How to power up your music career with a two-year deal

What if Mario Kart power-ups were accessible in real life?  

Imagine gaining the advantage that comes with acquiring boosts like the Starman along your career. That yellow glow engulfs your kart to give you the competitive edge as you race toward the finish line. With it, you’re faster, invincible, and zoom past the other racers.  

The Starman only lasts a short period of time, but it drives results – putting you ahead of the pack. What if there was something like that for independent artists?  

Enter: beatBread ‘s two-year deal. 

How beatBread funds artists in just two years 

All too often, emerging artists feel the pressure to lock in early to a record deal in order to get the immediate financial boost they need to build their music career. In exchange for funding, they agree to undesirable terms that ultimately strip away the artist’s control and percentage of income for an uncertain future with the label. 

beatBread was founded on the principle that artists should be able to receive the key funding they need, without compromising ownership of their art or control over their careers. Our deals provide financial advances that are repaid through a limited share of revenues from streaming and airplay, over a period of the artist’s choosing. 

For many rising artists, beatBread’s two-year deal offers the boost they need in the short term to drive the immediate, career-changing results they need – like the Starman power up.  

Transparency 

With beatBread, you know exactly what you’re getting into. Label deals, by their nature, just aren’t as transparent. 

At signing, artists know how much funding beatBread will give them, what their recoupment rate is, and how long the deal is expected to last, based off the data. There are no hidden fees, interest rates or penalties, and the amount artists owe will never go up. 

Flexibility 

The terms of a beatBread deal – from how long it lasts to how much income the artist keeps, to what music is included – is entirely built by the artist.  

That’s the beauty of beatBread, its algorithm analyzes streaming data to determine just how much of an advance can be offered based off the parameters the artist has chosen. Artists have the control and flexibility to choose how they spend their advance and who they partner with. 

Time 

Label deals can feel like a dark tunnel with no end in sight. These deals last an undetermined amount of time and can leave an artist feeling trapped looking for the light.  

With beatBread, artists determine how long their deal will last – from one year to eight years. The algorithm determines largest advance that can be given with the best chance of recouping within the timeline the artist has chosen. While our algorithm is pretty good at predicting when you'll recoup, we won’t penalize you if that doesn’t happen in the predicted timeline – the deal simply continues until you've recouped in full. 

The two-year deal allows artists to bet on themselves with confidence while maintaining total control and ownership over their music. Plus, if that artist gets their big break in those next two years and recoups early, they’re going to be taking home a lion’s share of their streaming income than they would’ve had they taken the label route. Instead of a label’s 15-20% share, artists can take home 50-90% with beatBread. 

Leverage 

These two-year power ups give artists the financial capital they need to build up their fanbases, streaming, and even negotiating power (if they still want to sign with a label one day.)  

Artists can use their two-year deal boost their career however they see fit, level up, then take that data – from streaming to how quickly they recouped on the deal – back to a label to negotiate for better deal terms. 

By taking a short-term deal with beatBread, the artist is making a key, low-stakes investment on their career for the next two years, rather than betting the house and getting stuck with label terms they’ll detest by their next album.  

Artists can find success outside of a label 

The music industry has changed.   

Artists are more in control than ever, and can achieve the success they dream of without locking themselves into restrictive, predatory deals with major labels. Short term deals can offer the star power artists need.  

Two years goes by quickly, but a lot can happen in two years. Bet on yourself.