Xcel Beats is one of the music industry’s most sought after music producers. He’s produced hits for DTP’s Shawnna, Ludacris, Bun B, Yung Berg, and many others. In this interview with IndieHipHop.net, he gives advice on what artists and producers should be doing to make their way towards a successful music career.

www.myspace.com/xceltracks

by Lola Sims

Ignorance to an industry that you claim is a big part of your life as well as your livelihood is a major mistake. This type of ignorance can ultimately lead to you being mislead, taken advantage of, and at worse screwed out of money and royalties. Understanding the difference between a beat maker and a producer is the Industry 101 lesson of the day.

WHAT IS A BEAT MAKER

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Finding the right music to go with your flow is essential to leaving lasting impression as an artist. A debate I recently had with some producer partners of mine started with my belief that the artists who made the biggest impacts in hip hop, used only one or very few producers. My feeling is that the music created with these unions, defined them as artists and sometimes defined an entire era.

When the producer is like a part of the group, somehow a unique sound is created that can’t be duplicated without that original unit. This sometimes creates musical movements. Some legendary examples of this have been:
Public Enemy, N.W.A, Mobb Deep, A Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang, The Death Row Movement, The Cash Money Movement, Eric B and Rakim, Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth, Gangstar…etc Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve been producing music professionally for most of my adult life, and it’s been my only source of income for a long time. It hasn’t all been lavish and high profile, but I consider myself very fortunate to be able to make a living doing something I love to do. I’ve placed music in films, produced for many artists, TV programs and made a lot of commercial jingles for big companies.

I get occasional emails from producers asking me “how can I be a successful producer in the industry?” Truth is, success is only defined by your individual goals. You can aspire to be a Timbaland, Dr. Dre or some little known music production manager for a TV show, who makes a very comfortable living. The better you are at your craft and producing different styles of music, the more opportunities will be available to you.

Sometimes you have to create your own opportunity if there doesn’t seem to be any. For example, I started Quickbeats.net because, in my travels, I was meeting a lot of hip hop artists who were gifted but couldn’t afford to pay the cost for professional studio production. So, I decided I’d make quality hip hop beats available, on the internet, to independent hip hop artists at an affordable price. Read the rest of this entry »