How much you pay a producer depends on what you are buying. A non-exclusive lease of a ready-made beat usually costs around £20 to £200. Exclusive rights to a beat run from a few hundred pounds to a few thousand. A custom beat made for you is often £100 to £1,000 from an independent producer, and full production of a song, where the producer shapes the whole track with you, can be several hundred to several thousand pounds. On top of the fee, many producers also take a share of the royalties, usually a few percent of the recording and, if they helped write the song, a share of the publishing.
You have a song idea, or a finished verse, and you know it needs a proper beat. Then you start looking and every producer quotes something different: £30 here, £500 there, "50/50 on publishing" from someone else, and you have no idea what is fair. Here is what producers actually charge, what you get for the money, and how to agree a deal that does not come back to bite you.
First, what exactly are you paying for?
"Paying a producer" covers four very different deals, and the price only makes sense once you know which one you are in.
- Leasing a beat. The producer has already made the beat and sells the right to use it to lots of people. You get a licence with limits, for example up to a set number of streams, and the producer keeps owning it.
- Buying exclusive rights. You buy a beat so nobody else can use it from now on. The producer usually still keeps their writer credit and a share of the publishing.
- A custom beat. The producer makes a beat from scratch for you, to your brief.
- Full production. The producer works on the whole song with you: the beat, the arrangement, often vocal production and recording, sometimes the mix. This is the biggest job and the biggest fee.
What producers charge
Prices vary hugely with experience and demand, so treat these as rough ranges for independent producers rather than fixed rates.
Beat leases: about £20 to £200
Most beat stores sell leases in tiers. A basic MP3 lease might be £20 to £40, a WAV lease £40 to £100, and a lease with the separate tracks (stems) £100 to £200. Each tier normally comes with a cap on streams, sales or music video views. Check the cap before you release, because a song that takes off can go past it, and you will need to upgrade.
Exclusive rights: about £200 to £3,000+
Buying a beat outright from an independent producer often costs a few hundred pounds, and well-known beatmakers charge into the thousands. If the beat was leased to other people before you bought it, those existing leases usually stay valid, so other songs on the same beat can still be out there. Ask how many times it was leased.
Custom beats: about £100 to £1,000+
A beat made for you costs more than one off the shelf because it takes the producer's time and is built around your voice and your song. Producers with major credits charge far more than this, but many good independent producers sit in this range.
Full production: about £300 to £5,000+ a song
When a producer is in the room for the whole song, you are paying for days of work, not just a beat. Some charge per song, some charge a day rate, and some studios bundle in recording and mixing. Producers with a track record of hits charge many times more.
Royalties: the part people forget
The fee is not always the whole deal. A song earns money in two separate ways, and producers can take a share of each.
- Points on the recording. A "point" is 1% of the money the recording earns. Producers commonly ask for around 2 to 5 points, sometimes more. In a beat lease this is often swapped for the stream cap instead.
- Publishing on the song. If the producer helped write the song, and in hip hop, R&B and pop the beat is usually treated as part of the writing, they normally get a writer's share. That is often anywhere from 20% to 50%, depending on how much of the song they wrote.
Our guide on how to split royalties on a song explains the two rights in more detail.
Fee or royalties, or both?
There are three common shapes:
- Fee only. You pay once and the producer takes no ongoing share. This is a "work for hire" deal and it should say so in writing.
- Fee plus a share. The most common deal for custom and full production: a fee upfront plus points and a publishing share.
- No fee, bigger share. A producer who believes in the song may take nothing upfront for a bigger share, sometimes 50/50 on the publishing. Great when you have no budget, but it is a long-term commitment.
What changes the price
- Experience and credits. The biggest factor by far.
- Stems. Getting the separate tracks so a mix engineer can work properly usually costs more.
- Revisions. Ask how many changes are included.
- Turnaround. Rush jobs often cost extra.
- What else is included. Recording, vocal production, mixing and mastering can be bundled in or charged separately. Mixing alone is covered in how to find someone to mix your music.
How to avoid overpaying (or getting burned)
- Read the lease terms before you buy, especially the stream cap and what credit the producer needs.
- Agree everything in writing before work starts: the fee, when you pay it (half upfront and half on delivery is common), what you get back, the number of revisions, the deadline, the points and the publishing split.
- Fill in a split sheet as soon as the song is written, so everyone agrees who owns what. Our free split sheet maker makes one in a couple of minutes, and our music collaboration agreement guide covers the rest of the deal.
- Credit them properly when you release. Producers care about credits, and doing it right makes them want to work with you again.
- Do not pay a big name for a name. A hungry producer whose sound fits your song will often give you a better record than an expensive one who sends you a beat they made for someone else.
Common questions
How much should I pay a producer for a beat?
For a lease of a ready-made beat, usually around £20 to £200 depending on the tier. For exclusive rights, a few hundred pounds up to a few thousand. For a custom beat from an independent producer, often £100 to £1,000.
How much does it cost to hire a producer for a whole song?
Full production from an independent producer is often somewhere around £300 to £5,000 a song, depending on their experience and what is included, like recording and mixing. Producers with major credits charge much more.
Do producers get royalties?
Often, yes. Many producers take points on the recording, commonly 2 to 5%, and a share of the publishing if they helped write the song. On a fee-only, work-for-hire deal they take no ongoing share.
What is a fair publishing split with a producer?
There is no fixed rule. In beat-led genres like hip hop and R&B the beat is usually treated as part of the writing, and splits from 20% up to 50% for the producer are common. Agree it before the song is released and write it on a split sheet.
Can I pay a producer with royalties instead of money?
Yes, if they agree. Some producers will work for no fee in exchange for a bigger share of the song. Put it in writing so everyone knows what they are owed if the song earns.
A note from us
Tonivo is a free place to find producers and artists and message them directly, with no middleman taking a cut. You can browse producers on Tonivo, hear their work, and post a call saying what your song needs, for example "custom drill beat, budget £150", so producers who fit come to you. If you are still looking, start with how to find a producer for your music.
The short version
Know which deal you are in before you compare prices: a lease is cheap and capped, exclusive rights cost more, custom beats and full production cost the most. Expect many producers to want a share of the royalties as well as a fee, agree all of it in writing, and fill in a split sheet before the song comes out.