Looking for Beats? How to Find the Right Beat for Your Next Song
If you're an artist looking to buy beats online, you've probably noticed one thing pretty quickly...
There are A LOT of them.
Like, seriously.
Search for rap beats and you'll have thousands coming up.
Then you've got trap beats, drill beats, UK rap beats, hip hop beats, R&B beats, melodic beats, freestyle beats...
You could probably spend the next three days listening to instrumentals and still not hear everything that's out there.
And at first, that sounds like a good thing.
More beats = more choice, right?
Well... kind of.
Because sometimes having too much choice makes it harder to actually find the right beat.
You start clicking.
Then skipping.
Then saving beats.
Then opening another beat store.
Then you hear something you like, but five minutes later you've forgotten where it was.
Before you know it, you've spent two hours looking for beats and haven't written a single bar.
We've all been there.
So how do you actually find a good beat?
And more importantly, how do you know when you've found the right one?
Don't Just Buy a Beat Because It Sounds Good
This is probably the first thing to think about.
A beat can sound amazing and still not be right for you.
You might hear a crazy melody and think:
"This is hard."
Then you start rapping over it and realise your voice doesn't sit properly.
Or there's so much going on in the production that your vocals have nowhere to breathe.
Or maybe the beat is good, but it doesn't sound like you.
That's why you shouldn't just ask:
"Is this a good beat?"
Ask:
"Can I make a good song on this beat?"
Big difference.
Put your headphones on.
Listen properly.
Try freestyling over it.
Hum a melody.
See what comes naturally.
If ideas start coming into your head without you forcing them, that's usually a pretty good sign.
A Quality Beat Gives You Something to Work With
Your instrumental is basically the foundation of your song.
Before anyone hears your lyrics, they hear the beat.
Before they hear your flow, they hear the production.
The beat sets the mood.
It can make something feel aggressive, emotional, dark, uplifting, energetic or completely laid back.
That's why quality beats matter.
You're potentially going to spend hours writing, recording, mixing and promoting the song.
So don't rush the first part.
Find an instrumental that gives you something to build on.
It doesn't have to be the most complicated beat you've ever heard.
Sometimes the simplest production leaves the most space for an artist to actually shine.
Where Do Artists Actually Buy Beats?
If you've ever searched:
"Where can I buy beats?"
you're definitely not alone.
There are loads of places online where artists can find instrumentals.
BeatStars and Airbit are two of the biggest names in the online beat marketplace world.
You've also got producers selling beats through their own websites, YouTube, SoundCloud and social media.
The internet has made finding beats much easier than it used to be.
But there's still a problem...
There are so many places to look.
And sometimes you don't want to spend your entire evening jumping from one website to another.
You just want to find somewhere with a solid catalogue of beats, press play and start looking.
Find Your Beats Without the Endless Searching
Imagine you've got an idea for a song.
You know roughly what you want.
Maybe you need a dark UK drill beat.
Maybe you're looking for a melodic rap beat.
Maybe you want a hard trap beat.
You don't necessarily want to search 15 different websites.
You want somewhere you can browse.
Listen.
Skip.
Come back.
Save the ones you like.
And eventually find that one beat where you go:
"Yep. That's it."
That's what a good online beat store should make easier.
The process shouldn't feel like a full-time job.
You're there to make music.
Not spend your entire night searching for the perfect instrumental.
Sometimes Your Best Beat Is the One You Didn't Expect
Don't get too caught up in searching for exactly what you think you want.
You might normally make drill.
Then you hear a melodic hip hop beat and suddenly start writing something completely different.
Or maybe you're usually making trap and come across a slower R&B-style instrumental.
Give it a chance.
Your sound doesn't have to stay exactly the same forever.
Actually, experimenting with different beats is one of the easiest ways to discover what works for you as an artist.
You might find a flow you didn't know you had.
You might write differently.
You might find a new sound.
And you might accidentally make your favourite song.
Don't Chase Every Trending Beat
There's nothing wrong with wanting to know what's popular.
Of course you want your music to connect with people.
But there's a difference between understanding what's trending and copying everything that's trending.
If everybody is searching for exactly the same type of beat, you're probably going to hear a lot of very similar songs.
Think about your own identity.
What makes your music yours?
Your voice?
Your lyrics?
Your accent?
Your delivery?
Your melodies?
Your personality?
The beat should help bring those things out.
So when you're looking for beats for artists, don't only ask what everyone else is using.
Ask what actually suits you.
Listen Before You Lease
This sounds obvious...
But don't rush into buying a beat just because you like the first 30 seconds.
Listen to the whole thing.
Some beats have huge intros but don't really give you enough to work with in the verses.
Others might have an amazing hook section.
Some might have a bridge that completely changes the energy.
Listen to the arrangement.
Listen to the drums.
Listen to the bass.
Listen to the melody.
And think about where your vocals would sit.
