LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥� Timbaland paved his own way as a hit-making producer for elite acts like Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z, but now he鈥檚 creating a lane for aspiring music creators to collaborate with the industry鈥檚 biggest performers.
While his uber-successful 鈥淰erzuz鈥� series with Swizz Beatz remains popular, Timbaland steps into a new venture called Beatclub, an online beat-selling marketplace. It鈥檚 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.
鈥淚 know what it鈥檚 like being a kid sitting in a room, don鈥檛 know if you got talent. The way that this world is moving, how do these kids get their music heard,鈥� said Timbaland, a Grammy-winning producer and songwriter who has worked with Beyonc茅, Missy Elliott, Rihanna, Madonna, Drake and more.
鈥淭his platform is a place where creators can communicate,鈥� he continues. 鈥淚鈥檓 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.鈥�
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鈥檚 joining Beatclub as well. The singer said he鈥檚 currently working with Timbaland and Beatclub on his upcoming record.
鈥淲hen Tim told me about Beatclub, the concept behind it, I thought what a great, brilliant idea,鈥� said Timberlake, who has won three Grammys with Timbaland for 鈥淪exy Back,鈥� 鈥淟oveStoned/I Think She Knows鈥� and 鈥淧usher Lover Girl.鈥� The duo collaborated on five of Timberlake鈥檚 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.
鈥淔or people to have access to this type of tech and platform where you can share stuff, I find it really inspiring,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t gets me excited to collaborate with people I鈥檝e never even met. Even the stuff we鈥檙e working on right now with my record, it鈥檚 all Beatclub. It鈥檚 Tim bringing in people who he鈥檚 found through this platform and bringing them to me.鈥�
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鈥檛 take any additional income from subscribers.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e learning financial literacy,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e learning about wealth and how to control money and the business. It鈥檚 your own business. It鈥檚 a place for their tools to get valued when they think they are not.鈥�
Beatclub was named after Timbaland's record label Beat Club, which launched the career of rapper Bubba Sparxxx nearly two decades ago. The label ultimately folded, but Timbaland had an epiphany one night to keep the name alive but with a different approach.
After he woke up, Timbaland instantly called his business partner Gary Marella 鈥� who worked with him on 鈥淰erzuz鈥� 鈥� to tell him about his idea for the new digital platform. He felt encouraged to pursue the Beatclub idea after the success of 鈥淰erzuz鈥� series, which has two musicians facing off in a song-against-song battle.
The series was acquired by Triller earlier this year. It has grown from being on to having in-person battles in front of an audience, and could head into the touring space, the producer says.
Timbaland said 鈥淰erzuz鈥� improved his business savvy while the pandemic reprogrammed his self-awareness.
鈥溾�榁erzuz鈥� helped me dial back into my past,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t helped me with my people skills, and how to deal with people without getting emotional and stop being selfish. It taught me how to think about both parties, my business and coming to a solution. You see there鈥檚 a problem, but what鈥檚 the solution.鈥�
Marella said he was immediately sold with the Beatclub idea when Timbaland called him.
鈥淚 think the world was a little ready for it,鈥� said Marella, who helped put together a deal between Beatclub and the National Hockey League to provide custom music for the league鈥檚 top games like the Stanley Cup. The platform also partnered with IBM as part of the company鈥檚 mentorship program for startups to offer data protection, privacy and security solutions.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a couple other people in this space like Splice and BeatStars, who I can鈥檛 ignore and have been groundbreaking, forward thinking and disrupting the business in terms of beats licensing,鈥� he continued. 鈥淏ut what better person to kick open the door than Timbaland. He鈥檚 leading the way for all these top-level producers, songwriters and even artists, telling them this is the future of the business.鈥�
Timbaland calls this time of his life a rebirth after struggling with substance abuse, a divorce, being overweight and unhealthy a few years ago. But now, he has a renewed focus in his next phase after losing more than 100 pounds with a fresh scope on his entrepreneurial endeavors.
鈥淚 was reevaluating everything that was put in my life,鈥� he said. 鈥淏ut I鈥檓 always a hustler. I鈥檓 always a pivot guy. 鈥� It鈥檚 about working smarter, not harder. That鈥檚 how I pivot.鈥�
Jonathan Landrum Jr., The Associated Press
