Why you need tracked oud stems
If what you want is to record your songs in a professional way, what you need are the Track Out Files (also called Track Stems) of the Beat. For some artists this is something new, but they are really important if you want to get the best result.
Track Out Files:
Track Out Files are each of the audio tracks that make up the instrumental (for example, an audio track for the Kick, another for the Snare, another for the Bass, another for the Piano, etc). They are also often called Stems and are usually included in the most expensive non-exclusive licenses:
What are Track Out Files used for?
Track Out Files are ideal for controlling the mix, the volume levels of each track or even the frequencies of each track. On the other hand thanks to the Track Out Files you can make arrangements and cuts to the song.
Audio engineers need to have maximum control over the mix to deliver the song with a professional sound that can compete with the highest level songs in the industry. But if you are an independent artist who records and mixes his own songs exactly the same principles apply. You don’t need to be a professional audio engineer to do all this.
The possibilities offered by Track Out Files are the best option to make your voice and song sound like never before. Simply being able to adjust the volumes of each track can already make a big difference in the final result. Or for example, if any instrument interferes with your voice, you can equalize it to give space to the voice so that everything sounds cleaner. Is that piano left over in the second verse? No problem, you can remove it to leave it to your liking. why adapting the lyrics to the beat when the beat can adapt to your likings? nothing to say …
2 Reasons why Track Out Files are better than a Wav or Mp3:
I sincerely hope you never work with mp3 files in your songs. I don’t know if you know, but mp3 files have very poor sound quality. So much so, that if you send a song to the audio engineer to mix it with a Beat on mp3, most likely he refuses to mix the song. Not to mention sounding on the radio: Not even thinking about it with an mp3 song.
The second reason why it is better to have Track Out files is the mastered versions. When you buy a Beat in an online store, the single track version in Mp3 or Wav is already mastered. WHY? so that they sound with the highest possible quality and at a high volume that meets the standards. What is the problem with all this? When you record your song and send it to mix it, you can not mix and master well because the Beat is already mastered! This will make everything very crushed and significantly reduce the quality of your song.
Here you can see an example of what I am talking about:
Here the original Beat:
Can you tell the difference huh?
Clearly in the song the voice sounds well above the instrumental, which not only sounds very crushed, but also has lost all its strength. Of course this is not close to the standard quality of the industry.
This is because the artist bought a license on a single track (already mastered) while with the Track Out files, it would not only sound like the original Beat (since you would have all the tracks without mastering) but also it could still sound even better and gain more strength and presence.
So why are licenses with Track Out Files more expensive?
On one hand (already knowing all the advantages offered by Track Out Files) I am giving you the possibility of having more control over the song to get its full potential and make it sound spectacular. On the other hand, the price does not rise only for the Track Out Files, but also these licenses that include them, also have other advantages such as, for example, monetization on YouTube, higher number of streams and sales, radio stations, longer expiration date, etc.
Therefore I personally believe that it is an investment that is worthwhile and that you can achieve a better return with all the advantages it offers.
Too expensive for me
If after reading all this, Tracked Out licenses still seem too expensive to you or you simply cannot pay for this type of license, I would recommend at least one license with a Wav version. You will be more limited in mixing and mastering but if you leave the mix in the hands of a good audio engineer, you can get good results. Of course, if you are going to make a single or an EP, or you are going to make a music video and upload your song to the digital platforms as Spotify, I do not recommend this option at all. You can miss great opportunities to sound on the radio or to be contacted by a mayor record company because of having a poor quality song. It would be a shame, don’t you think? As a final note, let me tell you that if you don’t have the money for a Track Out Files license now, you always have the option to update your license in the future by paying the difference.
I hope that all this can help you and that all your doubts about this matter have been resolved.