ranking the best ways to make money as a music producer (TIER LIST)

Business framing (core thesis)

• To make music a full-time income, you must treat it as a business with:

  • scalable customer acquisition, and
  • consistent product delivery (not only “creative work”).

• The video ranks monetization methods by leverage, scalability, and how much money they can generate (D → S tier).

Tier list of money-making strategies (and why)

D tier

1) Traditional studio work (sessions / mixing engineer / recording)

Pros

• Builds credibility
• Provides access to artists
• Can create potential long-term royalty-like earnings if properly credited

Cons (business constraints)

• Time-consuming (can take 10–12 hours/day)
• Not scalable (high dependence on physical/local work)
• Heavy mental load
• Requires local infrastructure (studio access, scene, location)

Implied recommendation

• Not ideal as a scalable primary income system without a broader business layer.

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C tier

2) Instagram DMs / cold outreach to sell beats

Why it’s limited

• “Shooting in the dark” to strangers
• Relies on hoping the artist has money, likes the beats, and will actually buy/use them

Risks

• Leads to low-quality conversations (“arguing with artists”)
• Burnout
• Low leverage, often feels like “begging”

Implied recommendation

• Use Instagram differently (mentioned as a possibility later, but not detailed in the provided subtitles).

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A tier

3) Selling beat “kits” / loop kits (digital products)

Examples / references

• Producer Grind
• Cymatics

Key performance claim

• Best-performing kit sold for $5,000

Business model rationale

• Digital products are inherently scalable (online, catalog-based)

Launch friction

• Hard to succeed if you’re “starting from zero” because you need:
  • brand
  • quality
  • volume (modern expectations often require large bundles)

Recommendation

• A scalable path once you have audience/brand, but it takes time to build high-quality kits.

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4) Type beats via YouTube (highest “starter” channel in his view)

Positioning

• “Best way to start”
• Creates a “snowball effect”

Key metrics / outcomes claimed

• Surpassed $250,000 by age 18

• Generates $10,000/month from selling beats online (with YouTube demand generation attributed as a major driver)

• Placements and recognition attributed to YouTube

  • Mentions multiple artists

Operational logic (go-to-lead-generator)

• YouTube builds:
  • brand
  • niche demand
• That increases inbound interest and improves conversion for kits and later outreach

Concrete example

• Tied content to a specific niche/sound: “Freestyle Texas Plugg Big Yaygo beats.”

Mentioned artist outcomes

• Placements with: NLE Choppa, Big X The Plug, Pizo, BAKJ
• “Viral songs” charting: top viral songs in the US on Spotify attributed to YouTube-driven momentum

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“Placement route” (long-run value, but risky as a primary strategy)

5) Getting placements (classic producer path)

Framing

• Called the “rat race” when used as the only monetization plan

Business reality check

• Returns can be slow/compounding
• Example given:
  • A song with NLE Choppa paid about 16 cents after 2 years

Takeaway

• Placements are valuable as intellectual property + a long-term asset, but they shouldn’t replace building a business that pays you now.

Recommendation

• Use placements while your business cashflow is stable.
• Don’t “hope and pray” for placements as the only income engine.

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Tier: “Low-key S-tier” / strong scaler

6) High-ticket sales (sales calls + upsells)

Core playbook

• Treat producer offers like sales assets
• Close via calls

How it scales

• High-ticket sales can work across channels:
  • YouTube
  • Instagram DMs
  • studio clients
• If customers come from an asset-based audience (e.g., YouTube), trust is higher → better conversion

Example economics (claimed range)

• Days making $1,000–$2,000 from calls / closing artist deals

Upsell strategy

• After artists buy beats, sell higher-priced, more personalized offers

Recommendation

• Learn a repeatable sales process.
• Only works well when you have incoming customers/leads and trust.

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S tier

7) Making content as a music producer

Business principle

• Every post is an asset
• Views/likes/shares/comments compound audience building over time

Outcomes he claims

• Builds brand → trust → more purchases (beats/kits)
• Opens doors to:
  • brand deals
  • placements

Why it’s S-tier

• Leverage + credibility (“real person behind what you’re doing”)

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B tier

8) Collabs / splitting sales of loops (loop catalogs + distribution to producers)

Business model

• Loop/asset sharing where others can use the same loop
• Credit may be unclear

Example

• References Covi as a major successful figure using loop selling

Pros

• Easier than straight beat placements
• Creates catalog leverage
• Less competition than generic drum loops because fewer producers make strong loops

Cons

• Not fully scalable because you can’t:
  • force usage or credit,
  • eliminate stealing/not-crediting risks
• “Only scalable to a certain level”

Positioning

• Good for building placements long-term
• Not the best standalone system

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Aggregated actionable recommendations (implied)

• Build an audience asset first (especially YouTube type beats).
• Monetize via:
  • digital kits (loop/beat bundles),
  • high-ticket upsells (calls + personalized offers),
  • content-driven trust loops (posting consistently as a compounding channel).
• Avoid relying only on:
  • cold DMs,
  • studio sessions,
  • placements as the only early income source.
• Choose niche positioning for differentiation (emphasizes a specific sound/niche as a brand multiplier).

KPIs / numbers explicitly mentioned

• $10,000/month (selling beats online)
• Best kit sale: $5,000
• Overall claim: $250,000+ by age 18
• High-ticket call days: $1,000–$2,000
• Placement payout example:
  • 16 cents after 2 years (from an NLE Choppa song)
• Time/sequence reference:
  • payout example explicitly occurs after 2 years
• Growth/viral outcomes:
  • “Viral songs hitting the top… on Spotify” (no numeric rank provided)

Presenters / sources (as referenced)

• Presenter: Daniel
  • self-described as: “I’m 18 years old,” music producer
  • claims the results mentioned
• Named companies (examples):
  • Producer Grind
  • Cymatics
• Named artists (examples of placements/viral outcomes):
  • NLE Choppa
  • Big X The Plug
  • Pizo
  • BAKJ
• Named producer/figure (loops example):
  • Covi
• Other referenced programs/courses:
  • An “inner program”/course he offers
  • (no external author named in the provided subtitles)