Uploading and Analyzing Your Stems

Drop stems and they upload immediately. Analyze offers two checkboxes — Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections, and Lyrics and Chords — and each selected option is its own credit charge.

Stems are the heart of it. Drop the individual tracks of your song onto the arrangement and Pliris™ uploads them immediately. Analyze is optional, and it is two checkboxes — not one pass that returns everything.

See also: Uploading Raw Stems or a Zip of Stems for the upload itself, step by step, and Uploading a Stereo Recording if you only have a mix.

For which option times lyrics, see Lyrics Text vs Timing (and AbleSet). For the short version of drop plus right-click editing, see Drop Files, Analyze When Ready, Right-Click to Edit.

Before you upload

Two things to know going in:

  • Stem uploads work on Free and All-Access. Free accounts are capped at 15 songs across the account and 10 GB of storage — plenty to learn the workflow — but there's no paywall on uploading stems.
  • Use raw, individual stems. Drums, bass, lead vocal, BGVs, guitars, synths — one file per part. Don't pre-group or pre-mix them. Rename and regroup on the song page after the files land.

Stems, click, and cues should already play in time together — including the click — before you drop them: Preparing Stems Before Upload.

Drop your stems — upload starts immediately

  1. Open the song. (Adding a song automatically creates its first arrangement, called Default.)
  2. The Upload panel opens on the right. Drag files onto it, or click Drop files to add to browse. It accepts MP3, WAV, ZIP and Ableton projects.
  3. Drag in all your stems at once — or a zip of stems.
  4. Upload starts on drop. There is no Confirm / Upload button for ordinary stem batches.
  5. Stay on the page until the upload finishes. While files transfer, a banner reads Stems are still uploading. Stay on this page until they finish. Once the panel shows Analyzing audio, you can leave and analysis carries on.

The staging panel is status only — progress and a check when each file lands. You do not pick stem groups in the uploader. Rename and regroup after the files are on the song (see below).

One file only? Dropping a single non-Ableton audio file (not extracted from a zip) may show a short Stem / Ref / LTC type picker before the file is claimed. Multi-file drops skip that.

Ableton project? Zip the project and import it — that path keeps Import + Cancel. See Importing a Song from Ableton Live.

The two Analyze options

Every Analyze surface — the upload bar, the song-page offer card, and the other Analyze checkboxes in the app — shows two options. The labels are the option names:

  1. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections — Key, tempo, time signature, and song sections. This option does not show lyrics.
  2. Lyrics and Chords — Lyrics and chords, shown together after this runs.

Each selected option is its own analysis credit charge. Both together is two runs. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections is 5 credits per minute of audio, rounded up to the minute, minimum 5 (about 20 credits for a 4-minute song). Lyrics and Chords is 15 credits per minute, rounded up, minimum 15 (about 60 credits for a 4-minute song). Both on that song is about 80 credits. You'll see the cost before anything is charged. A failed run refunds automatically.

Which boxes start checked:

  • On upload, both start unchecked. Leaving them unchecked uploads audio without spending analysis credits. Check the ones you want before that upload analyzes.
  • On the song-page offer card, Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections starts checked and Lyrics and Chords starts unchecked.
  • Empty Key, Tempo, or Time chips request Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections only.

A reference mix is made for free either way, and analysis runs once that mix is ready.

Free and All-Access offer the same two options. Manual mode is always available on either plan — type your own BPM, bring sections in from Ableton, and upload stems without spending credits.

If you check both and the balance covers the first charge and not the second, the song page says the lyrics run did not start. Lyrics and Chords stays available to retry.

Pro tip: Check only the option you need. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections alone is one charge at 5 credits per minute, rounded up to the minute, minimum 5. Adding Lyrics and Chords later is a second charge at 15 credits per minute, rounded up, minimum 15.

Name and regroup on the song page

After upload, tidy names and groups where you can hear the parts — not in the uploader.

  1. Find the stem in the stem list on the arrangement.
  2. Right-click the stem to rename it or change its group / routing (or edit the name inline).
  3. Not sure what it is? Preview with Shift + Space, then name it — Guitar, Lead Vocal, BGVs, Synths, Percussion, Drums, whatever it actually is.

