FAQ guide
Music Asset & Data Management for Independent Artists
How to organize, protect, and monetize your music catalog — stems, masters, metadata, ISRCs, and rights data managed in one place with AirTrax.
How should I name my audio files before mastering?
Establishing a consistent file naming convention for your audio files is one of the most underrated organizational habits in music production, yet it becomes critical when you're managing a growing catalog and coordinating with mixing engineers, mastering engineers, and distributors. A best-practice naming format includes: Artist Name, Track Title, BPM, Key, Mix Type, and Version number — for example: `JaneDoe_StillHere_092_Amin_MixV3.wav`. This format makes files immediately readable without opening them, which is essential when a mastering engineer is working with dozens of files from multiple artists. Before sending files for mastering, ensure you're working in the correct specification: 24-bit WAV or AIFF, 44.1kHz or 48kHz sample rate, with at least -6dBFS of headroom on the loudest peak. Always include a clearly labeled version number so you and your collaborators can track revisions without confusion. Store the final, mastered deliverable in a separate "Masters" folder within your release campaign hub, and never overwrite the pre-master version. Using a digital asset manager like AirTrax that links your audio files directly to your release campaigns means your engineer, manager, and marketing team all pull files from the same source without email chains and version confusion.
Why do I keep losing track of my instrumentals?
Losing track of instrumentals, beat sketches, and session files is one of the most common and frustrating problems for independent artists who've been producing for a few years, and it almost always has the same root cause: an inconsistent or non-existent file organization system. When you save files to your desktop in the moment, name them generically ("untitled project 47"), and scatter them across multiple hard drives, cloud accounts, and DAW session folders, retrieval becomes exponentially harder as your catalog grows. The solution is not to find a better place to look — it's to build a centralized system and commit to it from day one of every new project. Choose one primary cloud storage location (dedicated specifically to music assets, not your general Google Drive) and create a folder structure organized by project status: Active, Awaiting Mix, Awaiting Master, Complete, and Archive. Every new project gets its own folder immediately, named with the track working title and start date. Export intermediate mixes as clearly labeled WAV files into that folder at every session milestone. AirTrax's asset library takes this further by letting you attach each file directly to its associated release campaign, so the instrumental, the stems, the artwork, and the metadata all live in the same project context.
Is Google Drive enough for music management?
Google Drive is an excellent general-purpose cloud storage tool, but it falls significantly short as a complete music management solution for independent artists with serious operational needs. The core limitation is that Drive stores files but provides no workflow context — it cannot link a specific audio file to the marketing campaign built around it, the contact list being pitched it, or the revenue it's generating. It has no built-in metadata management, no project status tracking, no CRM integration, and no release pipeline visibility. For many independent artists in the early stages of their career, Google Drive combined with a few spreadsheets is a perfectly functional starting point. But as your catalog grows, your team expands, and your release cadence increases, the limitations become significant. Searching for a specific stem from a song released two years ago, finding the contact history for a curator you pitched last year, or seeing which tracks in your catalog have confirmed splits and which don't — these become time-consuming problems that Drive alone cannot solve. A purpose-built system like AirTrax provides the contextual workflow layer that links your file storage to your campaign management, contact database, and metadata records, making every piece of your operation accessible and connected.
How do I protect my unreleased music from leaking?
Protecting unreleased music from leaking requires both technical controls and disciplined operational habits around how you share files. On the technical side, never share unmastered files via email attachment or generic cloud sharing links — both are easily forwarded without any access control. Use a platform that requires authentication to access shared files and generates unique, expiring download links when you do need to share. Watermark your audio files with embedded metadata that identifies who each copy was sent to, so that if a file does leak, you can trace it back to the source. Store all unreleased material in a private, password-protected vault that only you and explicitly trusted collaborators can access. On the operational side, be extremely selective about who receives listening copies of unreleased music, and always get a signed non-disclosure agreement before sharing anything commercially sensitive with new collaborators, potential managers, or label contacts. Avoid playing unreleased music in public settings where it can be recorded on a phone. AirTrax's secure asset storage is designed to keep your unreleased files private within your account, with access controlled by your Supabase authentication and not accessible via public URL.
How do I manage stems for remixes?
Managing stems for remix distribution requires a level of organizational precision that goes beyond typical DAW session hygiene. When preparing stems for a remix, the standard deliverable package includes separated, labeled exports of: kick drum, snare and hi-hats, bass, melodic synths or instruments (often split into lead and pad layers), full vocal chain (typically including a dry vocal, a wet vocal with effects, and an acapella), and a reference mix at the correct tempo. All stems should be exported at the same sample rate and bit depth as your master, bounce from beat one of the same timeline length so they align perfectly in any DAW, and be labeled using a consistent naming convention (e.g., `TrackTitle_STEMS_Kick.wav`). Package everything in a clearly labeled folder with a text file specifying the BPM, key, and any usage terms for the remix. Store a copy of the original stem package in your digital asset manager linked to the corresponding release campaign. This means when a remixer or sync supervisor requests new stems in six months, you don't have to re-open your DAW session and hope all the plugins are still authorized — you pull the pre-organized package directly from your file vault.