Say Hello To Some New Multichannel Music File Formats

A couple of new file formats are upon us, but just how much that will rock the music industry is yet unknown. Native Instruments has finally released Stems, an open-file format that allows up to 4 independent elements that can be independently manipulated.

The Stems format is aimed at DJs who want to do remixes of songs during a performance by mixing elements from multiple files. That said, Stem files will play just like normal stereo audio file formats using any software that supports MP4 files (which is most of them).

Stem files have actually available for some time since the format was announced last year, but NI only now has released it's Stems Creator software (which is free). Find out more about Stems and Stems Creator at stems-music.com.

Another multi-channel format from a service called 8Stem allows users to remix a song to their liking. As the name eludes to, each file contains up to 8 stems that the listener can balance as they wish.

I think that musicians will probably love this format, but I'm not so sure that the average listener will embrace it. For the most part, most listeners don't seem to relish the thought of interacting with their music, and if studio cue mixes are any indication, too many variables might actually get them into trouble with a bad mix.

That said, it's cool that some new things are being tried (although Todd Rundgren did something similar on a CD about 20 years ago). 8Stem is still in the early beta stage.

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Introducing The New Stems DJ Audio File Format

Do we need another audio file format? Maybe so if you're a DJ.

Native Instruments has announced a new multitrack file format for DJs and producers called "Stems," which breaks down song into 4 isolated stereo parts or stems. This allows DJs more control of the parts (think bass, synths, lead and backgrounds), giving them the ability to add effects on just one part of the song.

There are already a number of multitrack file formats available like the good old Broadcast Wave file, FLAC, or the new MPEG-H or multitrack Ogg (.mogg), but the Stem format has a couple of things going for it that none of the others have.

First, it comes from Native Instruments, who will be incorporating it into its popular Traktor app later in the year.

Secondly, the format will also be available for sale on the Juno, Beatport and Traxsource sites starting in June. Having store support gives the format a legitimacy that others failed to achieve.

Probably the best part of the format is that its open source and not proprietary, with all details on how to create Stem files soon to be made public. A Stem Creator Tool app will also be available.

Also, Stem files are based on the MP4 format, which means that you'll be able to treat them like MP3s in terms of ID-3 metadata editing, which is an extremely important part of music creation these days. You'll also be able to play them back on any audio player, although you won't have control of the individual elements.

The new format will carry a ".stem.mp4" file extension.

While this tool is squarely aimed at DJs, it will be interesting to see if other audio sectors come up with ideas of how to implement it as well. Maybe the days of easily being able to "create your own mix" are right around the corner.

Here's a video that explains Stems in more detail.

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