"I wanna remix a big artists song but don't know if I'm allowed to..." you can but...

So, you wanna remix a song you love but just arent sure how to go about it or the legal side of things and if you'll get in trouble for it...

Well look, there are a few ways get your remix out there and get discovered by listeners.

Now, im not a legal expert in this - only sharing my experience and knowledge from the years I've been doing this.

If you have something valuable to add, feel free to share and help us all learn more.

You can reach out directly to the artist for a remix.

Why not?

If you've got a good sound and decent size audience - reach out to the artist.

You can ask them directly for stems or reach out to their management team and ask if you can make a remix for them.

If you don't have an audience yet, you can do this

It might be hard to get their attention if you don't already have an audience (which majority of you dont have yet)

so what you could do is just make the remix and then share it when them afterwards.

If they see it, you could ask them for official stems or to approve the remix.

and boom, you're on your way to an official remix of a bigger artist.

What if you get ghosted?

If they still don't see your remix, there is nothing really stopping you from making a remix...

You just won't get any royalties or payments from streaming or whatever since you technically didn't get the go ahead from the original artist/license holder.

But that doesn't mean you are not allowed to remix it or will never get to the point of remixing for big artists.

What you need is to build your own audience and brand first.

And if you want some help with that,

Reply me the word “remix”

and im happy to talk and help you more.

Remix stems are an option

If you don't have the audience yet to reach a bigger artist and ask for stems, you can always search around to see if they have a remix stem pack.

If they have these, you can download them (usually for a price) and read the terms of use of the stems and where you can or can't release the remix.

At the very least, you will be getting the original, high quality stems from the songs vs using random acapellas or AI stem tools.

The AI tools do well but they aren't perfect and there are some errors every now and then.

Remix contests are there too

You'll see sometimes ads/posts on like Instagram where artists or labels release the stems of their song for a remix contest.

This helps them since it gets their original song more exposure.

and it can help you grow your audience and connect with the original artist and other producers.

Now usually with these contests, the artist/label doesn't allow you to release the song on platforms which allow for streaming royalties.

ie. You can't release this remix (even if its part of a remix contest) to Spotify.

But you can always share to soundcloud, youtube etc.

As always, read the rules of the remix contest and they will share all the details involved and where you can or can't release it.

"Where can I release my remixes?"

Depending on whether you got permission or not will determine where you can or can't release it.

You are NOT allowed to release your unofficial remix of another artists original song on Spotify.

That's why you sometimes see the term "bootleg" which is essentially a remix that wasn't officially approved/commissioned by the original artist

Bootlegs are usually uploaded to Youtube or soundcloud mostly since their copyright is a bit different than Spotify.

Mainly that you can post there and won't get taken down but you WONT get any royalties from your unofficial remix/flip/bootleg

hope this was helpful and if in doubt, consult a legal professional for guidance.

Peace,

Vig

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