LOS ANGELES — Timbaland paved his own way as a hit-making producer for elite acts like Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, but now he’s creating a lane for aspiring music creators to collaborate with the industry’s biggest performers.
While his uber-successful “Verzuz” series with Swizz Beatz remains popular, Timbaland steps into a new venture called Beatclub, an online beat-selling marketplace. It’s a digital platform for music makers to connect with musicians, producers, songwriters, music publishers and record labels.
Through Beatclub, Timbaland looks to become a liaison between the unknown and the very well-known.
“I know what it’s like being a kid sitting in a room, don’t know if you got talent. The way that this world is moving, how do these kids get their music heard,” said Timbaland, a Grammy-winning producer and songwriter who has worked with Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Rihanna, Madonna, Drake and more.
“This platform is a place where creators can communicate,” he continues. “I’m the head of the ship. But guess what, if you own a ship, you can communicate with me and you get better. I can point you to a Lil Durk or Lil Baby and tell them to lookout for this guy or girl, and give that person a shot. That could be their biggest dream.”
Beatclub expects to officially launch later this year, but several top-line musicians and producers like J. Cole, Mike WiLL Made-It, Mike Dean, Tainy and Scott Storch have joined.
On Monday, Justin Timberlake announced to The Associated Press that he’s joining Beatclub as well. The singer said he’s currently working with Timbaland and Beatclub on his upcoming record.
“When Tim told me about Beatclub, the concept behind it, I thought what a great, brilliant idea,” said Timberlake, who has won three Grammys with Timbaland for “Sexy Back,” “LoveStoned/I Think She Knows” and “Pusher Lover Girl.” The duo collaborated on five of Timberlake’s studio albums.
Timberlake said in a video first released to the AP that the platform could be an avenue for creatives to connect, communicate and share music without being in the same room.
“For people to have access to this type of tech and platform where you can share stuff, I find it really inspiring,” he said. “It gets me excited to collaborate with people I’ve never even met. Even the stuff we’re working on right now with my record, it’s all Beatclub. It’s Tim bringing in people who he’s found through this platform and bringing them to me.”
Timbaland predicted Beatclub will be extremely rewarding and educational to members, who can keep all their music rights and revenue, set their own terms for pricing and retain their publishing royalties. The platform won’t take any additional income from subscribers.
