Do you trust somebody asking for your stems?

#1

I recently finished my first “real” song and submitted it for rotation to a few online radio shows and DJs (Mixcloud type stuff). One of the DJs got back to me saying he showed the track to a friend of his who wants to know if I’d be interested in sending him the stems for a remix. The DJ seems to be reputable…has a long history with a decent size listener base for his show and he organizes live events in a large city. The friend’s act also seems to be reputable having worked with several big names (whatever that means in EBM) mostly as a remix artist, but also producing original material, and often appears on several of the same shows I submitted my track to. Both seem legit.

I’m just put off by being asked about a remix unsolicited. I don’t even know if the track is that good…how good can a first song be? Why would someone be offering a remix? But also, I have zero confidence in myself and horrible social skills so maybe that’s just making me paranoid and this is a totally normal part of networking and interacting with other artists when they like your music and I’m just not accustomed to it.

If you give someone your stems they have the 11 herbs and spices though…no taking the recipe back. They can do whatever they want with it. Are you comfortable handing over stems or is this a no-no?

#2

I dunno, it’s a judgement call. I guess my take would be it’s your first real song, who cares if he steals it? The chances seem slim since everyone sounds reputable, and it could be great exposure and the beginnings of great new network or collab opportunities. The worst that happens is you get taken for a ride - just go write more music.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

#3

I agree, if the OP had a track record then a contract of sorts would be good to have, but in the current case I’d go for it. OP, maybe talk it through with your friend, have some sort of verbal agreement at a minimum. I mean, the least you could do is meet them and talk it through.
Edit: if the guy has actually done legit remixes he might already have some kind of written agreement anyway.

#4

I give people stems all the time. What are they going to do, make millions of dollars on my riffs or designs? Nah, probably not. If they pass off a single song as their own, good luck following that one up, nobody is going to buy it. And if they resample it, they’ve technically created their own new thing so that’s fine too.

If you’re real skeptical, just let a whole bunch of people remix the same song. The more, the merrier.

#5

It is a judgement call, but 1st song or not you can get jacked and someone become famous off of it!

I fought a long court battle for my 1st song which got jacked by rca, and released by Teddy Riley! Song was and is titled “Right here, human nature remix” SWV.

None the less…with today’s stamping methods (how music is time stamped) you can easily prove what was your work! Problem is… there’s so much out there, keeping up with every label, person, and release would mean you need a team constantly following what’s being released.

This is how big labels track mechinal rights, and illegal usage.

I would make sure you get the dj asking info, and be frank about your concerns. Direct sincere conversation from a calm place will net you what answers you need. but truthfully…the only person who can answer the trust question is…yourself!

Even if it was your billionth release, you will always need to worry about trusting others. That’s also part of the “industry”. Trusting a team, or others willing to help push your vision.

Best of no matter what you decide

#6

just send it over. i mean… are you expecting to make millions on this song??? or even tens of hundreds of cents?

if its your first song than you have hundreds still in you.

#7

Along the lines of what @TvMcC says, I wouldn’t send stems to anyone (be it my first song or song number 5,000) without at least talking to the guy in question and/or having a written conversation (email) that mentions you are keeping the rights to your song/stems; you are only allowing him to remix this is a courtesy for a specific purpose. Should the guy want to use your stems for commercial use (to make money off), then it becomes a different story and ultimately nobody wants to work for free for someone else’s illicit gain.

All in all, it’s a question of principle in my book. If the guy is legit, he won’t try to rip you off. If he’s not, he may get away with calling your work his. No matter how much money he makes or doesn’t make, that would irk me big time so I’d rather be legally protected by some kind of agreement first.