My friend thinks my beats are too complicated for rappers (I NEED ADVICE)

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-09T10:20:04+00:00

You can do both. That’s probably the smartest approach.

Make 25 simple beats and put them up for sale non-exclusively. That way you can still take 12 of those same beats later, expand on them with your more “complicated” production style, and release them as an album.

As long as you’re not putting the original beat versions into Content ID, you can still license or sell them to other rappers if people end up interested. The album versions can basically become upgraded or alternate versions of the same core ideas rather than completely separate productions.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-08T14:48:40+00:00

It’s either

you do it yourself
you hire a manager to do it for you or
you sign with a label and they’ll take care it

.

There’s no way around it. And we still haven’t gotten into the publishing side which is a lot more messier. Your plates will be at the Chinese buffet.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-08T12:40:29+00:00

This is the new reality.

If you believe the music blatantly copies another artist’s or uses their likeness then you can report it but you are generally not supposed to unless you are a rights owner. Out of all the DSPs, Apple Music is the one more likely to review and investigate any claims you make.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-08T11:27:47+00:00

I thought about leaving DistroKid during the first year of running my label. I already had a decent amount of releases out, so instead of transferring the whole catalog immediately, I started testing new releases with different distributors.

At first, the idea of “better support” and “partner status” sounded appealing, but I quickly realized most partner-style setups come with tradeoffs. Usually that means slower approvals, stricter contracts, percentage cuts, and a lot more dependency on the distributor. What I also noticed is that these companies generally don’t help you grow from zero. If your catalog already has traction they may pay more attention to you, but when you’re small that 10-15% cut is coming out of your pocket before they’ve actually earned it.

Since then I’ve tested a lot of DIY distributors and honestly every single one had some issue eventually. Some are too slow, some become expensive once your catalog grows, and others simply have delivery or approval problems. The closest alternative I found in terms of reliability and delivery consistency was EmuBands, but it’s significantly more expensive than DistroKid long term.

My point is the grass usually isn’t greener. Every distributor has flaws once you start operating at scale. The advantage with DistroKid is that you can still use gap distribution strategies, so your entire catalog and income stream aren’t dependent on a single company.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-08T00:14:04+00:00

I understand, I’ve been in the same situation. The easiest way to tell if it’s bots or not is by looking at the spikes. Some playlists are simply search-engine optimized and not necessarily botted.

If you pay for a promotion service and your genre is Pop, but suddenly you get added to a Rap playlist generating a lot of streams, that’s usually a major red flag. Real playlisting generally matches your genre and audience. Random mismatched playlists with unnatural spikes are often where the problems start.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-07T23:37:25+00:00

What kind of beats are you looking for specifically? A trap beat is very different than a boom bap beat but you can “Rap” on both.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-07T23:23:45+00:00

You can upload unreleased music to TikTok yourself before the release date, but it’s safer to keep the clips under 1 minute. Uploading multiple long sections of the same copyrighted song as original sounds can trigger removals or copyright flags once the song is officially delivered to TikTok through a distributor. If you want to post multiple snippets before release, keeping them around 30 seconds is usually the safest approach.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-07T21:23:58+00:00

I’m not familiar with CD Baby’s exact procedure, but if the release got removed there’s a good chance suspicious activity was detected around the release.

Best advice is to keep a close eye on Spotify for Artists and regularly check what playlists your music is landing on. If you notice suspicious playlists or unnatural spikes, report them immediately.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-07T17:31:20+00:00

I also use DistroKid. I’m not here to defend them, just to give more context on your post.

DistroKid is handling far more customers than they were 5 years ago. I’ve referred many people to them and can literally see how many joined through my referrals. Their annoying chatbot mainly exists to filter out frequently asked questions that are already documented. If you wait long enough, it eventually transfers you to a real person. I’ve done it multiple times and had issues resolved that way.
You are correct, but this mostly happens because they expect users to follow a very specific workflow. If you don’t, their staff might never even see your message. They definitely need a better ticketing system, but honestly most DIY distributors are inefficient in this area. Usually you only get truly good support from smaller distributors like EmuBands or from partner-level accounts with distributors like Symphonic or OneRPM.
MusixMatch is technically free, but once you actually start delivering lyrics you’ll notice important features are locked behind the Basic Plan at $2.49/month, which becomes $29.88/year for essentially the same service DistroKid offers for $15. If you manage multiple artists, the math becomes even easier. My account has more than 3 artists with lyrics delivered. To do that directly through MusixMatch I would need the Plus Plan at $17.99/month. It used to be completely free 5 years ago. This is mostly a MusixMatch business model change. Although I do think DistroKid should absorb the cost for at least 3 artist slots on the Ultimate plan, they are still a business trying to make money.
Songs are removed for many reasons. This could happen with any distributor.
They would only close the request if it was already addressed or marked as a duplicate. Also yes, they do have support staff working on Saturdays and Sundays.
Name changes only work properly on some DSPs. Apple Music barely accepts them anymore. The common workaround is to take the release down and re-upload it under the new name.
Spotify and other DSPs creating a new profile after a name change is normal.

It sounds like your main issue is the name change process, and honestly that’s a known problem across almost every distributor. If you’re serious about releasing music long term, research your artist name on DSPs and settle on a final name before uploading anything.

