Hip-hop’s digital frontier calls for extra than simply uncooked expertise; it requires savvy navigation of the web world. One identify synonymous with empowering artists on this realm is The Corporatethief Beats. Daniel Hartnett, the inventive power behind this mission, has constructed a model that’s greater than only a assortment of beats; it’s a useful resource, a neighborhood, and a Launchpad for aspiring rap artists and beatmakers. Since 2010, The Corporatethief Beats web site has grown exponentially, providing all the things from high-quality hip-hop instrumentals to invaluable steering on on-line music advertising and marketing. In an intensive interview we delve into the world of Daniel Hartnett, exploring his inventive course of, the inspiration behind The Corporatethief Beats, and the keys to success within the fashionable music trade.
1. What was the second that made you notice hip-hop manufacturing was the trail you wished to comply with?
That’s a humorous reply. I didn’t develop up listening to hip-hop. Trying again, I feel The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem was the one hip-hop album I owned after I was 11 or 12. Earlier than that, I primarily listened to Michael Jackson, Prince, and The Beatles.
After I turned 14, I began taking part in guitar and acquired into grunge music—bands like Alice in Chains, Nirvana, and Soundgarden—proper up till I went to varsity. However after I acquired to varsity, my pal Mikey lent me his laptop computer, which had FL Studio (referred to as Fruity Loops on the time) put in. He was making hip-hop beats on it, and across the similar time, I found a brand new rapper named Child Cudi. Consider, this was 2007/2008, and Cudi hadn’t blown up but.
Mikey additionally launched me to extra hip-hop music, together with Kanye West, who grew to become an enormous affect on me. Whereas Mikey noticed music manufacturing as only a pastime, I grew to become obsessed. Since I already had some musicianship from taking part in guitar, making beats got here naturally—I had an ear for music. Finally, I transitioned to Logic Professional and pursued formal training in music manufacturing and sound engineering at Galway Technical Institute and The Academy of Sound Dublin.
2. How did your early experiences as an acoustic musician form your method to creating beats?
Massively. I used to be fortunate that my mother and father inspired me to take part in quite a lot of extracurricular actions in school, resembling studying the accordion and piano. I form of found the guitar alone as a result of I had some pleasant competitors with my mates.
My pal Mike from school gave me his laptop computer with Fruity Loops on it as a result of he noticed me attempting to report my very own acoustic songs utilizing Audacity. Audacity wasn’t dangerous on the time, however FL Studio was ten instances higher. Enjoying the guitar helped me develop an ear for music, and with out that, I don’t assume I might know what I’m doing right this moment.
3. Child Cudi was an enormous affect on you—what particular components of his fashion resonated with you probably the most?
I wouldn’t be The Corporatethief Beats if it weren’t for Child Cudi. He was the rationale I began speaking to my pal Mikey, who launched me to FL Studio. We bonded over A Child Named Cudi—that mixtape performed an enormous function in our friendship.
I’ve adopted Cudi’s profession from 2007/ 2008 to now. There’s an excellent interview with Travis Scott the place he says Cudi is part of his story—I really feel the identical method.
Travis Scott interview about Child Cudi
Cudi’s lyrics spoke to a technology of younger males between 16 and 25. I nonetheless keep in mind each phrase of Soundtrack 2 My Life—these traces had soul:
And I attempted to piece the puzzle of the universe
Break up an eighth of ‘shrooms simply so I might see the universe
I attempted to consider myself as a sacrifice
Simply to indicate the children they ain’t the one ones who up at night time
The moon will illuminate my room and shortly I’m consumed by my doom
Cudi’s lyrics had been by no means meant to be in comparison with rappers like Jay-Z or Nas. He carved out his personal lane in hip-hop—his music wasn’t for followers of Jay-Z, 2Pac, Biggie, or Nas. As a substitute, his lyrics resonated with younger males working crappy, dead-end jobs, attempting to determine life out.
The lonely loner appears to free his thoughts at night time
He’s on their lonesome by way of the day and night time
The lonely loner appears to free his thoughts at night time, at, at, at night time.
Day and night time
4. Other than hip-hop, are there any surprising musical influences that encourage your sound right this moment?
Yeah, I’ve all the time been a fan of Trent Reznor from 9 Inch Nails. Particularly, The Downward Spiral (1994) and With Tooth (2005) are two of my favourite albums. I even have an enormous appreciation for pop music producers like Danja (Danjahandz), Max Martin, ILYA, Bloodshy & Avant, Benny Blanco, and Frank Dukes.
In case you actually take heed to my music, you may hear Danja’s affect—particularly in his method to pop tune construction. He produced Britney Spears’ Blackout album, and the music manufacturing components he utilized in that mission are nonetheless ingrained in my music manufacturing to today.
