How to send stems to a client

Stems requests arrive at the worst time: the mix is approved, everyone's happy, and now there's an hour of unglamorous printing between you and being done. The good news is that a stem delivery is completely mechanical once the questions are answered up front. The bad news is that skipping the questions is exactly how the set comes back.

First, agree what "stems" means here

Stems are grouped bounces: drums as one stereo file, bass as another, guitars, keys, lead vocal, backing vocals, effects. Each one printed through its bus processing, usually five to ten files. Multitracks are every individual track in the session, often forty or more raw files. Clients use the word "stems" for both, and the two jobs differ by an order of magnitude, which makes this the first email you send, not the last:

• Which groups? A remixer might want just drums, bass, vocals and "everything else." A sync licensor might have a fixed list. A label archive might genuinely want multitracks.
• Effects printed or separate? Reverbs and delays inside each stem, or as their own wet stem?
• Included or extra? If stems weren't in the original agreement, this is a paid change order, and the moment to say so is now (see what counts as in scope).

Printing: the rules that prevent the redo

• Every stem starts at bar one. Even the ones that are silent for three minutes. The recipient drops all files at zero and presses play; if each stem starts where its first note happens, nothing lines up and your session gets rebuilt by ear.
• Print past the last tail. Set the render range beyond the final note so reverb and delay tails finish naturally. A stem set where the tails clip off at the marker is the second most common redo.
• Match the mix format. 24-bit WAV at the session's sample rate, same as the mix delivery itself. Never MP3: lossy stems don't sum back to anything usable.
• Keep bus processing in, decide about the mix bus. Group processing is what makes a stem sound like the record, so it's printed. The mix bus chain is the judgment call: print it if the stems should sum to the mix, leave it off if someone downstream will process the sum again. Ask, then write the answer in the notes file.
• No limiter slammed across stems. A stem set printed through a mix bus limiter sums louder than the mix and pumps in ways the mix never did. If the mix bus stays on, keep dynamics gentle or bypass the limiter specifically.
• Watch levels on solo'd groups. A group that was fine inside the mix can clip when everything else stops holding it down. Check the loudest stem for overs before you upload.

Naming and the notes file

Number them in a sensible order and say what they are: 01_Drums.wav, 02_Bass.wav, 03_Guitars.wav, 04_Keys.wav, 05_LeadVox.wav, 06_BGVs.wav, 07_FX.wav. One folder per song, zipped. Add a notes file with tempo, key, sample rate, whether the mix bus is printed, and anything unusual (a stem that's mono, an effect printed into a group). Thirty seconds of typing that replaces a confused call next month.

The sum check

Before anything uploads: new empty session, drop every stem at zero, press play next to the mix. It doesn't need to null to silence (printed bus compression reacts to different content in solo), but it should sum unmistakably close to the record. If the stems come back noticeably quieter, louder or thinner than the mix, something in the chain printed differently than it plays, and finding it now costs minutes instead of a redelivery.

Delivering a folder this size

A stem set is often gigabytes, which is exactly where email dies and expiring transfer links start their mischief. The handoff rules are the same as for any unreleased audio, they just matter more at this size:

• Password on the delivery, and a link that doesn't silently expire. The client who needs stems again in six months should find them where they were left. The full argument is in how to send music privately.
• Download tracking. With files this large, "did it come through?" is a real question. Tracking turns it into something you check instead of ask.
• If the stems are a paid extra, gate them. A download that unlocks when the invoice is settled keeps the money conversation attached to the files, which is the polite version of leverage: how to get paid for mixing and mastering.

The short version

Ask which stems, whether effects print, and whether it's paid work. Render everything from bar one to past the last tail, 24-bit WAV at the session rate, bus processing in, limiter out. Name by number and content, add a notes file, sum-check against the mix, and deliver the folder protected, tracked, and, if it's billable, locked until it's paid.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between stems and multitracks?

Stems are grouped bounces: drums, bass, guitars, vocals, each printed as one stereo file through its bus processing. Multitracks are every individual track in the session, often dozens of files. Clients say "stems" for both, which is why the first step is asking what they actually need; the two jobs differ by an order of magnitude.

What format should stems be in?

Match the mix: 24-bit WAV at the session's sample rate, every file printed from bar one so they all line up. Never deliver stems as MP3s; lossy files don't sum back to anything usable.

Should stems have processing printed on them?

Bus processing (the EQ and compression that make each group sound like the record) is usually printed; that's what makes them stems rather than raw tracks. Mix bus processing is the judgment call: printed if the stems should sum to the mix, left off if someone downstream will process the sum again. Ask, then write down what was decided.

Why do all stems need to be the same length?

Because the person receiving them will drop every file at zero and press play. If each stem was printed from where its first note happens, nothing lines up and they have to re-align your session by ear. Print everything from bar one to past the last reverb tail, including the files that start silent.

Should I charge extra for stems?

If they weren't in the original agreement, yes; printing, checking and uploading a stem set is real work, and remix or sync stems create value beyond the mix you were paid for. Name the price when the request comes in, and if payment is a concern, deliver them through a download that unlocks when the invoice is settled.