Client just told me he is ENTITLED to stem tracks.

[Jordon]

I have no problem bouncing stems for the dude, right on, I'd want them, too. But for him to come up and say he is entitled to them? WTF? I charge to sit here and bounce out stems for a whole fucking record, and he thinks I'm out of line when I say this. Not only that, but him and his band are fighting me for performance and writing credit on this record. His guitarist was lazy, and guess who had to step up and get the job done? Me. I also co-wrote one song all the way through and worked on vocals and melodies for the rest of the EP. Jesus fuck, man.

Fuck. Sorry, just had to vent for a bit.

 

[TheDriller]

He's also entitled to go fuck himself.

 

[Jordon]

He's also entitled to go fuck himself.

You're my favorite person right now.

 

[FarBeyondMetal]

I feel you man, I seem to always get myself into these types of situations :zombie:

 

[heshian46]

This is why contracts are your best friends. Is this that young band you've been working with?

 

[Jordon]

This is why contracts are your best friends. Is this that young band you've been working with?

Yea, it is. Everything is under contract, but they seem to have a reading comprehension problem.

 

[heshian46]

Maybe you need to learn em' how to read

 

[Trevoire520]

Tell him he can have his stems and is also entitled to a free slap in the face?

 

[schwinginbatman]

He's also entitled to go fuck himself.

sigged

 

[mva801]

What the hell. That shit takes time. Time = money. Therefore, stems = money. What part of that is hard to understand?

 

[Jordon]

What the hell. That shit takes time. Time = money. Therefore, stems = money. What part of that is hard to understand?

See all that stuff you just wrote? That's what is apparently hard to understand.

 

[StoneLord]

What does your contract say regarding stems/raw tracks?

 

[LiberaScientia]

inb4 'omg they're not stems they're raw tracks'

But yeah, agreed with everything everyone else said.

 

[nktwr]

Charge them for it at an hourly rate and demand that they are present while you do it so that there are no disputes about how long it took

 

[DanLights]

inb4 'omg they're not stems they're raw tracks'

But yeah, agreed with everything everyone else said.

wait, is the OP talking about raw tracks and not stems??

 

[Charles J]

What the hell. That shit takes time. Time = money. Therefore, stems = money. What part of that is hard to understand?

Sadly, this is an ever-dying FACT OF THIS BUSINESS in the minds our of our clients and general populous, especially here in the US.

Before the home studio EXPLOSION people recognized this and respected it, in all facets of the biz (oh! you got my band that gig @ such and such club, here's $40. Thanks dude!)

Nah, cold day in hell when that happens unless you're working with seasoned dudes who are used to the old 'system'.

 

[Charles J]

depending on how many songs it is, how much the band is going to get on your back, and IF BOTH parties can't come to SOME compromise, they can piss off. OH WELL.

I highly doubt they really NEED them anyways. It's become a buzzword and especially younger bands, all feel they NEED 'stems'.

I've had a lot of the bigger acts I've done ask for just certain things, like any production efx I added (which is usually a ton), click tracks, possibly GTR tracks if I did a lot of 'producing' on them regarding EFX, and they usually expect them for free.

SOOOO, I make it clear and say "IF I have time, I will get to these, if not, I'm really sorry dudes!". And if no money is over offered or discussed and I DON'T have the time (95% of the time) then guess who doesn't get what they asked for.

Time = Money, man. Especially when you're an actual ADULT and have some major bills every month (especially in Phil and myself's situation. Two bachelors living in a house with our studio facility attached. I work part-time and Phil work full-time + the studio and we're STILL BROKE at the moment.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHhrfrotdhjnrgWO;Z

 

[colonel kurtz]

if i was paying someone to record my band, i wouldn't find it unreasonable to expect to get stems if i asked for them...but i would also expect to pay the full hourly rate for whatever amount of time it would take to bounce them!

 

[Jordon]

inb4 'omg they're not stems they're raw tracks'

But yeah, agreed with everything everyone else said.

No, they want the raw multitracks, and want me to rip stems for them. I do actually know what I'm talking about.

The contract doesn't mention anything about releasing multi-track raw files or releasing stems. If they want my time, they will pay for it, if they don't pay for it, they don't get it. Not a difficult concept, but one they fail to grasp.

I've told them over and over that I don't mind doing it, truly I don't, but I will not work for free. I asked them how they would feel if their employer came up and said "I deserve to have you come into work for 8 hours for free." They said the wouldn't work for free, yet STILL find it ridiculous that I'm charging them for my time.

 

[DanLights]

...So, they want both? Raw tracks AND processed stems?