The Weeknd’s first three mixtapes—Home of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence (2011), additionally recognized right this moment as Trilogy—had an enormous affect on my music. You may hear that affect in one in every of my newest beats, Don’t Kill The Weeknd.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnipWsEswjg
5. Are you able to stroll us by way of your typical workflow when creating a brand new beat from scratch?
I all the time attempt to have an artist in thoughts when making music. I begin by trying to find sounds and experimenting till one thing catches my consideration.
“I want to seek out what I name The Click on or The Hook shortly”
—in any other case, I lose curiosity too quick to proceed.
As soon as I discover The Click on or The Hook, I begin sculpting the beat, shaping it to take the observe within the route I envision.
The construction of a observe relies on the fashion. For instance, entice beats are typically minimalistic, with fewer components over time. Nonetheless, I like to interrupt these guidelines by incorporating pop components I’ve discovered from finding out Danja’s manufacturing methods.
6. You talked about utilizing Logic Professional for 99% of your beats—what options make it your go-to DAW over FL Studio or Professional Instruments?
The primary motive I exploit Logic Professional is that the primary school I attended, Galway Technical Institute, taught it. Throughout that 12 months, I labored a bar job, saved up, and ultimately purchased my iMac, Logic Professional, a MIDI keyboard, and an Mbox audio interface. Now, I exploit the Duet.
I additionally studied music manufacturing and sound engineering on the Academy of Sound in Dublin, the place I discovered to make use of Professional Instruments.
Nonetheless, I nonetheless choose Logic Professional as a result of I can get my concepts out a lot quicker.
I do know my method round Logic Professional just like the again of my hand.
Whereas I can use each Professional Instruments and FL Studio, my effectivity isn’t on the similar stage as it’s with Logic Professional.
I exploit quite a lot of in-the-box synths constructed into Logic, just like the ES1 and ES2. I even have a whole lot of my very own and different individuals’s samples and sounds saved in my library. Moreover, I exploit Sylenth1, and a very long time in the past, my brother gave me the Komplete 8 pack.
One of many greatest benefits of Logic Professional is its built-in mixing instruments. The inventory EQs, compressors, amps, and reverbs are distinctive, making it a robust DAW straight out of the field.
7. How do you stability dwell instrumentation with digital components in your beats?
I gained’t add dwell instrumentation to a beat until I really feel it really wants it. For instance, the guitar solos in The Weeknd-type beats I’ve made mix hip-hop and rock, so the rock guitar naturally suits into the combo.
Typically, I’ll add a guitar riff however manipulate it a lot that you just wouldn’t even acknowledge the unique sound.
8. What are a few of your favourite VSTs or plugins that you just depend on to create your signature sound?
Sylenth1 and Komplete 8 are the principle VSTs I exploit, together with Logic’s built-in ES1 and ES2 synths. After I was beginning out, I couldn’t afford to purchase new VSTs on a regular basis, so I centered on studying find out how to create sounds utilizing samplers or by manipulating presets from different producers.
9. How necessary is sound design in your manufacturing, and do you ever create your personal samples?
Sound design is a vital a part of my manufacturing course of. Whereas I do use samples, I all the time make an effort to tweak and manipulate them to create one thing distinctive. If I discover a pattern I like, I’ll usually attempt to recreate an identical vibe from scratch to keep away from copyright points. This ensures that my beats stay unique whereas nonetheless capturing the sound I’m going for.
10. Beat leasing might be complicated for a lot of artists—what was your principal objective in simplifying the method by way of your beat packs?
I observed that music producers on websites like TryBuyBeats.com, Airbit, and BeatStars had been providing 4–6 various kinds of lease agreements. Nonetheless, most artists don’t know what these agreements truly imply. Lots of them are nonetheless within the pastime part of constructing music and don’t need something too sophisticated.
That’s why all the beat packs on The Corporatethief Beats web site include a single limitless lease settlement, together with the observe stem recordsdata, making it easy and hassle-free for artists.
11. What methods have you ever discovered only in selling your beats and reaching unbiased artists?
E mail advertising and marketing is one in every of my core methods for sustaining open communication with artists who buy rap beats from my web site. I exploit totally different e mail sequences—some centered on sharing music advertising and marketing ideas and others designed to drive gross sales.
Along with e mail, I run fundamental remarketing campaigns on Google Advertisements, Meta, and Bing to remain engaged with potential clients and convey them again to my website.
12. The web beat market is very aggressive—how do you guarantee your model stands out from different producers?
I consider my skill to create robust tune buildings is on the core of my music manufacturing. As I discussed earlier, my influences from Danja, significantly his method to structuring pop music, have formed the best way I create Pattern Beats, Beats with Hooks, Entice Beats, and Pop Beats.
Even my darker, extra intense entice beats have melodic pop influences woven into them.
Moreover, I feel The Corporatethief Beats is such a singular identify that I’m assured there aren’t another beat makers with an identical model or identification.
13. Have you ever observed any main shifts in how artists are shopping for and utilizing beats in recent times?
Nearly all of artists who buy beats from me are likely to give attention to shopping for beat packs from the beat participant. The beat packs simply make sense—they provide far more worth. To boost that worth, I additionally embrace micro-courses, eBooks, and cheat sheets within the backend.
