Topic
A stem is a group of audio sources mixed down together and then handled as one unit, such as all the drums or all the vocals. Multitracks are the individual tracks before that grouping. Here is the difference, and when to send which.
Workflows
A DAW, or digital audio workstation, is the device or software you record, edit and produce audio in. Most are programs on a computer; some now run in a web browser. What it is, what it does, and how to think about picking one.
Workflows
A master recording is the finished recorded version of a track, and in US law the copyright in it is the copyright in a "sound recording": a separate work from the song it captures. Here is what the US Copyright Office says that copyright covers, who its author is, and what owning your masters actually means.
Workflows
A mechanical royalty is the money owed to songwriters and publishers when their song, the composition rather than the recording, is copied and distributed, whether on CD, vinyl, download or stream. In the US, streaming mechanicals run through The MLC.
Workflows
A PRO licenses the public performance of songs to radio, TV, venues and streaming services, collects the fees and pays them to songwriters and publishers. Here is what that means, with IPRS, ASCAP, BMI and CISAC as the reference points.
Workflows
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