Big Notch's Official Blog

This is some immature ignorant shit. But, i’m a little shocked at all the hate Lil B is getting from New Orleans.

I redid the background music to one of my favorite Freeway videos by my homie ScrewdUPClickV2. Ya’ll check him out on youtube.

Monthly Beat Giveaways

Starting August 1st, BigNotch.com will be giving away a free beat to everyone on the mailing list on the 1st of each month. We encourage everybody who uses these free beats to email a copy of your finished song to us. We will feature it here on BigNotch.com.

Beat Store Updates

There was a unfortunate error that occured with out database that wasn’t allowing people to purchase tracks. We appologize for this error. It has been fixed now. Also, there is now a ‘search’ function in the Beat Store. And the permalinks have been fixed also. So you guys should have no trouble viewing seperate categories and genres.

The Beat Basement

For two months, the Beat Basement was inactive due to a technical issue on our end. We sincerely appologize for this and are giving all of the current members two free months!

If you have cancelled your membership due to lack of updates, we will allow you to re-subscribe for on $10. Just e-mail Big Notch letting him know that you want you account re-activated.

Drumkits & Beat Albums

As I type this, we are working hard in the Studio to ensure that these drumkits are of good quality and worth every penny that is charged. Every Kick, Snare, Perc, etc… will be custom sounds that you will only find here on BigNotch.com

The Beat Albums are also being worked on very diligently. We are currently deciding which songs would be best suited for the compilations. Each genre will be sold sperately.

We also have another SURPRISE in store that will be available ONLY for BEAT BASEMENT members. More info will be given on that later.

Other News

We sincerely apologize for the Overall lack of updates to the site. We have been having some severe problems with our equipment and servers. However, this has all been worked out and we are moving forward. Expect to see new tracks on the regular.

http://beats.bignotch.com

http://bignotch.com

Producers, quit giving your beats away! Ya’ll are fucking stupid man, what do you think that does for the rest of the good producers? It makes it harder for us. By selling beats for almost nothing or giving them away, you’re compromising the value of the art. People no longer respect the process and the hard-work that goes into it because you’ve made it seem like it’s nothing.

If I made all of my beats “free Downloads” wit no tags, do you think people are really going to come back purchase a beat that they just downloaded for free? of course not. The fact of the matter is, most rappers are up and coming. And most of these up & coming rappers are cheap assholes. They search the web night and day for free beats, and when they can’t find decent tracks for free, they try to sway good producers into give them free beats. Some of them feel that they shouldn’t pay for beats because “there are too many producers out there”. Or because they don’t make money from their music. This is the stupid logic that’s running hip-hop right into the ground.  So, if you’re a producer that’s seeing a decline in sales, this is why.

No, it’s not all about the money for me. When I first got started producing music, I have NO intention of making money from it. I simply did it because I enjoyed making music and it helped me get through some painful times in my childhood. But, this does not mean I will give beats away everyday. I would sit on all of my beats before I did that.

I understand that sometimes you have to give away a couple just to make a name for yourself, but eventually you have to become serious about your work and let people know you’re a serious producer. Nobody should consistently give away tracks to artist. If they’re not making money from their own music, that’s their problem. Artists make their money, if not from their albums, from shows.But if they can’t sell albums it’s because their music sucks and nobody wants to pay for that shit. Even if they don’t make money, that’s their problem. It doesn’t entitle them to free tracks. It’s called the music BUSINESS. The keyword here is “business”. So, me giving you free beats is NOT the business. It’s more like charity.

After reading this, hopefully some of ya’ll young producers out there will learn to value your work and quit letting people convince you that’s you’re a run-of-the-mil producer. Otherwise, you’ll be just that.

I know alot of you guys (artist) are looking for a serious Beat Maker/ Producer that is serious about their craft and has their own unique ‘touch’ to their music. Not just another generic producer w/ with the same cookie-cutter sounds and sloppy mixes. Sometimes it’s hard to weed through the wack producers and find one that is actually worth listening to. Especially when you have a thousand thirsty ass producers trying to shove their beats down your throat the moment they get the notion that you ‘might’ be in need of instrumentals. There is simply not enough time to go through every single person who tries to sell you beats. So how do you know who to take seriously?

I have compiled a list of ways to weed out these untalented music producers.

1.) They send unwanted messages to your inbox. Have you ever been on twitter,myspace,or facebook and get a message from some random producer saying one of the following? “Need Beats. Holla at Me”  “If you need hits, I got that fire!”  “New Beats on Deck, get at me”.  These are the thirsty ass produces I mentioned earlier. They shove their music down your throat out of pure desperation because their beats aren’t good enough to stand on their own. Do you see other reputable producers such as Johnny Juliano, or WPH Beat sending messages and doing other desperate acts to lure in buyers? NO. And that’s because these people are actually good producers.

2.) They sell beats for $10. No good producer would ever lease a beat for anything under $25. Some people argue that they shouldn’t pay for beats, and that they should be free because too many people are making beats. However, if you look at the options for beats out there you’ll discover that all of these “free” beats are absolutely horrible. They are horribly mixed and composed. The same thing goes for these $10 beats.

3.) They don’t have a decent website or beat store. If a producer has a sloppy webpage that they are trying to lure you to, why would you think the beats would be any different from the page. It’s not about the page, it’s about a mentality. The same amount of effort he put into the webpage is likely the same amount of effort he’ll put into his beats.

4.) There featured beat is horribly mixed. Every producer has that “premier beat” that he feels is one of their best pieces of work. But, if that piece of work is not even mixed right, you can surely expect the rest of their beats will sound even worse.

