Non-Exclusive (Leasing) Vs. Exclusive Rights
Should You Lease Beats or Purchase Exclusives?
Understand the agreement made between the Artist & Producer and have a look into the contracts that bind them.
Whether you’re leasing beats (non-exclusive) or purchasing the exclusive rights to it, these are both great ways to secure an instrumental to use for your own project. The extent to which you can use it will be outlined in the beat lease / exclusive rights contract specific to the producer.
Most producers have various pricing tiers from leasing a beat all the way to selling the exclusive rights to a beat, which gives you the most freedom and control as an artist.
Both options have their respective advantages. I’ll explain to you the pros/cons, and best uses of each of these beat contracts. This will give you a better understanding and help you feel comfortable with deciding which option is best for you at this point in your career.
Non-Exclusive Rights
What are Non-Exclusive Rights?
Non-Exclusive Rights for a beat lease (or beat license) is a contract (agreement between producer and artist/label) that allows the artist to use an instrumental beat to record a unique song or ‘Master Recording’. The recording can be for use in demos, mixtapes, promotional use, etc. Beat Leases always come with limitations on distribution amounts (number of sales) and rights.
Basic rights: With a beat leasing contract, the producer maintains full ownership and may continue to sell the instrumental until an exclusive license is purchased for it, after which it can no longer be sold again. Any artists who had leased the beat before the exclusive was purchased would not be affected until their beat lease contract reaches it's termination deadline.
Pros: Leasing beats is the most affordable way for a budding artist to get quality music production for their mixtape, EP, single, etc. Rather than using recycled mainstream instrumentals, beats with producer tags all over them or having to save up for an exclusive, beat leasing gives you the opportunity to listen around for the sound and quality you need at a price everyone can afford.
Cons: Many producers or lower level beat leases often only deliver an .mp3 or .wav file of the beat, which gives you less quality and freedom to work with the instrumental when moving into the final mixing and mastering stage.
Beat leases are also able to be sold by producers for as long as they choose or until an exclusive is purchased for it, giving more opportunity for other artists to grab the same beat.
A non-exclusive is subject to the terms and limits within your contract. For example, if your lease allows you to sell 7000 copies of your single for profit, once that 7000 is reached, you must re-purchase the beat lease or upgrade to exclusive rights. If you're not careful and your song takes off the producer could potentially take your earnings for sales above 7000 units.
Exclusive Rights
What are Exclusive Rights?
Exclusives, or exclusive rights for a beat, legally names the artist as the exclusive owner to use it in creating a 'Master Recording'. It’s bound by contract and gives you as an artist full ownership of the beat to the extent that you will be the last person to purchase it.
Basic rights: The artist has exclusive rights to the instrumental and the producer can no longer legally sell it to anyone else.
Pros: You have full ownership over the beat, it will be removed from the site, not available for anyone else to purchase. As well, this contract will never expire.
Exclusive beats are delivered with the absolute highest of quality and should include all of the stems (individual instruments) of the beat as well as an .mp3 and/or a .wav file of the full beat for reference. This gives you or your music engineer the ability to tweak and customize the instrumental for your overall desired sound & quality.
Unlike beat leasing options, having exclusive rights to a beat gives you complete freedom over - the number of music videos you can use the with the instrumental, for-profit-shows, radio play and gives you an unlimited distribution limit of your master recording.
Cons: Since this type of license has a lot more value to it, it makes it a much bigger initial investment than leasing beats.