Pro tip: Tab through stem names when you're batch-renaming. Name, Tab, name, Tab — you'll clear a full song quickly.

More detail: How to Rename and Regroup Stems.

Play with it while it analyzes

Don't just watch the progress bar. Poke around the arrangement page:

  • Press Space to play the whole song with everything balanced.
  • Try Focus mode. Click the headphone icon on any stem — drums, say — and that stem jumps to full volume while everything else drops to about 30%. It's the fastest way to hear one part in context without losing the rest of the mix.
  • Mute and solo. Standard tools. Mute the BGVs and lead together, or solo just the vocals to hear them naked.
  • Jump around. Once sections come in from Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections, click a section marker on the waveform, or use Left / Right for previous / next section.
  • Scrub. Click or drag the waveform to move to any spot.

When analysis finishes

What fills in depends on which box you checked:

  • Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections fills key, tempo, time signature, and sections. Lyrics stay empty. If the song already has an Ableton grid or a click, that grid wins over the tempo or beat map this option detects.
  • Lyrics and Chords fills the Lyrics and Chords tabs together. It does not replace key, tempo, time signature, or sections. Click any lyric line to fix a word. Fixing or pasting text does not add timing — that timing comes from Lyrics and Chords. If the stems have no lead vocal, upload a time-aligned reference with vocals first. See Lyrics Text vs Timing (and AbleSet).

Fix key, tempo, or meter with a right-click on the header chips (or Edit → chip → Done if right-click is not on your build yet) — see Setting the Tempo of a Song and Drop Files, Analyze When Ready, Right-Click to Edit.

Add or record MIDI cues right on the page — press C to drop a cue quickly. See Programming MIDI Cues.

Analyze gives you a starting point, not a locked-in result. Sections, lyrics, and cues are yours to fine-tune. Editing them by hand does not spend credits.

Simple vs Pro view

The arrangement page has two layouts. Simple mode gives you a clean waveform with sections, lyrics, cues, and stems in collapsible panels below. Pro mode is a DAW-style view with section lanes on the waveform and inline, draggable MIDI cue markers. Toggle between them with the view switch at the top of the page — use whichever fits what you're doing.

Frequently asked questions

Can I upload stems on the free plan?

Yes. Stem uploads work on Free and All-Access. Free accounts are capped at 15 songs across the account and 10 GB of storage. Uploading without either Analyze option checked does not spend analysis credits.

Does Analyze give me lyrics?

Only if you check Lyrics and Chords. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections produces key, tempo, time signature, and song sections. It does not show lyrics.

Where do chords come from?

They show after Lyrics and Chords, together with the lyrics, or you type them on the Chords tab.

I ran Analyze and Lyrics is empty. Is that broken?

Expected if you only ran Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections — that is the offer card's starting check. Check Lyrics and Chords, with a lead vocal in the stems or a time-aligned reference. See Lyrics Text vs Timing (and AbleSet).

Do both options cost credits?

Yes, if both are selected. Key, Tempo, Time Signature and Sections is 5 credits per minute of audio, rounded up to the minute, minimum 5. Lyrics and Chords is 15 credits per minute, rounded up, minimum 15. Both together on a 4-minute song is about 80 credits. One option is a single charge. Free accounts get 240 credits a month; All-Access gets 1,000.

Are Free and All-Access different for lyrics?

Same two options on both plans. Plans differ on credits and caps, not on whether Lyrics and Chords is offered.

Should I upload pre-mixed or grouped stems?

No — use raw, individual stems with one file per part. You do not pick groups in the uploader. Rename and regroup on the song page after drop.

Can I set tempo and sections without spending credits?

Yes. Manual mode is available on Free and All-Access — type your own BPM (right-click the Tempo chip, or Edit → Tempo → Done if needed), add sections from Ableton, and upload stems without spending credits.

Where to go next

Stuck anywhere, click the support bubble in the bottom-right of any page, or email support@fromstudiotostage.com. You'll hear back within 24 hours.