Stem of Mashups

There is a new kind of relationship between creators and their audiences that challenge the way each part sees itself and what is expected from the other. The conventional approach defines each one in opposite corners. The creator is considered to be the professional expert and the audience is considered as one entity that can either say yes or no to the creation. One is active and acknowledged and the other is passive and unknown. This approach is beginning to change. Creative disciplines are becoming more open and collaborative.

Radiohead is a talented acclaimed and most importantly an independent band.
Last year Radiohead provided the stem tracks of ‘Reckoner’ and 'Nude' (Tracks from their ‘In Rainbows’ album) for free remixing.
‘Stem tracks’ are separate tracks for each of the instruments/voice as an individual channel. These stem tracks, six in total, included the lead vocals, bass, drums, guitars, piano, and backing vocals. All this is in 256kbps DRM-Free format, for $0.99 per stem track download. Fans were encouraged to remix the track, add in their own instruments as they like, and post them on a site created for that purpose. There’s also a section for widgets for gathering votes on your Facebook or MySpace profile.

Radiohead treats their fans as equal, they respect and acknowledge that their fans have skills that might create something interesting that they would enjoy as well. As if they were saying this is what we came up with, now show as what you think or how you might have done it differently. The artist invites a dialogue with his audience through his art (music for this matter) in an active way. It also provides a great learning experience of reveres engineering from the finished mix to the raw materials.

Here are just a few different examples from their website (click on play of each box) try to play the first two from the left simultaneously.


Radiohead is an established, independent band that can challenge the conventional.
By doing so they take risks that conventional approach would never offer.
Remixing and mashuping is not a new concept but for the most it is illegal and inaccessible.
It is a form of expression for those who don’t have the resources but still want to create and be heard. Creativity shouldn't stay in the limited hands of business models, it should become more accessible to the public with more open tools and platforms.