How To Generate Income Producing Music: Steve Aoki's Collaborator David Daxsen Offers A Guide

In an inspiring tale of musical triumph, David Xavier Sanchez — widely known in the music industry as David Daxsen — embarked on his journey at the age of 15. Armed with a Toshiba laptop and a modest $60 MIDI keyboard, he laid the groundwork for his future achievements.

Determined to forge his own path, he established Daxsen Records, a record label that would prove pivotal in his career.

Undeterred by his youth, he ventured into organizing electronic music events and expanded his influence to Mexico, where he became one of the pioneers in commercial electronic music labels.

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Over the span of 13 years, Daxsen's vision and perseverance bore fruit, leading to the establishment of Daxsen Music Group — an influential consortium encompassing 52 record labels. Notably, this venture facilitated collaborations with major companies such as Sony Group Corp.'s SONY Sony Music Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and Universal Music Group UMGNF.

Within the music industry, David Daxsen cultivated relationships with esteemed artists, including Snoop Dogg, FloRida, Tiesto, Steve Aoki, Hardwell, and others, showcasing his prowess as a collaborator and visionary.

Daxsen's accomplishments extended beyond music. With an estimated substantial fortune of approximately $400 million, he left an impact in media, extravagant lifestyles, real estate, and philanthropy.

In an exclusive interview with Benzinga, Daxsen outlined the primary paths to generate income as a music producer:

1) Always Have Legal Backing

Royalties from copyrights are generated when the producer is involved in the composition of the song, be it the lyrics or the melody, according to the expert's insight.

"Always have legal backing," he advises. "Always ensure your paperwork is in order, and most importantly, sign the documents. Many artists simply trust and end up without any backing."

When it comes to negotiating with major labels, he added: "In my case, since I own my record label, and it handles my producer royalties, I usually release the tracks within my label or one of Daxsen Music Group's labels."

In the event of collaborating with a major label, his label represents his interests as a producer too (i.e., with Sony Music). "That way, I claim my participation as a label with another label, which gives me a bit more leverage to negotiate between two companies and offers me greater protection," he explained.

2) Work For Hire

In the music world, "work for hire" means the producer receives an upfront payment for the transfer of intellectual rights over the song.

This implies that the producer won't receive a share of royalties from the project. "It's what I did for a long time to finance other projects and not burden the artists signed to record labels, as sometimes this position suits them better." However, he warns: "It's not as advantageous for the artist as a producer, as they often miss out on a percentage that could turn into something significant. But these are decisions you make to gain a competitive advantage over other producers."

Regarding the amount a producer can charge for their work and the rights transfer, Daxsen started out charging between $5000 and $7000. Later, for pop or reggaeton tracks, he charged between $20,000 and $25,000. With more renowned artists like Snoop Dogg or FloRida, the amounts are much higher, ranging from $150,000 to $200,000.

3) Mechanical Royalties

This type of royalty comes into play when the music producer was not part of the initial creation of the song, meaning they won't have royalties from copyright because the essence of the track was already created by the artist beforehand.

In such cases, the producer's task is to enhance the existing demo, and thus, they will receive a share of royalties from the track on digital platforms. "The platforms that generate the most royalties per play are Napster and Tidal, generating at least three times more profit than Spotify," he revealed.

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Image courtesy: Daxsen Music Group