Beware! The Beat Troll

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Beware the Beat Troll! Beats Playbook #1, starring Karen Klein, Entertainment Lawyer.

While all the characters and events contained herein are fictional, this content was created by entertainment lawyers and industry experts.

This information is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.

Can you believe this? Another breakout song becomes an artist's horror story!

Beat trolls look for songs that are gaining traction on social media and streaming services that contain beats. They then go and buy out the underlying beat from the original producer/beat maker.

Let me tell you a little story about the indie band The Dullwitts to illustrate what beat trolls do.

After a few years of self-releasing music with modest success, the Dullwitts finally started to break through on Tiktok with their song "Burned".

This success led them to getting signed by a label.

But it turns out that the song was anchored by a beat the Dullwitts licensed from an online marketplace. Little did they know, a Beat Troll was lurking.

While they were celebrating their newfound success, the Beat Troll swooped in behind their backs and bought the beat directly from the producer who created it.

The Beat Troll, now the owner of the beat, then showed up and demanded the Dullwitts and their label pay a huge licence fee for the continued use of the beat.

When the parties couldn't reach an agreement due to the Beat Troll's excessive demands, the Beat Troll sued the Dullwitts and their label for copyright infringement.

What should've been a dream for the Dullwitts turned into a nghtmare!

With online beat marketplaces like Beatstars, Airbit, and Soundee, it's easier than ever to search for a beat and secure a license with a few clicks and a bit of cash.

While clicking through an agreement on a beat marketplace may seems like a walk in the park, buried in the fine print can be all kinds of problems for your new song.

Not paying close attention to the terms and conditions of online beat licenses could not only ruin your hit, it could cause it to disappear entirely!

In order to avoid Beat Trolls, you need to know how beat agreements work.

Beat agreements fall into two categories: Beat Licenses,
and Beat Purchases.

Under Beat Purchase Agreements, one party buys the copyright in the beat's sound recording, and sometimes, some (or all) of its musical composition copyright.

Congratulations!

By keeping your eyes open to what to look out for in beat marketplace agreements, you protect yourself from beat trolls, costly legal issues, and, most importantly, losing money! Your future self will thank you!

To learn more about beat deals and ways to protect yourself from beat trolls, check out Understanding Beat Agreements, one of many Industry Agreement courses exclusive to Creative Intell members.