Hey everyone! I want to share how my love for music turned into something bigger. It’s been a ride with its ups and downs, and I’ve learned a lot about managing my music along the way. Let me tell you how my beat tape, “The Human Beat Box Vol.1” came together and why getting your music registered can make a real difference.

That’s when I had an idea: why not release what I had as an instrumental project? And just like that, **”The Human Beat Box Vol.1″** was born. The name had been floating around in my head for years, and it felt perfect for this project. I snapped a pic of an old MPC2000 surrounded by vinyl records to give it that old-school hip-hop vibe, even though I was using Reason v9 for production.

 Sharing the Beat Tape: Low Streams, Big Lessons

After putting together **”The Human Beat Box Vol.1″**, I was pretty excited to share it with the world. I uploaded it to Instagram and Facebook, hoping my friends and followers would vibe with it. I even sent it out to a few close pals, expecting some decent streams and feedback. But reality hit hard—the streams were pretty low, and the response was underwhelming.

At first, I was disappointed. I had poured my heart into creating something I genuinely loved, and seeing it not get the attention I hoped for was tough. I started questioning myself: Was my music good enough? Did I choose the right platform? Was I even reaching the right audience?

But instead of letting the low streams get me down, I decided to look deeper into why this was happening. Here are the big lessons I learned from this experience:

Despite the lack of streams initially, I didn’t let it stop me. I took proactive steps to ensure my music was properly registered and positioned for future success. Here’s what I did:

Joined Ditto Music for Distribution: In 2017-2018, I set up a DSP (Digital Service Provider) account with Ditto Music to handle distribution and royalty collection. I kind of left it at that, focusing on creating more music. 

Meanwhile, my son’s song “No Way” went viral in South Korea, racking up over a few hundred thousand streams. It was incredible to see his success, but my own beat tape was still gathering dust with minimal streams.

Fast forward to the summer of 2024. One day, I randomly logged into our Ditto account and saw an unexpected spike in streams and revenue. Curious, I dug into the data and discovered that **”The Human Beat Box Vol.1″** actually had a couple of semi-viral songs during the 3rd quarter of 2023 and the 4th quarter of 2024. Wow—very interesting!

Here’s what I found:

**Social Media Buzz:** Some of the streams came from Facebook and Instagram. I realized that when certain hashtags related to the song titles were used, my tracks started appearing in searches. I noticed that the streams for a song called ‘December 1st’ picked up towards the end of 2023 (November) and on into 2024 (February). No idea why, but it happened!  

– **Tidal Over Spotify:** I noticed a significant following of listeners connecting through Tidal instead of Spotify. It was surprising, but it showed that different platforms can reach different audiences.  Later on, I also found that Deezer also had over 30k+ streams alone….. Spotify has the bigger name, but definitely not the only player in the game.   

– **SoundCloud Surprises:** When I checked my BMI statement, I saw items from SoundCloud. At first, I thought it was a scam because I hadn’t released my music there. After inquiring with both Ditto and SoundCloud, it turned out to be legit. Nearly 80-90k streams, close to 100k for the entire album! I was shocked and thrilled to see that my hard work from 4-5 years ago was finally paying off. Streams are still coming in, which is awesome—even if it’s not a huge payday, it’s cool to make some money from something that was almost lost to a digital wasteland.

 This unexpected success taught me that sometimes, things take time. Even if your music doesn’t blow up right away, proper registration and persistence can lead to surprising rewards down the line.

• Why Registering Your Music is a Game Changer

 Registering your music with the right entities can seriously boost your career. Here’s why it’s so important:

• Protect Your Work:

When you register your music, you’re safeguarding your creations from being used without your permission. It’s like having a shield for your stuff.  This is not to be confused with being protected by copywrite.  The “protection’ is more so about protecting your ability to monetize and collect funds from being registered.  You can’t collect funds from certain places if you are not registered with a PRO etc.  And your funds can be given to someone else ultimately as it’s not retro-active. 

• Earn Royalties:

By signing up with performance rights organizations (PROs) and music publishers, you can make money every time your music is played on streams, radio, or live shows.

Grow Professionally: Being registered makes you look legit. It opens doors to collaborations, gigs, and other cool opportunities you might not have access to otherwise.  But also, it allows you to be paid for work that you may or may have not known that was monetized.  

• Being Your Own Biggest Fan: Navigating Publishing and Royalties 

Here’s how I made sure my music was properly registered and started earning royalties:

Join a PRO:I signed up with a performance rights organization to collect royalties whenever my music was played publicly. Whether it’s on Spotify, YouTube, or at a local venue, I get paid for it.

Publish Your Music: This is where I created my own publishing company but also registered with ‘SongTrust’ as a publishing aministrator to further assist with the collecting of royalties not abroad also with content ID systems. 

– **Track Your Earnings:** Keeping an eye on where and how your music is used helps you maximize your earnings. It’s all about making the most out of your hard work.

#### **6. Moving Forward: Lessons Learned and What’s Next**

Looking back at creating **”The Human Beat Box Vol.1″**, a few key lessons stood out:

– **Stay Persistent:** The music scene is tough, and setbacks like hard drive crashes can be really discouraging. But sticking with it is crucial.

– **Learn the Business:** Understanding things like registration, publishing, and royalties gives you the tools to protect and profit from your music.

– **Build Your Network:** Connecting with other musicians and industry folks can lead to awesome opportunities and support when you need it. As a quick example, made a connection to a friend of mine from my old highschool baseball days and did a couple music sync’s deals with him.. all from reaching out to reconnect on instagram.. 

As I keep making and releasing new music, these lessons help me balance my love for creating with the smart moves needed to build a sustainable career. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to level up, remember that **unlocking your music career means blending your passion with savvy business practices**. 

**Are you on a similar journey in the music world? Drop your stories or questions in the comments below! Let’s help each other turn our musical dreams into reality.**