How to sell your tracks as a ghost producer

If you finish more music than your own project can release, selling the surplus is a real income rather than a consolation prize. But the bar is higher than most producers expect, and understanding why saves you the rejection.

What gets rejected, and why

• Anything already public. On SoundCloud, in a promo pool, in a DJ's inbox. The buyer is paying for a record nobody has heard.
• Unfinished work. A strong loop is not a track. Mixed, mastered, arranged, between two and eight minutes.
• Uncleared samples. The buyer inherits that problem and it surfaces on release day.
• Remakes and bootlegs. They cannot be sold, because they were never yours to sell.
• Non-transferable vocals. If the singer's agreement does not allow the recording to be sold on, the track cannot be either.

The money

Here it is 70% of the sale price to the producer, plus 50% of the project-file price when the buyer takes the stems and session. Payment within 48 hours of you asking for it, with no monthly cycle and no minimum threshold.

One thing worth settling before you submit: when you enter a price, be clear with yourself whether that is what you want the buyer to pay or what you want to receive. Under a 70% split those are very different numbers, and it is the most common misunderstanding in this whole business.

The trade you are actually making

You are giving up the credit and the future royalties on that record in exchange for money now and certainty. For a track that does not fit your artist project, that is often a good deal. For the best thing you have ever made, it usually is not.

Exclusivity applies while the track is listed, and you can ask for it back after four months if it has not sold. That is worth checking wherever you sell: a platform that keeps your record hostage indefinitely is not a partner.

If your music clears that bar, submit it here. Every submission is reviewed by a person, and you get an answer either way.