here are a lot of thing that go into being a good or great producer. It’s not just about making beats. Now what do I mean when I say “online producer”? It means producers who have, what are called, beat sites. This is where artists go to listen and buy beats online, usually from the producer’s website. 

So back to what makes a good to great one. Well of course it starts with a great sounding beat. No one wants to buy a beat that isn’t great sounding to the ear. So whether the producer makes rap, hip-hop, pop, trap, or EDM type beats, they need to sound great according to the artists of that genre. 

Another thing that sometimes goes overlooked in beat making and beat purchasing is quality. Lots of producers, or beat makers, today don’t spend enough time learning the art of mixing the music they create. Some of today’s software has made it easy to create music, even very catchy music, but it’s not as easy to always make the beats or instrumentals clean and clear while making sure it pumps/ bumps. Often, the 
new beat makers opt for loudness over clarity. The beat is over-compressed and ends up with distortion. 
This can be the major difference between professional beats and amateur beats. Another factor when considering a producer for greatness is versatility. Some beat makers have a “lane” that they stay in which can be a good thing. Great producers seem to have a bit more flexibility with their talent and can provide a full range of beats and instrumentals, expanding over more than one genre. Some of the greats have produced music that has done well in R&B, and then crossed over into pop. Some hip-hop records do so well they too cross-over into the pop lane. Trap beats and songs have gotten so big as of late that they can cross over into R&B, pop and even EDM. 

When an artist is shopping and buying beats online they should keep these factors in mind. They should consider the genre, the “ear appeal”, the quality and potential to genre-jump. Other things like the quality of the website and ease-of-use should be taken into account as well. There is a lot of music out there and a lot of producers competing for the business of artists shopping online… If one of them is you, choose 
wisely!