By entering the hip hop music scene as a songwriter, electronic music artist, producer, and DJ, Jesse Neo, well-known for his catchy club hits that have garnered radio plays and magazine reviews in recent years, is hoping for a change.
“I want people to know that I can write different types of music and not only be fixed to EDM,” the 23-year-old singer said. “My career started in 2017 when I started self-releasing EDM tracks and then eventually worked for major genre labels and media companies. Yet as my music preferences shifted, I felt like I should offer rap music too because that seems pretty hot these days.”
During the transition, one issue Jesse faced was finding clients willing to take on someone that has never composed rap before. So, Jesse decided to build a startup known Gemtracks where he could sell hip hop beats and instrumentals.
To his delight, sales began coming in after a few weeks of launch.
Gemtracks’ conception started in a lonely and cheap condo in downtown Los Angeles. After all, that was what he could afford. The Australian remembered having one hand on his cell, the other on his computer keyboard, talking concurrently to two managers of two different organizations. Both clients wanted to know the usual: what sort of music Jesse could write, how to measure sales, and how to submit out songs.
“So I thought to myself, why not build a website that could automate everything,” continued Jesse, with wide eyes. “A few days later, I purchased a domain name and a server, and launched a website to showcase songs I have written, along with prices and licenses.”
“Gemtracks actually started as a hobby during my free time,” Jesse continued. “There was really no particular style of music that I put there. I was uploading whenever I was in the mood more. But lately, I’ve noticed many demands for rap beats.”
After looking through Gemtracks, we discovered that a single track could fetch up to $600.
“The reason for the high price is that each track can only be sold once,” the singer clarified. “The customer then has the rights and ownership passed to them, which means they don’t have to pay the original creator.”
The buyer can then use their new beats to complement their own songs that they release. The advantage is that the artist can have access to a professional track without the need to pay a hefty amount of money.
“A lot of my friends told me that Gemtracks was interesting and has great potential to attract more producers to sign up,” Jesse said. “That’s why I decided to make Gemtracks a public marketplace. This way musicians everywhere will be able to sell their beats and to allow indie artists and companies to use them in their own songs.”
As of now, the beats sold on Gemtracks have won over a million streams and counting. There is already a number of established producers signed up to the website. These include Milana Leybovich, I.Y.F.F.E, Beowülf, Taylor Carroll, and more.
“My dream now is to turn Gemtracks into a hub where musicians can come together, buy and sell audio assets, discuss new projects, and also learn about new musical trends,” Jesse said. “It’s so amazing what the internet can do.”
Currently, a Question & Answer section is in the works to allow newbies to get help from professionals.
Based on what we can see, Gemtracks look like an exciting project, especially after what is happening in the world right now. So if this sounds interesting to you, make sure you head over to find some beats for sale now.
Leave a Reply