ColdBeats.com is the #1 spot online where you can buy or sell beats through auctions or set prices, from your crib or while you in the lab looking for a beat to spit on. Don't let that fire sleep inside your beat machine, keyboard, fruity loops, or whatever you make beats on... Start gettin' some dough! An artist or record label might want your beat to be there next hit single.

Back To Top

$0.00 - That's right..Nothing! We take only a small commission rate of 15%. Hope you tip your waitresses that. If your beat doesn't sell, it costs you nothing.

Back To Top

IcySmooth Productions has spent hundreds of hours programming this web site to keep your beats safe and secure. Even though you’re not required to register for a copyright to be protected, ColdBeats.com still recommends that you do. It will make things easy for you if someone ever did try to bite your music.

Under U.S. Law you ain't got to do anything to obtain a copyright. The second you take that beat in your head, and actually sequence it, record it, so people can hear it...your protected.

Even though you are protected as soon as you make a track, it is still a good idea to register with the U.S. Copyright Office.

• Registration makes it known to the public that beat is yours.
• Before you try to sue somebody because they stole your beat, you got to register for a copyright before you go to court.
• If you register for a copyright within 3 months of making that beat, or before somebody infringes on your rights, you will be able to receive money for your statutory damages and attorney fees.

Back To Top

1. Register to become a member. It's FREE.
2. Enter your PayPal information so you can buy or sell beats.
3. Click Sell Beat from the footer, or go to Upload Beat on the beats page.

ColdBeats's beat auction recommends uploading your beats in MP3 format under 5MB. That's about 2 - 5 minutes of recording depending on the quality of the MP3.

To convert audio CD's and WAV files to MP3. Download this FREE MP3 converter.

This file has 2 programs (default shortcut in start menu is "dBpowerAMP Music Converter")

• Audio CD Input (Take your beats from a CD and converter them to MP3)
• Music Converter (Right click on wav's and other files and select convert wav - mp3 or mp3 - wav)

Back To Top

The member who bids on your beat and is the highest bidder at the end of auction, or hits the "Buy This Beat!" button, is required to pay the full amount of the bid or price. If a member fails to make payment, contact us. If the buyer doesn't submit a payment within 7 days after you sent a message, the buyers account will be suspended, and their IP Address logged and banned. You (the seller) will be able to put that beat up for sale again.

NOTE: We recommend not to send the beat to the buyer until payment is received. If you are using the digital (MP3) option for as your delivery method, the beat will not be sent until payment clears. Since the buyer didn't make payment, this voids the licence or copyright assignment contract! So the beat still belongs to the original owner.

Back To Top

Once a bid is over, the seller is required to deliver the beat out the winning bidder, or purchaser of a fixed price transaction. Not delivering a track after receipt of payment is fraud and illegal. Action will be taken against offending members. If you don't receive the beat you paid for within 14 days of purchase or ending of auction, please contact us.

If the beat remains undelivered 7 days after contacting us, you are entitled to a full refund. Don't ever send money directly to seller through Western Union or other cash delivery methods. Only payments made through PayPal are eligible for a refund.

Back To Top

The buyer pays for the beat through PayPal directly to ColdBeats.com. ColdBeats.com takes a 15% cut, then sends the producer the rest through PayPal. That is why it is necessary to enter your registered PayPal e-mail address before purchasing or selling beats.

Back To Top

1. Register to become a member. It's FREE.
2. Enter your PayPal information so you can buy or sell beats.
3. Click Beats from the top menu, or Buy Beats from the footer.

All payments must be made using your PayPal account.

Back To Top

Producers may sell beats containing samples. Producing a track with a sample still requires time and effort, and although you are selling the beat, the sample remains property of the original owners. The buyer/artist is responsible for obtaining a sample clearance since many record labels and/or publishing companies want to hear the finished track before clearing a sample for use.

Sampling violates 2 copyrights, the copyright of the musical composition (PA) and sound recording (SR). Permission is required from both copyright owners to use the original song or master recording. These steps list the process of clearing a sample:

1. Obtain the information for each sample you want to clear.

• Title of the original track.
• Composer/Producer of the original track.
• Publishing company of the original track.
• Name of artist who performs on the master recording.
• Record Label of the master recording.
• Length of time in minutes & seconds and number of measures that you plan to sample. (e.g.; "10 seconds/8 bars.")
• Description of how the sample will be used in your new recording in minutes & seconds, number of measures, and if it will be looped or repeated. (e.g.; "20 seconds/4 bars including the hook line from the original will be used in 3 separate choruses in the new version.")
• Make copies of your new recording to send to the copyright owners to show them how you plan to use the sample.
• Number of copies you plan to release through what method or means.
• The planned release date.
• Amount you can afford to pay for the sample.

2. Obtain the address and phone numbers for the copyright owners (the publishing company and record company).

• Publishers are usually affiliated with the performance rights organizations (ASCAP, BMI or SESAC). All of these have web sites with searchable databases that list the publisher's contact information. The Harry Fox Agency also has a database (www.nmpa.org) that lists publishers and also licenses music online for their publishers. The copyright office may also be a source of tracking down owners.
• Record label contacts can be found through music industry directories, company web pages or telephone listings (obtained from phone companies, or internet sites like www.switchboard.com)

3. Call to get information regarding the name of the department to whom you should direct your request (usually either Licensing or Business & Legal Affairs), the name of the person to contact and their phone, fax or email. Sometimes, you may be able to discuss the sampling deal immediately with the contact person by telephone. Therefore, having all of the above information prepared and available is critical. Record labels and publishers may not respond to requests made by phone or email unless they've done business with you before.

