How It Works

Apply for a Stem Direct membership.

We power artists and teams who have vision, traction, and experience releasing music.

Submit your application for review within 1-2 business days.
Stem is right for you if want a personal relationship with your distro partner and need splits.
Our software allows you to fully customize your release, platforms, and territories.
Selectivity allows us to provide premium services to each artist.

Each artist gets the full support of a dedicated, well-connected Stem Rep with expertise in distro and strategy.

Receive personalized guidance on pitching strategy, help with Metadata updates, live date or split changes, and answers to questions about your rollout strategy.
Create customized smart links and pre-saves created for each release.
Be the first to know about community events.
Make connections — should you need creative services, your Stem Rep can point you to the right people for your project.

Release your music onto major streaming platforms in as few as 5 business days — because that’s how it should be.

Make sure everyone gets their piece of the pie, each month. Just tell us who gets what and we’ll take it from there.

Add each collaborator, their share percentage, and contact info to your upload.
Once everyone approves their share, we issue payment on the 15th of each month.
Split earnings with anyone — producers, songwriters, vocalists, promotional partners, etc.
Check out our publishing guide for a breakdown of key terms, types of licenses, and publishing deals.

Make sure everybody knows what’s up. Give each collaborator access to their own individualized dashboard.

You’ve done the work, now it’s time to get yours. Stem securely pays you and your team every month, like a paycheck.

There is a 60 day lag from when we gather finalized payments across all platforms. After that, payments are processed on the 15th of each month.
Choose between direct deposit or PayPal.
Expect payment to hit your account 3-4 days after processing, depending on your bank.