When deciding on whether to lease or sell a beat, consider the foregoing scenarios and choose one that you feel will work best for you. But, you must remember the time-value of money. Even if everyone in the world agrees that your beat will be worth $1,000,000 next year, no one will pay you that entire amount today. In reality, it will be impossible to definitively predict what a beat will be worth in a year. Therefore, you must essentially estimate how much money the beat could make you in the long run. If you are being offered an up-front amount that you believe is much less than the beat's long-term value, then leasing the beat or quasi-selling it may make sense. However, if you are being offered an up-front amount that is close to, equal to or larger than the beat's long-term value, then selling it outright may make sense. But let's keep it real. You may produce a beat that you feel "sucks," and some cat that you know couldn't sign a deal with the devil, loves it. It may be better to just take your money and run, rather than getting old and gray waiting for him to sign a record deal. We know what you're thinking; we should be telling you that all of your "intellectual property" is valuable. But in the real world, we've seen our share of producers who produce for every Tom, Dick, and Harry, and never receive a nickel from those artists. So just keep it real folks! © Musicpowers.com – Taken from the book “The Music Powers That Be”