Should independent artists purchase beats, and why?

It really depends on your goals as an independent artist. 

If your goal is to sign sync licensing deals, then no...buying beats from sites like Beatstars is not the answer because of the complications that leased beats create in the sync industry. Even buying the exclusive does not clear your song for sync. In this case, it's better to find a producer that makes 100% original beats (no samples, no melodic loops from splice, no producer pool loops) and collaborate with them, creating authentic music that checks all of the boxes of a quality "sync asset". 

But if you are a new artist, working on your craft and building a fan base, and you want to drop new music consistently, then yes, you can lease beats and drop new a song every 4-6 weeks, doing your part to promote your music along the way and establish that fan base per your goals.

Don't let anyone tell you what YOUR goals are. Learn as much as you can going in, and along the way, so that you can confidently execute on your music strategy. And always read the beat lease contract before purchasing. 

It’s down to personal preference. Some artists love to work with producers get their beats from, so they can focus on their performance and bringing out the best in their voice and singing. If you get a really cool instrumental from a talented producer, it can be awesome to get inspired by simply vibing to it and don’t stress too much about the technical aspects of the mix. Even major artists such as Rihanna, just to mention one, do this constantly.

If you don't produce yourself or you don't produce at industry standard level, I would highly suggest to work with a producer of buy beats online. Just make sure you have full commercial rights to the song and you want to own the master recording. This way you will be assured that no one else is using the same instrumental/beat.

You can then go ahead and start writing your lyrics and melody to it, send it to a mixer/editer, then to a masterer and you're done! Be sure to get the pre-mix / unmastered version of the instrumental. This way, your final product will sound a lot better. A lot of beat makers present their beats mastered to make them sound better, so be sure to double-check this! Good luck, and let me know if you have questions!

Everything will depend on the creative process of the artist because sometimes many artists who compose their own songs find it easier to get inspiration from an instrumental and the creative process is faster and more effective since they capture the inspiration when listening to the instrumental. On the other hand, there are other types of artists whose process of inspiration or creative creation is unique and independent and they can mentally construct a beep and the desired structure and then there will be the step for the music producer to create what the artist has in mind...

Creativity is everything

This depends on various factors:

Are you able to produce music yourself? How good are you at it? Is it possible for you to produce a track that can hang with the artists in your favorite Spotify playlist? If yes, how many songs do you wanna release a year? Do you have enough time between producing, writing, perhaps performing your songs to even promote your music on social media etc.?

If all of this is overwhelming, even IF you're able to do it yourself at a sufficient level, it's time to outsource. Yes, buying beats might not be associated with the immense personal connection you'd have if you did everything yourself - although it honestly still could be, some beat makers are just that good  - but it saves a lot of time.

You write your vocals, record it, send it off to mixing or do it yourself. Done. Another song in the books.

If you're on a tight schedule and you wanna release at least a song every couple weeks or so, purchasing beats is a great option if you have the funds.

You can always self produce or closely work together with your favorite producers once you're famous