Let’s say for some reason you want to switch from BeatStars to another beat marketplace or you haven’t decided yet where you want to sell your beats. And then you come across an article where a nice guy from the Internet (that’s me) helps you figure it all out by doing a detailed comparison of the major beat selling platforms. Cool, right? So that’s the article.
Since this post turned out to be huuuge, here’s a table of contents to help you quickly jump between sections:
But first, let’s talk about BeatStars: why do people choose it?
Before comparing platforms, I think it’s necessary to talk about the main participant in this competition – BeatStars. It’s the most popular marketplace for a reason. First and foremost, the popularity of BeatStars comes from its… popularity! I mean, most of the artists know about BeatStars because most of the producers host beats there, and new producers choose BeatStars because everyone else is there, both artists and other producers. It’s kind of a closed loop.
Of course, BeatStars has made a lot of effort to outperform its competitors, and its current position is well deserved. However, other platforms now offer similar features and sometimes even more.
So, why should you sell beats on BeatStars?
Since BeatStars is the industry leader, it’s very easy to start selling there. The fact that most producers use BeatStars makes it very easy to collaborate with other authors, split collabs and loop sales, and you just know that you are operating in the same conditions as most sellers.
For new producers, BeatStars also offers a starter subscription that is almost free (only $20 per year!). With this subscription you can sell as many beats, services and sample packs as you want and you have access to all the analytics tools. With such a low price for so many features, BeatStars is almost the best choice to start your journey.
What are the downsides of BeatStars?
The strength of BeatStars is also its weakness: its high popularity means high competition. To get on the charts you need to sell more than the top sellers, and in the search results you are competing with thousands of other producers (but you can increase your chances by using the right tags).
Also, it’s almost impossible to get sales on BeatStars by using promo: your ad will be shown to all site users, which means that most of your views will go to other producers. Promoting your profile on BeatStars won’t bring you any sales either, as I’ve explained in detail in this article.
Note that BeatStars also takes a fee on sales from the marketplace.
Is Airbit better than BeatStars?
Airbit was the first marketplace back in the day that thought it would be nice to automatically deliver files to customers after purchase, without making the customer wait for the producer to wake up and remember their email password. So Airbit invented embedded players, which we all used to add to our Soundclick pages.
Now Airbit is an independent platform with its own marketplace, its own alternative to BeatStars Pro Page (called Infinity Store) and many other cool features.
Key features of Airbit
Search by sound. I don’t know why other platforms haven’t stolen this idea yet, but you can go to this page, paste a link to any track from YouTube, and Airbit will show you similar beats. Just wow.
Content ID. Airbit is the only platform that allows you to apply for Content ID for your beats. You can track how your beat is used on YouTube and monetize the views from videos that feature your music.
Autogenerated YouTube videos. Airbit can automatically generate videos with your beats and upload them to YouTube. Although there is only one template for the video and no customization options, this feature can save you a lot of time if you don’t have specific expectations. However, I would still recommend using my After Effects or FL Studio audio-visualization templates. They are way better!
Downsides of Airbit
Airbit should be seen as a toolset, not a marketplace. Airbit has almost no organic traffic, so don’t count on big sales generated by the platform itself. However, at least you won’t be charged a fee in those rare cases when sales do happen.
Airbit is also very slow developing. They launched their new Studio years ago and it’s still not 100% finished. To access some features you still have to switch to the old interface, so after a while you’ll feel like you’re living on a construction site where things are always unfinished.
Airbit pricing
Airbit has only one paid plan, which costs $19.99 per month (or $7.99 if you pay annually). You can find out more about what Airbit offers for sellers here: airbit.com/sell-beats
Soundee: the main BeatStars alternative
To be honest, I’ve never used Soundee as my main platform. However, I have an account there and follow their updates, and I’m pretty familiar with their features. And you know what? Soundee looks like the best BeatStars alternative if you’re able to generate your own traffic. In terms of functionality, Soundee can do everything that BeatStars can, but offers a lot more for those who are serious about marketing, automation and stuff like that.
Key features of Soundee
Soundee has the most advanced embedded player for websites. It’s very fast, has a ton of settings (even a banner with a countdown timer, which comes in handy if you’re running a sale), and you can sell not only beats but sample packs right in the same player… it’s miles ahead of BeatStars BlazePro player, which hasn’t been updated in years.
Soundee has advanced analytics, developer tools if you’re into coding, and also Zapier integration, so you can connect your store to tons of other apps and services. Oh, and unlike BeatStars, Soundee supports not only PayPal but also Stripe and crypto payments.
Downsides of Soundee
The obvious downside of Soundee is that it’s not as popular as BeatStars and doesn’t have as much traffic. But is that really such a bad thing if you think of Soundee as a storefront for your own shop rather than a marketplace? The fact that there’s no beat promotion system at all on Soundee just proves the point.
Soundee pricing
Soundee has two paid plans: Starter for $9.99 per month and Pro for $19.99 per month. Soundee also has a free plan, but it is very limited and only allows you to upload up to 10 beats. You can compare Soundee’s plans on this page: soundee.com/sell-beats
TrakTrain or BeatStars?
