How to get more placements: the part that's up to you
You send beats and nothing comes back, so it's hard to know what to change. Whether a beat gets used is always the artist's decision: this guide covers everything around it that's in your hands.
What a placement is, and who decides
A placement is when an artist uses your beat on a song they release. That decision belongs to the artist, and often to the people around them. Nobody else can make it for them, and no tool can promise it, vvault included.
What you control is everything before and after they press play: which beats you have ready, who you send them to, how they arrive, and what you do next. That's what this guide is about.
A beat that isn't picked isn't wasted. It can be right for the next artist, or the one after.
A small catalog you know by heart
You don't need hundreds of beats. You need your best ones, ready to go, and you need to find them in seconds when an artist asks for something dark around 140.
Sort them the way artists ask for them: by mood, tempo and key. Give every file a name that still makes sense in someone's downloads, like “late night 140bpm C#min prod yourname”. More on that in how to organize your beat catalog.
- Your best beats, easy to find
- The BPM, the key and your name on every file
Send to artists your beats actually fit
Fewer artists, chosen well, and a few beats picked for each one.
Listen to what they release
Before you send anything, play their last few songs. Notice the tempo, the mood and the kind of beats they choose.
Find how they take beats
Look for a business email in their bio, their YouTube descriptions or their website. If they say how they want beats sent, do it their way.
Pick a few for them
A handful of beats that sound like their next song, not your whole folder. Put your strongest one first.
Keep the message short
Who you are, why these beats are for them, and the link. It should be quick to read on a phone.
Make it easy to press play
Picture them opening your message on their phone, between two other things.
A link that plays in one tap
Don't make them download a zip or create an account to hear your beat. Send a link that plays straight away in the browser.
Names that make sense
The beat's name, BPM and key in the title, your name on the file. If they download it, they can still find it next month.
Your best beat first
Put the one you believe in most at the top of the project. If they only play one, it should be that one.
Follow up with the ones who played
A follow-up is easier to write when you know what happened. If an artist played your beat, write back about that beat, and offer a couple more in the same style.
vvault notifies you when someone plays, downloads or saves your beat, on every plan, by name when they're signed in to vvault or got it by email from you. On Starter, Pro and Ultra, you also see how long each person listened, beat by beat, so you know which beat to bring up.
One follow-up is enough. If they didn't play it, send something new in a few weeks instead of asking about the same beat again. The follow-up guide goes into timing and what to write.
Real relationships, and working with others
Be a name they've seen
Support the artists you send to: stream their songs and share their releases. A message from someone they recognize is easier to open.
Grow with artists at your level
Don't only send to the biggest names. Artists who are starting out like you are easier to reach, and you can grow together.
Work with other producers
Co-producing puts your sounds in someone else's sessions, and in front of the artists they work with. On vvault, collab projects and tracks, and the splits you receive, come with every plan.
Be easy to work with
Send the stems when you said you would, and answer when an artist writes. People remember who was easy to work with.
Show your credits on your page
When an artist wonders who you are, they look you up. Your vvault page, vvault.app/yourname, comes with every plan: your projects, links to your Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and your placement credits.
List only real credits, with the artist and the song. If you don't have any yet, leave that part empty and let the beats speak.
Questions
How long does it take to get a placement?
Nobody can honestly tell you. It depends on artists' own plans, which you don't control. What you can keep track of is your side: who you sent beats to and who played them, so you know who to follow up with.
Do I need a paid tool?
No. You can send a beat with any link. What a tool like vvault adds is knowing who played it: Pro notifies you of every play and shows how long each person listened, with unlimited tracks and emails to as many people as you like. See pricing.
I'm just starting and I don't know any artists. Where do I begin?
With a short list. Find ten or twenty artists whose music fits your beats, and look for a business email in their bio, their YouTube descriptions or their website. Start there, before you think about sending to hundreds.
Can vvault get my beats placed?
No. vvault stores your beats, sends them and shows you who played them. Whether a beat gets used is always the artist's decision, and nobody can promise it.
Read next
How to send beats to artists
From picking the beats to following up, a first send done properly.
Read
How to follow up after sending beats
One or two short follow-ups, spaced out, each with something new. Here's when, and what to write.
Read
How to organize your beat catalog
A naming system, tags, folders and projects, and a place for dead ideas, so any beat takes seconds to find.
ReadNever wonder who listened again.
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Photos: Brett Sayles, Adrian Esh, cottonbro studio, Lum3n and mali maeder on Pexels