8.18.12 SummerSonic 2012

Does just anyone who wants to do a remix of a song? How does the remixer get just the vocal track? Is there equipment available to separate all the tracks?


The label and manager usually come up with a list of remix producers to approach based on what they want.  For example, if they want a dubstep remix and a "Nu disco"  remix, maybe they might hit up producers like Rusko and Classixx.  If the artist is into dance music, he would make a list of producers he wants a remix from based on his taste, and then give it to his label and/or manager, who would approach those producers to do the remix.

If it is an official remix (meaning that is has been commissioned by the label) the remixer gets the seperated vocal track, guitar part, keyboard part, etc. from the label who gets it from whoever made it/produced it.  Sometimes these are called "stems" which are all the separate parts that make up the song.  Sometimes labels just send you a ProTools or Logic session (Protools and Logic are recording programs).  But this gets trickier because lots of
people use different software.
  

If its a bootleg remix (meaning done unofficially by a remixer strictly for the progression of his or her own career) then the remixer will try to find something like an accapella recording.  There are lots of sites online that most remixers are members of that collect acapellas for this reason. Sometimes labels offer acapellas to buy.  Other times, labels
have "remix contests" in which they make all the "stems" available to the public to do a remix with.  

There is no equipment made specifically to seperate tracks, but sometimes people use EQs to try to isolate the vocal a little better.  It works best when there is not a whole lot of other instrumentation going on obviously. Its not perfect, but sometimes this can turn out to be
interesting stylistically. 

 

Does the artist/label approach the remixer or vice versa?

 
Usually, if its an official remix, the artist/label approaches the remixer.  It's not very common for the remixer to approach the label to do a remix, but it definitely has been done.  I, for example, personally enjoy making my own music far more than doing remixes,
so I wouldn't usually want to do a remix unless someone was asking me and paying me.  But, with that said, if a remixer is a massive fan of a song and really wants to remix it, it does happen sometimes.  Another thing that is common among dance music artists is to remix eachother. This is called a remix swap and is usually done between friends.  We have done this a bunch of times with people like YACHT and Holy Ghost!

 
 If the artist or label dislikes the remix does he have any recourse? What are the copyright guidelines for this sort of thing? 
 
If the artist or label dislikes the remix, they simply just wont put it out.  They still have to
pay the remixer however much money was agreed upon, however. It's kind of impossible to prevent the remixer from leaking it or putting it out himself for his own good if it gets rejected though.  It's probably not technically legal to do this, but how are they gonna prove it was the remixer who leaked it?  Usually its just not taken that seriously.  (a label and artist usually wouldn't want to officially put a remix out if they thought it sucked
because that would reflect their own taste, but if it just comes out on the remixers website or a blog or something, there's not much harm done).  They also can't prevent people from doing bootlegs like I was talking about before.  If the remixer is making money off the sales of the remix somehow, that would be a different story.


Are the remixes used mostly in dance clubs by DJs or by the general public? Are they available just as digital downloads?

There are lots of different uses for remixes and different kinds of remixes.  Usually, remixes are used for dance/club purposes.  There are many different genres of dance
music, though (disco,house, techno, dubstep, dru n bass, trance, etc etc).  Some remixes are used for more of a casual listening purpose as just a new  spin on a song.  Remixes are released in all kinds of different ways--sometimes just digital (itunes, beatport, amazon, juno, etc.), sometimes vinyl or CD, sometimes all of the above, and sometimes they don't get released at all.  Sometimes remixes are just used to send to DJs for promo, and
sometimes maybe a remix will be commissioned for a commercial or movie or show or something.  It varies from case to case, depending on the purpose.