How to buy beats online without getting burned
Most of the bad stories about buying beats come down to one thing. The artist did not know what they were paying for. This is the short version of what the words mean, what to check before you pay, and how it works on this site.
What a lease is
A lease is a license to use a beat. It is not ownership. You pay once, you get the files, and you get a contract that says what you can do with the record you make. The producer keeps the beat and can lease it to other artists too. That is normal. It is how a $50 beat is possible.
A lease does not expire on a date. It runs until you hit its limits, and nobody comes to take your song down. If you need to be the only artist on the beat, that is an exclusive, and it is covered further down.
What untagged means
A tagged beat has a voice drop over it every twenty seconds or so. That is the preview. It is there so nobody can rip the beat off the page and release it. Untagged means the clean version, no voice tag. When you pay for a lease, you should get the untagged file. If a store sells you a lease and the file still has a tag on it, something is wrong.
MP3, WAV and trackouts
Three file types show up in beat licenses. They are not the same thing.
- MP3 is compressed. Fine for writing to, for a reference, for a rough demo. Not what you want to master a release from.
- WAV is the full-quality file. This is what your engineer wants. Any lease worth buying includes it.
- Trackouts, also called stems, are the beat split into its parts. Drums, 808, keys, melody, each as its own WAV. With trackouts your engineer can turn the 808 down under your vocal, pull the lead out of the hook, and mix the record properly. Without them the beat is one flat file and the mix has to work around it.
Cheaper leases usually come as MP3 + WAV. Trackouts are usually the step up. Decide before you buy whether your mix needs them.
What stream limits mean
Most leases cap how far the song can go. Ten thousand streams, one music video, a set number of copies sold. The cap is per lease and counts across every platform. Pass it and you are supposed to come back and upgrade, usually to an unlimited lease.
Do not let that scare you off a lease. Ten thousand streams is a real number for an independent release, and if you blow past it, that is a good problem. The point is to know the number before you release, not after.
How instant delivery works
On a proper store, no person sends your files. You pay, the system confirms the payment, and the download links and the license show up on the order page and in your email within a minute. No "I'll send it tonight". No waiting on a DM.
Open the email. The license should have your name on it, the beat name and the date. Download everything right away and back it up somewhere. Stores do not keep files forever. Here the window is 30 days.
Red flags
- No written license. With no contract you have nothing to show a distributor, a label or a lawyer.
- Cash App or Zelle only, no checkout page. You lose the protection a card gives you.
- The "untagged" file still has a tag on it.
- The license is somebody else's template with the names blanked out.
- "Free beats, no license" that turn into a copyright claim on your song later.
- The same loop you already heard on three other stores. Not illegal, but it is not yours either.
- No way to reach the producer. An email address, at minimum.
What to check in the license
Read it before you pay, not after. Five things to find:
- The streams, sales and video limits, and what happens when you pass them.
- Whether the producer keeps publishing on the song, and how much. Fifty percent is standard. If it says zero or more than half, ask why.
- The credit line. Most licenses require "Produced by" with the producer's name on every release.
- Whether the beat can still be leased to other artists. On a lease, yes. On an exclusive, no.
- Who registers what. The producer registers his own share with his PRO. You register yours.
If any of that is missing, the license is not finished.
How it works on letthatboycook.com
Two leases and one exclusive path. The price is on the button, and every beat has a play button next to it.
- Cook Up Lease, $50. Untagged MP3 + WAV. Up to 7,500 sales, with 200 streams counting as one sale, and one official music video. Good for a single you are testing.
- Cook Unlimited Lease, $150. MP3 + WAV + trackouts where the beat has them. No cap on streams, sales or videos. Radio and paid shows covered. For the record you are pushing.
- Exclusives, $50 each or 3 for $100 on the exclusives page. One buyer per beat. When it sells, it comes off the site. A new batch goes up on the 1st of every month and whatever is left comes down at month end.
You pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. The untagged files and a license PDF in your name land in your inbox the second the payment clears. More than 2,700 beats have gone out that way since 2019. If you want to read the full terms first, they are on the licensing page.