We’ve always offered an extensive variety of alternate mixes and cutdowns for our tracks. However, certain projects need additional flexibility to fine-tune the music to fit perfectly. To maximise versatility and utility in our catalogue for creatives, we’ve made individual stems for over 10,000 of our high-quality tracks available for download.
Find out everything you need to know about this exciting new feature below.
Where Can I Find Stems on Audio Network?
The majority of our tracks come with stems. You can easily identify them by looking for the stems label on the track. If it’s crucial for you to have a track with stems, you can filter in our Search Tool and find tracks that only have stems, as shown in the video below. So go ahead and explore our amazing selection of tracks with stems.
What Are Stems?
Stems in music are created as part of the mixing process and final track delivery. They are subgroups of the full mix and usually reflect groupings of instruments/instrumental sections, as opposed to individual instruments or sounds.
What’s the Difference between a Stem and a Mix?
We normally have 5 or 6 stems per track, whereas in a mix project of any given recording you might have 10s or even 100s of individual tracks. For example, a snare drum as part of a kit is a single recorded track, while the grouping of an entire drum kit with all recorded components in one separated subgroup and audio file is a stem.
Why Use Stems?
Stems give you greater flexibility and creative control. They are especially beneficial for those who work in branded content. You can adjust levels of key instrument groups to get the right balance in a commercial (vs dialogue and FX, for example.)
How Many Stems Do We Have Today?
Currently we have 9,700 tracks with stems. 58% of all tracks have stems and 90%+ of new release albums have stems. We have +80% stems coverage going back to 2018. However, most tracks recorded prior to 2014 do not have stems.
Why Don’t We Have 100% Stems Coverage?
Audio Network emphasises the quality of music production, often recording albums with top musicians in renowned studios. However, it's not always possible to get stems when recording at the highest quality. For instance, some orchestral and ensemble albums are recorded tutti, meaning all voices or instruments performed together. These group recordings can't always be separated due to microphone spill. While the separation is adequate for a good mix, it's insufficient for isolating individual components.
Today, we produce our music with stems in mind wherever feasible. Some projects, like the Classical Collection, still require tutti recording, but from 2018 onwards we have produced stems whenever we can.
READY TO FIND YOUR PERFECT SOUNDTRACK?
What Can I Do with Stems?
To paraphrase our licence terms, users must:
- Use stems only for the purposes of re-balancing the audio mix and/or removing separate audio elements of the track;
- Not use any individual stem in isolation;
- Not combine any stem or stems with other tracks (or stems thereof) or any other musical elements;
- Not use the stems in any way which infringes the rights of any third party;
- Not alter the fundamental character of the musical composition and/or sound recording, or introduce new lyrical or melodic material;
- Report the original track in the cue sheet or other music reporting document.
Why Can’t I Combine Stems with Other Musical Elements?
If you combine Audio Network stems with your own or a third party’s musical or lyrical elements, this can create a derivative work. This can be legally complex and may require that the separate copyright owners negotiate shares of the derivative work; agree these terms with the songwriters and get their permission for the treatment of their work; and register the new musical work and recording with collection societies globally. There’s also a risk that such a derivative work may result in the infringement of another party’s copyright.
In the majority of cases, this simply isn’t cost-effective and would create significant delays in clearing the derivative work for use in your content.
Try Out Stems
To access stems, either log in or create an account. Note that not all subscriptions include stems. If you require stems but can't access them, please reach out to your account manager.
