You've got a folder with forty beats in it and honestly about six of them are good. You've found an artist whose voice would sit on two of those perfectly. So you zip the lot, drop it in their DMs with "sent you some heat" and wait. Nothing. Not even a seen. A fortnight later you've decided artists just don't check their messages.
They check them. They just didn't open yours. Knowing how to send beats to artists is a different skill to making them, and it's a bit annoying that it matters as much as it does, but it does. So here's the version nobody tells you.
Why most beat submissions never get opened
Try it from their side for a minute. Anyone with a bit of a following gets beats sent to them every day, and nearly all of it looks the same. A bulk pack, no context, no name on the files, from someone who's clearly fired the same message at thirty people before lunch. They're not being precious about it. Downloading a 400 MB zip from a stranger is a job, and nothing in that message gave them any reason to do the job.
So everything below is really about one thing, which is taking away reasons to skip you. Easy to open, quick to judge, obviously meant for them, and clear about what you're after.
Send one beat, not a beat pack
Producers hate this one. Don't send the pack. Send one beat, two at a push, and pick them for that artist and nobody else.
A pack feels generous from your end. From theirs it's homework. They've got to download it, unzip it, sit through fifteen tracks and try to work out which one you actually meant for them, and most people just won't start. One beat with "made this with your voice in mind" gets played in about the time it takes to read the message. If they like it they'll ask what else you've got, and that's when you send more. Not before.
Picking the one is where your taste shows, by the way. Go through their last three releases. Notice the tempo they live in, the keys they sound good in, the mood they keep drifting back to. Then send the beat that meets them there, even if it's not the one you're proudest of. (If you're still working out who to reach out to at all, we've written about how to find people to make music with and where collaborators actually hang out.)
Make it playable in one tap
The beat has to play the second they tap it. On their phone, on the bus, without downloading anything. So no WAV attachments, no zips, nothing that needs an app they haven't got.
Use a link. A private SoundCloud link is the standard for a reason, it plays in the browser, they can see the waveform and skip to the drop. A Google Drive or Dropbox link to an MP3 is fine too, as long as you've actually set it so anyone with the link can play it. Test it on your own phone, logged out, before you send. A locked link is worse than no link because now they've tried and given up.
And name the file properly. "Midnight Drive 92bpm Fmin (prod. YourName).mp3" tells them everything they need. "FINAL_v3_bounce2.wav" tells them you didn't think about them for a second.
Tag your beats, but don't ruin them
Yes, use a producer tag. Sending untagged beats to people you don't know is how you end up hearing your instrumental on someone's release with no credit and no conversation. The tag also does a bit of work for you, because every time the beat gets played it says your name. And when the song comes out, point them to how to credit a producer so your name lands in the credits.
The trick is not turning the beat into an advert. A tag near the start and maybe one before the second verse is plenty. Producers who stamp their name every eight bars make it impossible to hear what's underneath, and the artist can't picture themselves on it, which was the entire point of sending it. Tagged MP3 goes out. The untagged WAV and the stems stay with you until you've agreed terms. Anyone who's worked with producers before expects that, so don't feel weird about it.
Write the message in five lines
Keep it short and make it about them. The message should take longer to think about than to read.
What it needs: a line that proves you've actually listened to their stuff, so it's obvious this isn't a bulk send. One line on the beat, tempo, key, feel, and what about their sound made you think of it. The link. And what you're offering, said plainly, so they don't have to guess whether you want money, a split, or you're just seeing what happens.
Something like:
Hey [name], the way you sit behind the beat on [track] is exactly the pocket I write for. Made this one with your voice in mind, 92 bpm, F minor, late-night sort of thing. [link] Happy to do a lease or a split, whatever suits, and no stress if it's not for you.
That's it. Four sentences. If you want more on the thinking behind a first message we've gone into it in how to ask someone to collaborate on a song.
Say what the terms are before they fall in love with it
Producers skip this because it feels grim talking money before anyone's said yes. But picture the artist who hears the beat, writes an entire song to it over a weekend, and then finds out you wanted an exclusive fee they can't afford. That artist now resents you, and it was avoidable with one phrase in the first message.
