Sending a Beat to an Artist for Their Mix: Which File to Hand Over
Published · by Loopin
Send the artist an unmastered stereo WAV with about 6 dB of headroom and no limiter on the master, plus a note with BPM and key. Keep the loud, mastered version for the preview and for after the vocals are on.
Send the unmastered WAV, not your loud preview
The artist or their engineer will record over the beat and mix it with the vocal. A beat that is already pushed to the ceiling leaves them nothing to work with: the vocal has to fight a wall, and any extra level they add clips. Send the version before your final loudness step.
Keep the loud version too, but label it as a preview. If you need a quick way to make that preview sound finished, you can run it through the free masterer for a reference to play for the artist, and keep that file separate from the one you deliver for the session.
Bounce at about −6 dBFS with the master bus clear
Take the limiter and any loudness maximiser off the master bus, then bounce a stereo WAV whose loudest peak lands around −6 dBFS. Check the meter on the final bounce, not the plugin setting. Our guide to how much headroom a beat needs for vocalists goes deeper on why.
Keep your normal bus glue if the beat depends on it, but make sure nothing is flattening the 808 and kick together. If the beat only sounds right with a limiter pumping on the drums, tell the artist so in the note and send a second file with it on.
Name the file so nobody has to ask
Use one pattern every time: BeatName_BPM_Key_Unmastered_v1.wav. Find the numbers in seconds with the key and BPM finder if you do not already have them. The artist can then pitch-check a vocal and the engineer can set the session tempo without a reply.
Add a short note: tempo, key, whether the file is unmastered, and the name of the preview file. A producer who sends this once gets fewer revision emails than one who sends a perfect mix with no label. Copy it: “Unmastered, peaks near −6 dBFS, 140 BPM, F minor. Loud preview attached for vibe only.”
Decide whether they also need trackouts
Some engineers will ask for the drums, 808 and melodies separately. That is a separate delivery from the stereo beat, so ask what they need before you export anything. If you sell leases, check your own license terms on what each tier includes; our post on leased vs exclusive beats covers the usual split.
Do not send stems to be nice and then be surprised by how it sounds after their processing. Whatever you send, tell them what you want left alone, such as the 808 level or the stereo width of a pad.
Master after the vocal is on, not before
The finished song, with the vocal inside, is what gets mastered. Once you have the artist’s final mix as a stereo file, master the track free online, compare it with the mix in the loudness-matched A/B, and download when it sounds right. Free downloads are capped (1 per 24 hours without an account, 2 with a free account), so plan the order if you have several songs.
Agree who owns the final bounce before it starts, so there is one version of the mix and one master. Be honest with the artist: an automatic master is a fast first pass. It will not fix a vocal that is too loud or a harsh mix, and it takes no creative direction. If the song is going to a label or vinyl, hand it to a human engineer.
Frequently asked questions
Should I send a beat mastered or unmastered for mixing?
Send it unmastered, with peaks around -6 dBFS and no limiter on the master bus, so the vocal engineer has room. Keep a loud mastered copy only as a preview.
What file format should I send a beat in?
A stereo WAV is the safe choice. Use MP3 only for previews, since the mix engineer will be working from the WAV.
How loud should an unmastered beat be?
Peaks around -6 dBFS is a good target. The average loudness will sit well below the -14 LUFS streaming reference, and that is fine.
Do I send stems or just the stereo beat?
Send the stereo beat first. Only export trackouts if the engineer asks, and agree what is included in the license beforehand.
Can I master a beat before the artist records on it?
You can make a preview, but master the finished song after the vocal is in. Mastering the beat first locks in level that the vocal then has to sit on.