Like me, you may have heard of TrakTrain but never used it. When I first heard about this BeatStars alternative, the marketplace was invite-only and not just anyone could sign up. Now the platform is open to everyone, so let’s see if it’s worth it.
Key features of TrakTrain
TrakTrain supports BitCoin and Dogecoin payments, so you can sell your beats even in countries where PayPal doesn’t work.
By the way, when BeatStars introduced the marketplace fee, TrakTrain jumped on the opportunity and released a browser extension that allows you to move your entire beat catalog to them with just a few clicks. I don’t know if it still works (there’s no information on the site), but you can contact support and ask them to help you migrate.
Downsides of TrakTrain
TrakTrain has no alternative to BeatStars Pro Page, so if you want to drive traffic from YouTube, you’ll have to do it directly to your profile page. Yes, TrakTrain has an embedded HTML5 player for your website, but it’s so ugly that you probably won’t want to use it. You might think that TrakTrain doesn’t expect you to bring in external customers, but there’s almost no internal traffic either. So for the same price as BeatStars, TrakTrain offers a less comprehensive set of features.
TrakTrain pricing
TrakTrain has two paid plans as well as a free account with a 15 beat upload limit and basic features. The paid plans cost $9.99 and $19.99 per month for 100 beats and unlimited beats respectively. All plans, except the free one, have no transaction fees for buyers or sellers. More details on TrakTrain plans can be found here: traktrain.com/membership
Is Soundclick still good?
You might not expect to see this name here, but I have a special place in my heart for Soundclick because that’s where my beat selling journey began. It was here when Airbit was MyFlashStore, when BeatStars was BeatKings, and there were no Pro Pages, no embedded players, and we accepted payments with simple PayPal buttons and then sent beats manually. Oh, wild times!
Even though Soundclick’s best days are long gone, this BeatStars alternative is still alive and kicking, and I just had to mention it in this article.
Key features of Soundclick
The most notable thing about Soundclick is that its promo actually works! Yes, not as well as it used to because most artists now buy beats on BeatStars, but there are still people actively listening to beats in the top charts. And you are guaranteed to get there if you buy some banners. It’s literally pay-to-win, and in that sense Soundclick is the best alternative to BeatStars, whose promo doesn’t work at all.
Soundclick also has a handy internal wallet system that allows you to receive payments even if you don’t have PayPal at the moment. Sales go to the Soundclick internal wallet and you can use it to pay for promo or subscriptions.
Soundclick also allows you to pay for promo or subscriptions in crypto.
Downsides of Soundclick
In everything else, Soundclick is way behind its competitors. Their analytics tools only provide data on listens and downloads. However, Soundclick recently added the ability to export email addresses collected from free downloads, thank you very much.
Soundclick can’t even generate contracts for your sales. Yes, you can attach a PDF file to each of your licenses, but this document is completely static, meaning it doesn’t automatically include the name of the track purchased, the transaction date, or any information about the buyer. This feature is so useless that it’s easier to send contracts manually.
Soundclick pricing
Soundclick’s paid plans cost $10 and $20 per month. Note, however, that with the $10 plan, Soundclick takes a 10% commission on each sale. You can also use Soundclick for free, but in this case the commission is 20%.
Learn more about Soundclick’s plans at the bottom of their home page: soundclick.com
BeatStars alternatives: comparison table
To make it easier for you to compare the different beat selling platforms, I’ve put together a handy table that highlights the key features, pricing, and other important aspects of each marketplace:
| BeatStars | Airbit | Soundee | TrakTrain | Soundclick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic plan | $19.99/year | ❌ | $9.99/month | $9/month | $9.99/month |
| Premium plan | $19.99/month | $19.99/month | $19.99/month | $19.99/month | $19.99/month |
| Free plan | Only when canceling subscription | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Beat limit on free plan | 10 | 20 | 10 | 15 | Unlimited |
| Sales commission on paid plan | Marketplace Fee – 12% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Sales commission on free plan | Marketplace Fee – 12% | 0% | 30% | 25% | 20% |
| Payment methods | PayPal | PayPal, Stripe | PayPal, Stripe, Crypto.com | PayPal, Stripe, Bitcoin, Dogecoin | PayPal |
| Personal website | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Embedded player | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Selling sample packs | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Selling services | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Promo efficiency | ❌ | ❌ | – | ❌ | ✅ |
| Email-marketing tools | Mailchimp, AWeber | MailChimp, Aweber, GetResponse | MailChimp, GetResponse | MailChimp | Email addresses can be exported as xls file |
| Usability | 👍 | 🫤 | 👍 | 🫤 | 👎 |
Conclusion
So there you have it. Each beat selling platform has its own set of perks. BeatStars is the one for you if you don’t want to drive your customers to lesser-known platforms, or if you collaborate a lot. Airbit has some fancy tools like search by sound, auto-generated visualizers, and Content ID. Soundee is the playground for those who want to dive deep into marketing and automation, while TrakTrain is… well, TrakTrain. But they will help you migrate if you want to! And let’s not forget Soundclick, the old-timer that still knows how to do it.
At the end of the day, the best platform for you comes down to what you need most—whether it’s organic traffic, cutting-edge tools, or specific payment options. Dive in, test the waters, and find the BeatStars alternative that aligns with your goals.