There are basically three answers. A lease, where they pay a small fee to release it with a cap on streams or sales. An exclusive, where they pay more and the beat is theirs and nobody else's. Or a split, where no money changes hands now and you take a percentage of the song instead, which is what a proper collaboration usually looks like rather than a sale. If it's a split, agree the numbers before the song is finished, not after. There's a whole piece on how to split royalties on a song and it will genuinely save you a falling-out. If you are not sure what to charge, how much to pay a producer covers what artists usually pay for each.
How to email beats to artists (or DM them)
Send it wherever they said. Loads of artists have "beats to this email" in their bio, or a form on their site, and if it's there you use it. Sending beats to their Instagram DMs when they've asked for email is a small thing that tells them you didn't look.
If they haven't said anything, email is safer for anyone with a manager or a label behind them, and a DM is fine for someone at your level who's clearly around and replying to people. When you do email beats to an artist, give the subject line a job. "Beat for [artist], 92bpm F minor, prod. [you]" gets opened. "Beats!!!" doesn't. "Check this out" definitely doesn't.
One rule whichever way you go: don't send the same beat to five artists at once and hope none of them find out. They will. If two people end up recording on the same beat because you were hedging your bets, you've burnt both of them and the story travels.
Follow up once, then leave it
No reply after a week is completely normal and it isn't a no. Send one follow-up, short, something like "bumping this in case it got buried, no worries either way." Then stop.
A second follow-up almost never helps. A third gets you blocked. Most no's are no for now, not no forever, so the thing to do is keep the relationship warm in the boring way, by actually listening to their releases and saying something when one's good, and send them something new when you've got something new. Not the same beat again with a different subject line.
When they say yes
This is where a surprising number of producers fumble. They get the reply, get excited, and either dump everything they've ever made into the chat or vanish for a week trying to get it perfect.
Instead, confirm the terms in writing, even if that's just a message you both reply "sounds good" to. Then send the untagged WAV at the right sample rate, and stems if they want them, with tempo and key in the file names. Ask how they like to work, because some artists want a rough mix from you first and some want to write and send you the vocal. Then get out of the way and let them write the thing.
Frequently asked questions
How do you send beats to artists?
Pick one or two beats that genuinely suit that artist, put them up as tagged MP3s on a private streaming link, and send a short message that shows you know their music, describes the beat in a line, includes the link, and says what you're offering. Send it wherever they've asked for beats, follow up once after a week, and keep the untagged files back until you've agreed terms.
Should you send beats as MP3 or WAV?
Tagged MP3 or a streaming link for the first listen, because it plays straight away on a phone. Keep the WAV for after they've said yes. A WAV attachment in a first message is a big download most artists won't bother with, and it's also your untagged master sitting in a stranger's inbox.
How many beats should you send at once?
One is ideal, two is the most for a first message. A full pack asks the artist to do the choosing for you and most won't. If they like the first one they'll ask for more, and that's when you send a handful picked for them.
Should you tag your beats before sending them?
Yes. A producer tag stops your beat being used without credit and reminds whoever's listening who made it. Keep it light, one or two across the track, so the artist can still hear the beat and imagine their vocal on it. The untagged version goes out once you've agreed terms.
Is it better to email beats or DM them?
Whichever one the artist has asked for. If they've got a beats email or a submission form, use that. If nothing's stated, email for anyone with a team around them, DM for peers who are clearly active. Either way, put their name, the tempo and the key in the subject line or the first line.
What do you say when sending a beat to an artist?
One true thing about their music, one line about the beat and why it suits them, the link, and what you want, whether that's a lease, an exclusive or a split. Four or five sentences. You're going for "send me the WAV," not a signed contract.
A note from us
This is the Tonivo bit, so take it or leave it. Most of the pain in sending beats is guesswork. You don't know if the artist is even after producers right now, what they're into at the moment, or how they'd rather be reached, so every message has to carry all of that on its own.
On Tonivo an artist's profile already says what they make and who they're looking for, and when they actually want beats they put a call out. So you're sending to someone who's put their hand up, and they can hear it and reply in the same place. It doesn't pick the beat for you, and it shouldn't. It just takes some of the cold out of the cold message. It's free, and nobody's charging you to be seen.
The short version
One beat, picked for them. A link that plays in one tap. A light tag. Five lines that show you listened and say what you're after. Sent where they asked, followed up once. Then the real files when they say yes. Most producers never get past the first step, so if you do all of that you're already in a very small group in that artist's inbox.