The control room desk, seen from the side

Free to vote · Members enter

Best of the Nest

A beat battle until a song takes home the prize

A running beat competition for producers and artists in Los Angeles. Any account can enter and vote. Free accounts enter one beat a round, Studio Members enter three. The winning record earns its producer and its artist a free session at EchoNest.

Send a Beat In

Preview

The bracket runs in the open

The studio listens to every beat sent in. Sixteen make the bracket, and voting is open to every account, free or paid. The beats shown below are examples.

Voting Example

Sixteen beats

1 Nightbus 60% 2 Corner Booth 40%

3 Paper Radio 55% 4 Amber Hour 45%

5 Cold Open 52% 6 Slow Static 48%

7 Model Home 63% 8 Back Alley Loop 37%

9 Peach Static 57% 10 Midnight Transfer 43%

11 Gold Teeth 51% 12 Glass Row 49%

13 Late Pass 54% 14 Tape Deck Blue 46%

15 Vermont at Night 66% 16 Neon Curfew 34%

Last eight

1 Nightbus 61% 3 Paper Radio 39%

5 Cold Open 44% 7 Model Home 56%

9 Peach Static 58% 11 Gold Teeth 42%

13 Late Pass 47% 15 Vermont at Night 53%

Last four

1 Nightbus 54% 7 Model Home 46%

9 Peach Static 49% 15 Vermont at Night 51%

Both go free

Nightbus Free in the store

Vermont at Night Free in the store

Both beats left standing are added to the beat store free to download.

How a round works

From submission to session, in five steps.

Any account can enter Free accounts get one beat a round. Studio Members get three.
The studio picks sixteen We listen to every beat that comes in and choose sixteen beats for the bracket. Nobody on staff enters this contest.
Three knockout rounds Voting takes the field from sixteen to eight, then eight to four, then four to two.
The last two beats go free Both are added to the beat store, free for anyone to download and record on. Studio Members can submit the song they make.
The winning producer picks the song The producer whose beat placed higher chooses the winning record.

Four hours, on the house

The artist and the producer behind the winning record share a free four-hour session at EchoNest.

Rounds run out of the room

Contest beats are free to use in any session at EchoNest. Book the room and record on one.

Book a Session