5.) They don’t have don’t have a portfolio. If you’re dealing with a producer that’s been in the game for years and still doesn’t have any artist that have used his beats, he’s probably a wack producer.

6.) They don’t have any co-signers. If a producer is trying to get you to hear his beats and he doesn’t have anybody to vouch for him, chances are there is a reason for this. Nobody wants to vouch for a wack producer. Just like I would never put a wack rapper on my blog, it’s just not good for my image. And if you’re an Artist, having a wack producer is just not good for your image. The worst ones are the ones who have their cousins, aunts, mommy and daddy cosigning them in hopes of getting a customer. If a person has to take their marketing this far, they probably just don’t make good music.

7.) They resort to Ridiculous Schemes and Gimmicks. Producers who uploads porn or fight videos and tags them with his website name are extremely thirsty and usually very untalented when it comes to music. Some people even buy beats from other producers and package them up and sell them as their own. These people are the WORST people to buy from. A good producer is straight forward with his transactions and business and doesn’t resort to ridiculous antics (like the guy in my previous blog post) just to get attention to their beats.

8.) They keep bringing up how many beat battles they won. There is nothing wrong with a good beat battle. But that is a different style of producing altogether. Being a “Beat Battle Champion” doesn’t mean you can actually produced album quality material. It just means you know how to make fancy breaks and effects. In most cases these battle champs couldn’t produce a quality record to save their lives.

9.) They’ve just started producing. The quickest way to tell if a producer is worth listening to is by how long they’ve been producing. If they just started producing in 2009, chances are they are not producing professional quality music yet. They are still molding their craft.

10.) They produce, rap, sing, write, design etc… There are only a handful of people who can do all of these things proficiently. The rest of these so-called entrepreneurs absolutely suck at these things. They don’t seem to understand that it’s not about how much shit you can do. It’s about how well you can do them. If I sing in the shower in the morning before heading out to work, does that make me a singer? If I doodle on the wall while taking a shit sometimes, does that make me an artist?  Most of these people who claim to have all of these skills don’t have them at all, they are just trying to make a dollar. Don’t waste your time with them.

So, this is how fierce the game is right now. This is how far Producers will take it to make a dollar. This is how hard it is to make a sale. I don’t respect the wack site or the wack instrumental on their half-assed site, but I DO respect their grind. This goes to show hard it is for a producer to make a dollar in this industry.You know it’s bad when you have to make a scene with the police to get traffic to your website.

Producers are Thirsty in general. But WACK Producers are by far the most dehydrated. And honestly, I think they’re sucking the life out of hip hop. The little life that’s left of course.

The choices on the net for hip hop beats and rap instrumentals are staggering. With so many choices, how do you wade through all the beat sites to find the right rap instrumentals for your album or demo? What is clear to me is that just because the first 20 shops that pop up for the search term “rap beats” are on the page, does not mean these folks are good producers or engineers, or composers for that matter.

After finding some beats, listen to the quality of the song first. Is the song structured in a way that will work for you? Do they list song tempo in case you need to chop it up in computer DAW. Next, how’s the over all production of their rap instrumentals? If it’s distorted on your computer’s speakers, even if you’re listening to the lo-fi version, the version you download is not going to be much better. Not only that but its real important that the instrumental itself follows a structure you can rap to instead of being all over the place. (ex intro hook, verse 1, hook, verse 2)

Are the rap instrumentals royalty free, or are you prepared for possible legal headaches later on down the line? Royalty free rap beats are a great way to go, as a royalty free track won’t cost you much dough up front. These beats are also referred to as non-exclusive beats. This is what the bulk of all instrumentals on BigNotch.com will be composed of! 

Exclusive hip hop beats are a great option if you have the budget, as these types of hip hop instrumentals are more expensive, but you will have a fully produced track that no one else has. The producer or beat shop, may still own the copy write so read the fine print. Sometime all the producer or beat shop will want is credit on your album (“track produced by Big Notch”) with you keeping all the profits of the sales of your record. Not a bad deal really. Keep in mind exclusive beats are anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. BigNotch.Com isn’t selling exclusive beats for anything over $500.

What file format will the rap instrumentals be delivered on, mp3, wav? If mp3 is what you?re getting, is it a “cd quality” mp3? If you’re headed to the studio with your download, it might be better to have the file delivered as a 16 or 24bit wav. file as the sound quality can be better. If the lo-fi demo sounded good off the net, than ask the beat shop if they can send you a wav of the track the studio will more than likely prefer that. It may be a good idea to ask the studio to make a recommendation as to the file format to use. Here at BigNotch.com we send you a high quality mp3 file, but are willing to send other formats upon request.

When starting out in the music biz, you need to be informed. I hope this info will empower you in making the right choices and stick with BigNotch.com.Com, because we have our perspectives in check. Its all about you, and getting you informed to start your career as we help you get that deal!

Keep makin some hits and check back at BigNotch.Com for updates!

I don’t put artist on here unless I’m really feelin’ them. And I gotta admit this dude goes HARD! Give the dude props.  @LilDeeGodsGift

Lil Dee ft. Snipe – “Never Let Go”

Here are some of the BEST tracks that i’ve received from artists that use my beats. All of these tracks were produced by ME (BigNotch). If you want you’re track in the Artist Showcase, just show me what you’ve done with a BigNotch.com Beat.

Mr. Fame (H-TOWN)

Track Name:  Another Notch (prod. by Big Notch)

Track Name: Do It (prod. by Big Notch)

Sypreme (H-TOWN)

Track Name:  Don’t Go (prod. by Big Notch)

http://myspace.com/syprememusic

B-Ducey (California)

http://www.myspace.com/bducey