Over time, I’ve seen totally different waves of beat tendencies. There was a interval of entice beat dominance, then a shift in direction of beats with hooks, and later, a requirement for extra emotional, sample-based beats—just like the early sort beats impressed by Drake’s first albums or the Entice Soul sound that blew up when Bryson Tiller emerged.
14. What was the most important problem in writing The Rap Lyricist’s Handbook?
The Rap Lyricist’s Handbook isn’t meant to be learn in a single day. It’s designed to be a useful resource you may reference time and time once more—whether or not you’re coping with author’s block, bettering your rap lyrics, on the lookout for websites that train you find out how to rap, or trying to find recommendations on music recording, advertising and marketing, and promotion.
Because the tagline suggests:
“The Rap Lyricist’s Handbook” is not only one other e-book to skim by way of. It’s a robust useful resource designed to be your go-to companion in your journey to rap mastery.
The largest problem was making it participating—no person needs to learn a wall of textual content. That’s why I included vibrant, colourful pictures to maintain it visually interesting and to function reference factors for key matters.
The eBook can also be interactive, with bounce hyperlinks all through to make navigation simpler. Plus, it options QR codes that hyperlink to curated movies and the identical advertising and marketing instruments I personally use to advertise my music.
15. How do you see the handbook serving to aspiring rappers past simply bettering their lyrics?
Let’s be actual—an eBook gained’t train you find out how to rap in a day.
Rapping is a ability that requires each day apply. There’s no shortcut round that.
What The Rap Lyricist’s Handbook is designed for is these moments when self-doubt creeps in—while you want a spark of inspiration or steering on find out how to promote your music successfully. It’s not only a e-book; it’s a useful resource to maintain you motivated and on observe.
16. Your weblog provides intensive assets for unbiased artists—what are the most important errors you see them making in advertising and marketing their music?
Artists haven’t any plan. They sit round ready for the world handy them one thing or for another person to “put them on.”
They make excuses. They preserve saying, “No one will give me an opportunity.”
The reality is, it’s important to construct and domesticate your personal viewers. Don’t await shady middlemen who promise they’ll “put you on” or provide “publicity” and “promo.” These so-called trade insiders are sometimes simply sharks—they’ll barely promote themselves, counting on spammy DMs and chilly emails.
As a substitute, you must take management of your personal success. Learn to use promoting instruments like YouTube Advertisements, Google Advertisements, X.com Advertisements, and Meta Advertisements to drive a brand new viewers to your music. Extra importantly, you want a narrative and a narrative—one thing actual that provides individuals a motive to comply with and assist you.
17. What’s one underrated tip out of your advertising and marketing programs that you just assume all unbiased artists ought to know?
Don’t construct your whole enterprise on rented floor.
Platforms like Fb, X, Instagram, Spotify, YouTube, ReverbNation, My Mixtapez, SoundCloud, and even Patreon don’t belong to you—you would lose entry to them instantly.
All the time give attention to constructing property you personal:
✅ Your personal web site
✅ E mail listing
✅ SMS listing
✅ Membership platform
These are platforms you management 100%.
That’s to not say you shouldn’t use social media and streaming websites for advertising and marketing—you completely ought to. However all the time redirect followers to your web site and e-newsletter so that you’re not on the mercy of ever-changing algorithms.
I discovered this the arduous method. After I began out, Myspace was all the things. I spent numerous hours designing my Myspace web page—now it’s utterly irrelevant. The identical factor occurred with beat websites like SoundClick, which dominated from 2005 to 2014, however isn’t widespread anymore.
Even DatPiff, as soon as the go-to mixtape website for years, is utterly gone right this moment. In case you construct your online business solely on platforms you don’t personal, you threat shedding all the things in a single day.
18. You’ve labored with a spread of artists—what’s one collaboration that stood out to you probably the most, and why?
I actually admire the work Sam Manon did with pop beats. It jogged my memory of when rapper Child Berg dropped some wonderful bars over one in every of my oldest beats. It’s loopy to assume I made that beat again in 2010!
19. In case you might work with any artist on the earth, residing or lifeless, who would it not be and why?
Child Cudi, Kanye, Drake, Rick Ross, Max Martin, and Travis Scott—I couldn’t select only one. I actually love all of their music in numerous methods!
20. What’s subsequent for The Corporatethief Beats—any upcoming tasks or new instructions you’re exploring?
I preserve creating new hip-hop beats and rap beat packs as a result of they add quite a lot of worth for hip-hop artists. I’ll additionally proceed engaged on my different web sites that present music manufacturing and songwriting ideas for up-and-coming artists.
Observe The Corporatethief Beats on:
Web site: https://thecorporatethiefbeats.com/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/consumer/corporatethief?sub_confirmation=1
X.com: https://x.com/corporatethief
