are just around the corner, and you need to sell A LOT of $0.99 beats to make a decent living.

Share this article with fellow producers and let’s start repairing the damage done.