A realistic guide to selling beats as an independent producer. No income promises — a catalogue you can deliver, prices that make sense, and the parts that decide whether you get paid.

What's inside

• What you are actually selling (the licence, not the file) and the three-tier ladder.
• Pricing: bottom-low entry, premium as the volume seller, exclusive at 10–20x premium.
• Packaging: untagged files, consistent naming, a licence PDF and a README on every beat.
• Getting found truthfully — and why buying streams or followers destroys the business.
• The boring parts: payout schedules, ledgers, refund rules, disclosure.
• A 30-day starting plan.

Honest note

This guide does not promise sales or income. Most producers sell nothing in month one. It removes the reasons a genuine buyer walks away: no licence, no price clarity, no way to hear the beat.