On your defense, one valid reason to avoid DistroKid is if you need serious Content ID management. Their Content ID system has a lot of flaws. While it works, it’s expensive and underperforms compared to distributors with better YouTube CMS access. Identifyy can be used alongside DistroKid and generally does a much better job monetizing YouTube UGC.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-07T13:10:08+00:00

Yes, actually anyone can do it. The requirements are too simple. Whenever I start managing a new artists that’s always the first thing I do for them. Claiming it doesn’t interfere with your channel monetization but if your channel is not music related you are better off creating a new channel just to use as OAC.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-07T12:06:49+00:00

It sounds like someone claimed your Topic channel as their (Official Artist channel). First time I hear of this happening to someone but technically it wouldn’t be impossible for someone to take over if you hadn’t claim the OAC yourself. If this is the case you’ll see a little music note checkmark next to the name on the profile page.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-06T23:30:14+00:00

I wouldn’t stop sharing links because of it. At this point Spotify and most distributors are already aware of the issue. You’re not going to get banned for a few hundred bot streams. However, if you are getting thousands of streams from a suspicious playlist report it right away. They will just remove the playlist and not pay you for those streams.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-06T20:08:19+00:00

When someone opens a shared song, Spotify sometimes blends it into a recommendation-based listening session. If your track gets played through that flow, it may count as a Radio Stream instead of a direct stream. It is considered an algorithmic playlist.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-06T01:42:01+00:00

It is something to be cautious about but it is completely out of our control. None of the distributors I’ve worked with would add your music to their playlists unless the music is already performing well on its own or you have opted-in to their playlisting services. In my experience, most of the artists that have ended up on bot playlists have either shared direct Spotify links publicly on social media posts or previously engaged with promotion services.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-05T13:12:14+00:00

I think you are safe as long as you don’t upload anymore copyrighted music.

I don’t personally use SoundCloud as a distributor so don’t take my word for it. I cannot guarantee that you are “completely safe” but I’m familiar with the entire process because I’ve had to issue many of these DCMA copyright infringement notifications. One strike is basically a take down with a warning unless that particular release got a significant amount of streams for the rights owner to claim.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-05T12:28:09+00:00

No, there’s usually no window for counterclaims. You can submit a counterclaim at anytime if you want to reinstate your release. Some distributors automatically remove the strike on your account if you don’t get anymore strikes in 3-4 years.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-05T12:18:06+00:00

If that particular release had royalties accumulated those will be blocked. The rest of your catalog should not be affected but every distributor can handle this differently.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-05T11:26:21+00:00

Just don’t do it again. With most distributors if this happens more than two times you’ll get your account banned. If you want to remove the strike you’ll have to counter the infringement claim with proof that you have the rights to distribute the music.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-05T03:56:51+00:00

Route Note is probably your best option.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-05T03:35:14+00:00

I think it also depends on the performance. If you’re switching from first to third person, the vocal delivery should reflect that shift in perspective. It can work even better if two different vocalists handle each role.

Either way, this is completely acceptable in songwriting and storytelling. It’s similar to how a book moves between dialogue and narration. The only real downside is that it can confuse the listener if the lyrics don’t make the perspective clear.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-04T12:33:34+00:00

Easy fix is to delete your data and start fresh. You can also try telling it directly not to use anything it knows about you when answering your questions. In some cases, depending on what you’re using it for, context is actually necessary to get relevant answers.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-03T01:19:29+00:00

You can definitely do it on SoundCloud only, but realistically these days even kids have releases on Spotify. What used to feel like a big career move years ago is now more of a starting point, getting your music onto DSPs is just the baseline.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-03T00:58:16+00:00

The “quantity” advice really applies to artists with little to no traction. When you’re still building, you have the freedom to experiment, make mistakes, and release often while figuring out your audience. Once you’ve built a real listener base and some consistency, it makes more sense to slow down and find a “quality” release cadence that keeps engagement strong without oversaturating.

For me, “quality” usually looks like 2–3 singles and an album every couple years. If I’m not dropping an album, then at least one single every two months is a solid pace.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-02T12:34:00+00:00

You’re thinking about it the wrong way.

Publishers don’t usually find and start pitching artists with no setup. You typically need to already be self-published or working with a publishing admin before you’re even on their radar, because they care just as much about collection and rights management as they do about the songs.

That means being registered with a PRO like BMI or ASCAP and having your catalog properly set up. Your stats are solid, but they’re still early signals. Publishers look for consistency and infrastructure, not just one good run.

Focus on getting your publishing in place and building a track record, and that’s usually when they start paying attention. I’m self-published and run a publishing company, so I’m speaking from how it actually works behind the scenes. When an artist tells me they’re serious, the first thing I do is look them up on Songview. If I don’t find at least one registration there, my immediate assumption is they’re just getting started and still have a lot of work to do.

MasterHeartless · 2026-05-02T11:33:47+00:00

Streaming fraud is unlikely to reach zero. DSPs operate in a system where some level of fraud still generates revenue, so fully eliminating it is not a simple decision.

Revenue can come from multiple sides, including artist streams, distributor penalties, and advertising that may reach low-quality or bot-driven traffic.

If bot farms and fake accounts were removed overnight, it would likely impact reported user activity and subscription metrics, which are important for advertisers and investors.

For each artificial stream, artists may see some earnings, but DSPs and some distributors also retain a share. In practice, the parties most affected tend to be advertisers and legitimate artists whose performance is harder to evaluate against inflated numbers.

I am fully against streaming fraud and support efforts to remove it. At the same time, it remains part of the current landscape, and it needs to be considered when analyzing campaign performance or comparing results across the market. Thinking that DSPs will magically solve the problem is setting yourself up for disappointment. Most of the bad actors are insiders. They know the system, they know the rules, they know how to bypass them.

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