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Hey guys, I’ve been lurking for awhile and have learned a lot. I really appreciate that a site like this exists. I just have a couple of questions regarding some songs I’ve released as albums and some other questions regarding overall formats.
1) Sample Rate & Bit Rate – I have some older recordings that were recorded at 44.1k & 16bits (doh!). Is it frowned upon to not have a higher sample rate and bit rate? What are my options to “up” the bit rate? I have uploaded the wav’s into a Logic Pro X Project with a Sample Rate of 48k and 24bits and Logic “converted” them and they sound find and look the part. Is that acceptable from the viewpoint of a client/library? Should I re-record/re-mix/re-master them?
Also, my newer recordings I’ve been recording at 48k & 24 bits and have exported the wav’s with a kbps of 2,304 or 2,116. Is that standard for wav’s? For mp3’s it seems standard to have 320kbps.
2) I don’t have stems! – I have about 20 songs I’ve released over the years that I want to move into the library world as opposed to the “iTunes” world. I wrote them with library’s in mind without really knowing the process. I have one “EP” in particular that the mixing engineer deleted all of my stems and a few more in which I have to beg the engineers to give me the stems. I’m curious if I should re-record/re-mix/re-master these songs so I have the stems or if it’s okay to not have access to the stems. How often are stems asked for?
3) I don’t know what a “bed” is. Average “full’ length. – I’m familiar with a Stinger, Bumber, 30s, 60s but I don’t think I know what a “bed” is?
Also, what’s the average length for a pop/rock full track? Mine have felt pretty comfortable around 1:20ish with edits to the alts mentioned above. That’s going through an Intro – A – B – A – Outro format or something of the like. I could always double up sections if need be, I’m just curious if I should be shooting for longer, or if 1:20 is good.
I really appreciate all the information on this site and look forward to contributing more once I have something to offer. All the advice and help is appreciated.
Hi Garret,
It’s so true that this site is amazing for learning to step in this industry. I started 2 years ago, and learned so much here. Time to give back a little! Please note these answers are not absolute and only reflect my humble opinion.
1) Sample Rate & Bit Rate
I wouldn’t worry here. I used to work in 24bits – 44.1kHz, but recently switched to 16bits, as I realized many libraries use the CD format anyway…
Some higher end ones may require 48k as it appears to be the standard for film sync. Just convert it (I use a software more than 15 years old for that: Cool Edit – why? Because I always have been happy with the results and when I need to convert 24b to 16b I have a large choice in configuring the dithering to my taste). You do not need to mention how you do it, as long as the result sounds good. Note however, that converting up 44.1 to 48 will not improve quality, on the contrary, it could even degrade it slightly.kbps: It is automatically calculated on bit rate and sampling freq. It just tells you the streaming speed for correct playback. (i.e. the size of one second of data).
2) I don’t have stems!
Well, some libraries require them, some don’t, but mostly those will be higher end ones. Note that if your tracks were distributed through i-tunes, you probably will only have access to non-exclusive and RF libraries for your tracks. Many of these do not need stems (I only make stems actually for my exclusive partners).
3) I don’t know what a “bed” is. Average “full’ length.
A Bed is the track without the main melody and with minimal instrumentation. See is like a canvas where the editor can put stuff on (like talkover). The track is modified in a way that it will only provide a light audio ambiance to the video.
For the track length: 1’20 is a little short. usually I try to be > 1’30 and can go up to 4 minutes depending on the styles: happy tracks for advertisement usually 1:30 – 2′. Pop-rock-electro-chart music : 2′-3’20. Classical-Ambient 3’00 and above.
As for copy pasting parts entirely to make it longer, well, it may not be appreciated… If you cannot do otherwise, maybe you can add a little element (a few guitar or piano notes) on the copied part to give it some diversity.Hope this helps, and good luck!
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