Beat female record (4)
I believe the answer is:
flog
'beat' is the definition.
(I know that flog is a kind of beat)
'female record' is the wordplay.
'female' becomes 'f' (abbreviation).
'record' becomes 'log' (logging is a kind of recording).
'f'+'log'='FLOG'
(Other definitions for flog that I've seen before include "Hit - sell" , "Thrash" , "- - a dead horse" , "Keep hitting" , "-- Hitler" .)