STEREO AUDIO ARCHIVAL ASSET BEST PRACTICES

Below are UMG’s Stereo Audio Archival Asset Best Practices for all recording projects. Please read thoroughly and adhere to each requirement (technically appropriate to your project) before recording, mixing and delivering any completed mixes

DESCRIBE

Please clearly label folders and /or files with the following:

  • Artist Name
  • Song Title
  • Mix Type (Main, A Cappella, Instrumental, TV Track)
  • Tempo (BPM)
  • Date Created (MMDDYYYY)

Naming Convention:

ArtistName_SongTitle_Mix Type_Tempo_DateCreated(MMDDYYYY)
Example:
MaggieRogers_GiveALittle_Main Mix_100BPM_09222017

  • Do not use non-alphanumeric characters such as: *?<>”|/:+#
  • If submitting a clean version, please add to the file name after version type

ORGANIZE

Organize all deliverables recorded or stored on all digital formats with a consistent and easy to follow directory structure. Please clearly identify final mixes/session files/stems

MULTITRACK SESSIONS

Please deliver all:

MULTITRACK SESSION and SESSION ELEMENTS:

All format appropriate multitrack sessions, all DAW multitrack sessions and session elements:

  • Include all audio and MIDI for all recorded and mixed audio
  • Delineate clearly between used and unused session elements for all multitrack sessions
  • Consolidate all session elements from the earliest session element’s position in the song timeline to ensure accurate reproduction of each multitrack session

RENDER UNIQUE ELEMENTS TO NEW AUDIO FILES AND TRACKS INCLUDING:

  • All software or hardware sampler or synthesizer instruments and/or any significantly processed and difficult to reproduce multitrack elements

IDENTIFY CONTRIBUTOR NAME AND INSTRUMENT:

  • Identify each contributor’s performance using at a minimum, their name and role, and the time place and date of their recording
  • Either in the DAW multitrack session track comments for each track(s) or in the accompanying session documentation

SESSION DOCUMENTATION CREATED THROUGHOUT ALL RECORDING and MIXING:

  • Identify song title, studio, date, all recording locations for all audio files, contributors, take number (if appropriate), Master Mix, Mix Version, and Mix Revision and all other information

MIX STEMS

Deliver all Mix Stems using these guidelines:

All stems should:

  • Be the same duration, so they can be synced up easily (recording start and end time)
  • Include 1 bar of silence on each end
  • Match the tempo of the project/session, including any tempo changes.
  • Delivered ‘wet’ – All FX applied so files playback as the main mix with faders at 0dB
  • Include ‘wet’ as well as ‘dry’ vocal stems, making sure to print corresponding FX separately
  • Separated out as much as possible – e.g. Guitars should be grouped as Acoustics, Electrics, Solo/lead etc.
  • Vocal stem elements (lead and background) should be separated out as much as possible
  • Drum kits, sampled or live, should be separated out, as well as delivering a stereo stem of the full kit
  • Loops/Samples should be printed as separate stems and not combined with other mix elements
  • For live recordings, please provide as much separation as possible for audience microphones (e.g. please don’t print all audience mics to one stem)
  • Tuning should be included on dry elements (Autotune, Melodyne, etc)

MIXES

Please deliver the following mix variants:

  • Main Mix: The final Main Mix for mastering
  • Instrumental: Mix excluding any vocal performances
  • TV Mix: excludes main vocal performance and includes everything else (i.e. instruments and backing vocals, a.k.a.  Backing, PA, or Performance Track)
  • A Cappella: All vocals without any instrumental backing
  • Edited (Clean): (if applicable) includes the edited version of each explicit Main Mix and each explicit Mix Version (e.g. Non-Explicit)

ALTERNATE MIXES (I.E. MIX REVISIONS) OF THE MAIN MIX OR ITS MIX VERSIONS INCLUDING:

  • Technical Mix Revisions: adjustments to level, dynamics, eq or effects (e.g. vocal up, vocal down, guitars up 2dB etc.)
  • Creative Mix Revisions: any revisions to the musical arrangement created at Mix, beyond what is traditionally requested (i.e. excluding or significantly changing one or many instrument or vocal performances)

DELIVERY

Please contact your label representative for detailed delivery instructions