Creators, coaches & info products

Books and taxes for music producers and beatmakers.

Beat leases sold for a flat fee, an exclusive rights deal that pays much more but ends the beat's other sales, sample pack income, and plugin subscriptions to renew. Your own bookkeeper sorts all of it, an accountant checks every transaction, and you get one number a month.

Book a call What we handle
  • From $197 a month
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever
AprilExample month
$5,300
what you made

April came in at $5,300. One exclusive rights sale made up most of it, so I flagged it as a one-time deal rather than a repeat lease month.

  • BeatStars payout, leasesBeat lease sales
  • Exclusive rights saleExclusive beat sales
  • Sample pack salesSample pack sales
  • Splice subscriptionSample and plugin licenses
  • Custom beat commissionCustom production
Money in$7,400
Money out$2,100
Set aside for taxes$1,300
An example month. Yours will have your numbers.

Why your books are different

A producer's books go wrong in a few specific spots.

A generalist sees a payout and calls it revenue. Yours mixes small recurring beat lease sales with rare, much larger exclusive rights deals, plus sample pack income and custom commissions that all move at their own pace.

  1. 1

    An exclusive rights sale skews the whole quarter

    A single exclusive deal can pay ten times what a lease does, and once it sells exclusively, that beat stops earning lease income entirely, so treating the sale like a repeatable month overstates what is coming next.

    What we doKeeps exclusive sales in their own line, separate from lease income, so the steady, repeatable part of the catalog stays visible on its own.
  2. 2

    Lease sales blur across a large catalog

    With hundreds of beats listed, small lease sales land constantly in amounts too small to track one by one, and it is easy to lose sight of which beats are actually earning versus sitting unsold.

    What we doBooks the full catalog's lease payout as one clear revenue line each period, so the pattern is visible without tracking every single sale by hand.
  3. 3

    Sample and plugin subscriptions add up quietly

    A handful of monthly subscriptions for sample libraries, plugins, and mixing tools can each look small, but together they are a real, recurring cost that is easy to lose track of against actual sales.

    What we doKeeps every sample and plugin subscription in one line, so the total cost of the toolset is visible against what the catalog earns.
  4. 4

    A custom commission needs its own record

    A one-off beat made to order for an artist, paid a flat fee outside the usual store, is easy to forget to log since it does not come through the same payout as everything else.

    What we doTracks custom commissions as their own category, so one-off work does not slip through the cracks of the regular catalog income.

Your categories

The categories Gus keeps for a beat production business.

Set up once for how you get paid and what you spend on. You never pick a category. He does, and an accountant checks it.

Money in

  • Beat lease salesNon-exclusive lease payouts from BeatStars or Airbit.
  • Exclusive beat salesOne-time sales of full or exclusive rights to a beat.
  • Sample pack salesDrum kits, loops, and sample packs sold to other producers.
  • Custom productionOne-off beats or mixing work made to order.

Money out

  • Sample and plugin licensesSplice, plugin subscriptions, and sound library purchases.
  • Studio equipmentMonitors, audio interfaces, and MIDI controllers.
  • Marketplace feesWhat BeatStars or Airbit keeps from each sale.
  • Collaborator payoutsSplits paid to co-producers on shared beats.
  • MarketingPromotion for the beat store and sample packs.

What we watch for you

  • Lease versus exclusive mix

    How much of income is repeatable lease sales against one-time exclusive deals.

  • Subscription cost

    What total sample and plugin subscriptions cost against total sales for the month.

  • Catalog earners

    Whether a small share of the catalog is carrying most of the lease income.

  • The set-aside

    What will be owed, tracked every month, so a big exclusive sale does not turn into a surprise bill.

Ask Gus

Things producers ask Gus.

Text him like you would text anybody. He answers in plain English, and when a question is above his pay grade, an accountant looks and gets back to you.

I just sold exclusive rights to a beat for $3,000. Should I expect that every month?

No, and I kept it in its own line so your regular planning is based on your normal lease income, not this one bigger deal.

My BeatStars payout covers hundreds of small lease sales. Do I need to track each one myself?

No. I book the full payout as your lease revenue for the period, so you get the pattern without tracking every single small sale by hand.

I split a beat 50/50 with another producer. How does that work on my end?

I keep his share as a cost owed the month the sale lands, so your books only reflect what you actually kept from that beat.

The tax side

The tax side of running a beat production business.

Most of what trips people up here is a rare, large exclusive sale that gets treated like ordinary lease income, and collaborator splits that never get tracked.

What your return has to get right

Your accountant signs it, so it gets done right the first time.

