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In the music game there are few that are really successful beat makers. Those who have experience know it's hard to make money from creating beats alone. Take a look at a top music beat maker like Dr. Dre for example. This legend has worked with more artists than you can shake a stick at and he's multi-talented too.
Big names like Kanye West started creating beats and selling them to local rappers before he reached fame. Building a network of clientele is one way to expand and make more money, but unless you can make great beats every time you're not going to move up on the ladder.
Being a beat maker does mean you'll have to spend money on music equipment and have a vast selection of samples and effects. Putting a beat together isn't the hard part, making it sound good is. A simple drum beat needs samples and effects layered on top to make it sound hot. Talented music beat makers know to turn a simple drum beat and turn it into a club hit.
Get involved in music and always push yourself creatively and aim to create new sounds. Keep your beats current by listening to fresh new beats and work on your own version. Put your own spin on the beat and go a different direction. Don't listen to just one genre of music and keep building your sample library.
Start building a portfolio of your own mixes of other artist's songs to get practice for producing beats. Doing this will help you create more than just drum loops and give you new ideas. Also it's good to give your beats some context when selling your beats to prospective customers.
Expand your style of music and make other beat styles so you can expand your client base. The fact is, making a beat is just the beginning. It's fine to sell beats to local acts, but the real money is when you get good at music production.
Being able to work with other artists and turn an idea into music is a great skill. All it takes is one great collaboration and wham! You've got the attention of other artists. However, don't get too excited yet. You need to work on your own skills and music before you start working with others.
Making fresh new beats that sound good is hard and you will probably make a few that flop. All artists and producers make duds. Take a stroll, put on some music, relax or see some friends; there's no point getting stressed when you can't think of anything new. Listen to other genres that you don't usually listen to for inspiration and ideas.
You will create awesome beats once you get into the flow of making beats everyday. After creating a ton of beats you'll have a pile of beats that aren't quite right. Whatever you make, keep it and don't bin it. On a day that you're stuck for a beat you can pull out your old files and rework some loops.
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