If you're going to lease a beat, you want to know that you can actually build a complete song around it.
Cheap Beats Aren't Always Better
Price obviously matters.
Especially when you're an independent artist paying for everything yourself.
But don't make price the only thing you're looking at.
A really cheap beat that doesn't inspire you isn't necessarily saving you money.
And an expensive beat isn't automatically better either.
What matters is the combination of:
Quality + the right licence + the right sound + inspiration.
You need to know what you're actually getting with your beat lease too.
Different licences can have different terms, so always check what's included before you buy.
Know what you're allowed to do with the beat.
Know the restrictions.
Know whether the licence fits the plans you have for your song.
It only takes a couple of minutes to check.
It's worth doing.
Your Time Matters Too
Here's something artists don't always consider when looking for beats.
Your time is valuable.
You could spend three hours searching for the perfect beat.
And maybe you find one.
But you could have spent those three hours writing.
Recording.
Making content.
Planning your next release.
Working on your vocals.
Building your audience.
Finding a beat shouldn't become the thing that stops you from actually making music.
That's why having a good beat store with plenty of instrumentals in one place can be so useful.
Search.
Listen.
Find something.
Create.
That's the goal.
You Don't Need to Know Exactly What You Want
Sometimes you'll open a beat store thinking:
"I need a dark trap beat around 140 BPM with a crazy 808."
Other times you'll have absolutely no idea.
And that's fine.
Sometimes browsing is part of the creative process.
You might hear something completely unexpected and suddenly get an idea.
That's why don't be afraid to just listen.
Click on something.
Give it 30 seconds.
Maybe it's terrible.
Skip it.
Maybe the next one is crazy.
That's the fun of it.
You never know which beat is going to give you that idea.
The Right Beat Should Make You Want to Write
This is probably the simplest way to look at it.
When you've found the right beat, you should want to do something with it.
You should be thinking about lyrics.
You should be hearing melodies.
You should be imagining the hook.
You should be picturing yourself performing it.
If you hear a beat and immediately start reaching for your phone to record a voice note...
Pay attention.
That's the feeling you're looking for.
The beat has done its job.
Now it's your turn.
Don't Get Stuck Looking for Something Better
This is another trap artists fall into.
You find a beat you love.
Then you think:
"I'll keep looking just in case I find something better."
Two hours later you've listened to 150 more beats.
And now you're confused.
There will always be another beat.
There will always be another producer.
There will always be another instrumental.
At some point you've got to trust your ears.
If you've found something that fits your sound and you're already getting ideas...
Make the song.
That's what the beat is there for.
What If You Could Access Your Beats Differently?
Here's where things are starting to change.
The traditional way of getting beats is usually pretty simple:
Find a beat → buy a lease → make the song → find another beat → buy another lease.
And there's nothing wrong with that.
But for artists who are constantly creating, it can become expensive.
You're making five songs.
You need five beats.
You potentially have five separate purchases.
Then you start another project.
And you're back at the beginning.
That's why we're introducing a different approach with Movinloud Beat Vault.
A New Way to Get Your Beats
Instead of thinking about every instrumental as a separate purchase, the Movinloud Beat Vault works around a subscription model.
You subscribe.
You get access to the Vault.
You browse the catalogue.
You find the beats you want to work with.
It's a different way of approaching beat leasing.
Rather than constantly jumping between different beat stores and paying for individual instrumentals, you have one place to come back to when you're ready to create.
The Beat Vault currently contains 200+ unreleased beats and exclusive original productions, giving artists a different selection of instrumentals to explore.
And because the catalogue is built around unreleased productions, you can spend less time searching through the same sounds everybody else is using.
One Place. More Beats. More Freedom to Create.
That's really the whole idea.
You shouldn't have to make finding a beat harder than making the song.
If you're constantly writing, recording and experimenting, having somewhere you can return to and browse beats can make a huge difference.
Instead of thinking:
"Do I want to spend another £30 on a beat?"
you can spend more time thinking:
"What can I make with this?"
That's a much better question.
Because at the end of the day, you're not collecting beats.
You're making music.
Find Your Next Beat
There are more beats online than ever.
That's great.
But don't let the amount of choice overwhelm you.
Find a beat store you trust.
Listen properly.
Look for quality.
Make sure the licence works for you.
Don't be afraid to try different styles.
And most importantly...
Find something that makes you want to create.
Whether you're looking for rap beats, UK rap beats, drill beats, trap beats, hip hop beats, R&B beats, melodic beats or something completely different, take your time and find something that actually feels right.
And if you're tired of buying individual beats every time you want to make another song, have a look at the Movinloud Beat Vault.
It's a new way of approaching beat leasing.
One subscription.
One place to find your beats.
More freedom to experiment.
More opportunities to create.
Because you're not really looking for another beat.
You're looking for the one that starts your next song.
Stop scrolling. Start creating.
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