  • Paying a collaborator $2,000 or moreA co-producer not on payroll, paid $2,000 or more in 2026 in split payments, gets a 1099-NEC by January 31. Gus tracks that running total.
  • Self-employment taxA producer not on payroll owes 15.3 percent in self-employment tax on top of income tax, up to the Social Security wage base of $184,500.
  • Form 1099-K from marketplacesBeatStars and similar sites send a 1099-K once you cross $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year. Sales are taxable whether or not a form arrives.
  • The pass-through deductionMost production businesses can take up to 20 percent of profit off their taxable income. Above $201,750 single or $403,500 joint, the accountant checks how much applies.

Deductions music producers and beatmakers miss

Your bookkeeper knows what to look for in your statements. You never have to.

  • Plugin and sample subscriptions
  • Studio monitors and interfaces
  • MIDI controllers and gear
  • Marketplace listing fees
  • Collaborator split payouts
  • Marketing for beat sales
  • Business phone and internet
  • Business liability insurance
  • Website hosting for a beat store
  • Accounting and legal fees

General information about 2026 federal rules, not advice for your business. Your accountant looks at your actual numbers before anything gets filed.

All year, not just April

A beat production business's year, kept every month.

Lease sales trickle in daily and exclusive deals land whenever they land. Your team keeps the books closed every month regardless. Every month in between, your bookkeeper closes the books and speaks up the moment something looks off.

  1. January

    Plan the beat store's year

    Last year's return gets started, collaborator 1099s are prepared, and a monthly set-aside is planned so April is no scramble.

  2. April

    Filed, beats still selling

    The return is filed and signed while beats keep selling, with no scramble since the set-aside has been building since January.

  3. July

    Lease catalog check

    Where you stand, what you will owe, and whether an exclusive sale changed the number.

  4. October

    Before year-end catalog sales

    Many producers run discounts on lease pricing before the year ends. Gus looks at what is planned and anything worth doing before December.

What you get

Starts at$197a month

What you pay depends on what your business needs, and it does not move after that, busy season or slow. No hourly bills, no surprise invoices, no setup fee.

Book a call
  • Monthly bookkeeping

    Every transaction sorted into categories set up for music producers and beatmakers. You never categorize a thing.

  • An accountant checks every transaction

    Real review, every month, before your books close. Not a spot check.

  • Your business tax return, filed

    Prepared, reviewed, and signed by that same accountant every year.

  • The monthly number

    What you made, what you spent, what to set aside for taxes.

  • Your own bookkeeper

    A real person assigned to your business, in the app whenever you need them. No hold music.

  • On your books all year

    Every month, not just in April. Your team speaks up whenever something is worth your attention.

  • Cancel any time

    No contract. No cancellation call. Your books are yours.

Straight answers

Questions music producers ask first.

Do I owe more tax on an exclusive sale than a regular lease?

The rate is the same either way, it is ordinary income. Gus just flags the exclusive sale as one-time so your regular planning is not thrown off.

My BeatStars payout is one number covering hundreds of tiny sales. Is that hard to work with?

No. Gus books it as your lease revenue for the period and keeps the underlying reports on file in case a detailed look is ever needed.

I make sample packs and sell beats through different sites. Can Gus keep those separate?

Yes. He tracks sample pack sales apart from beat leases and exclusive deals, so you can see what each side of the business earns.

I split royalties with a rapper on a song that used my beat. Does that count differently?

That is more of a songwriting split than a beat sale. Gus can track it as its own line and the accountant can clarify how ongoing splits should be reported.

My beat sales and subscriptions have never been tracked in one place. Can Gus fix that?

Yes. Send the bank and marketplace payout statements you have. Gus sorts leases from exclusive sales, the accountant checks it, and most producers know where they stand inside a week.

Is a real accountant checking my books?

Yes. You get your own bookkeeper, Gus does the first pass on every transaction, and an accountant checks every one before your month closes. That same accountant prepares, signs, and files your business return. Goatkeeper is not a CPA firm, and we never pretend a person looked when they did not.

What does it cost, and can I cancel?

It starts at $197 a month, depending on what your business needs. No setup fee, no hourly bills, no contract. Cancel any time from the app, and your books go with you.

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We keep books for the business next door too.

What makes a bookkeeper worth paying for Every business we keep books for

Book a call

Pick a time. That's the whole signup.

Fifteen minutes with a real person on our team. They look at where your books are, tell you straight what it takes to get caught up, and get you set up on the spot if it fits.

  • $197 a month to start
  • An accountant on every transaction
  • Cancel whenever