In this cool video, you see Timbaland try to persuade Hip Hop artist Jay-Z to pick one of his beats to flow to. Notice that all of Timbaland’s tracks are master-quality, finished recordings. All is needed is a hot topline to finish the song. His beats are completely finished otherwise. That’s your competition when it comes to getting a co-write with an artist like Jay-Z. So better make sure your beats are at that level before you approach Jay-Z’s manager or A&R to pitch your tracks.My A&R friends in the business tell me that Timbaland commands north of $500,000 for one of his productions these days. After all, a song produced by him is almost a guaranteed to be a top 100 Billboard chart hit.