4. Send a written request for permission to sample the song to both the publishing and record companies. Briefly introduce yourself and what you would like to use the sample for (student demo, whatever). Include all the information listed in step #1. In this original request you can include a dollar figure you can offer for the sample. Be sire to include how you can be contacted.

5. Be prepared to negotiate the following points to be included in a written "sample" clearance contract:

• Song ownership - Some publishers and record labels will require part of the copyright in the new song or recording.
• Royalties - If ownership is shared, how will the royalties be shared?
• Compensation - How will the original copyright owners be compensated? There are no standard rates, so it is all negotiable. Some payment options you may consider are:
  • One-time flat-fee (buyout) for all rights with no additional compensation or royalties, usually in the $250 to $10,000 range. (Minor uses are usually under $100 and major uses about $2,000. A major use of a famous song could run over $50,000).
  • Fee that is paid over time (with payments tied to events like initial signing, release by a major label, payment per 100,000 units sold, etc.)
  • Royalty based on a discounted percentage of the statutory mechanical license rate for every record sold. Typical sampling royalty fees range from 10-25% of the statutory rate for compositions and .5 cents to 3 cents per unit sold for sound recordings.
• Credit - How will the original copyright owners, composers and artists be credited on artwork, advertising, and future uses? Sample credits usually include the original artists, writers, record label and publisher, as well as the names of the writers, publishers, and record label of the new track or master. Errors in this information can result in delays in the release of the new work using the sample and royalty payment problems.
• Usage - Are your rights to the sample limited to only one recorded version of the song or do they include re-mixes and live performances? Be sure to request the broadcast rights you think you may need so that you don't have to go back to the copyright owners later to renegotiate additional rights.
• Warranty - Be sure the copyright owners warrant in the contract that they have the authority to grant you the rights and that these rights extend to future copyright owners (publishers may sell their entire catalog to a new owner).
• Accounting - Determine how often you pay and account for any royalties to the original copyright owners.

6. Be aware that the following factors may influence the negotiations

• The length of the sample
• How much you use it (5 seconds is a "major use")
• If it was originally a big hit
• Whether you have a small independent budget or a major record label

The clearance process can take a couple weeks to several months. Before you start to make or distribute your recording, be sure you have cleared the samples. Record labels will not risk accepting any masters until you have provided proper music clearances for all sampled used. Failure to properly clear samples could result in the artist repaying any recording fund advances or a breach of contract claim by the record company. To avoid serious legal and financial consequences, avoid the following dangerous situations.

1. There is no amount that you can sample without permission. The myth that you can use "six bars" or whatever version of this you may have heard is completely untrue. A distinctive part of a song could be as short as a few notes or seconds and still be identifiable. Sampling someone's voice without their permission also violates their rights of publicity and can result in additional liability. Sampling drumbeats has also resulted in litigation. Sampling any part of a live performance violates Federal Bootlegging statues and results in additional criminal penalties.
2. Distorting or manipulating a sample so it no longer sounds like the original is still technically illegal and poses a risk. If its identifiable, clear it.
3. Don't put off clearing a sample because "they'll never find out", "you don't have the money", or "you'll do it later when you get a record deal or sells more", etc/ Delaying clearance puts you in the worst possible position to negotiate a sample use (or it could even be denied). It's better to clear the sample in advance and negotiate payments based on the type of release or future uses.
4. Be prepared to substitute the sample with something else in the event you can't get permission or it's too expensive. While some publishers encourage sampling, certain artists discourage it by charging exorbitant fees. Other alternatives to consider are:
   • Hire a music clearance company to negotiate the rights for you. Their fees vary from hourly to per song or project. However, you must still provide all of the information in step #1 and #5 in order for them to represent you.
   • You can purchase inexpensive royalty-free recordings that have music available for sampling, purchase it from music libraries, or a song under the new creative commons license.
   • You can record a new "master" of the composition, using your own musicians, to avoid the additional clearance process (and fee)

Soundtrack Sampling:

If you use an audio sample from a feature film, television or news show, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner of the program. In addition, you may be responsible for payments to the Screen Actors Guild, Writes Guild of America, Directors Guild of America and the American Federation of Musicians. Buyout fees usually range from $100 to $8000 per minute.

Back To Top

To change your account information like your password, e-mail address, picture, or bio, click "My Profile" pm the menu the top of the site. If any changes are made to your account settings, a confirmation e-mail will be sent to let you know. If you receive an email notifying you of changes, but you haven't made any changes, contact us immediately. If you change your e-mail address, an email will be sent to your new address for verification, and you will have to click the verify link in the message to login to the web site again.

Back To Top

When you register to become a member, an email is sent with a verification link. This link is so we know that your email address is for real. If you didn't receive an email with this link, it could have been sent to your spam folder if your settings are strict. If you still can't find this email, contact us with your username and email address so we may re send out the verification email.

Unlike other web sites selling instrumentals, you can use many of these beats for album and commercial use. All beats that are sold under an exclusive license or copyright transfer can be used to make money. These contracts grant you use for your album, marketing, whatever! Beats under non-exclusive licenses can be sold to more than one person so you can't use these for commercial or album use (You can use them for demos, or educational purposes).

Back To Top

If this has not answered all your questions, feel free to contact us.