AI Stem Separation
Four clean stems from any uploaded track
DropCue includes AI stem separation in every Pro plan. Split any audio file into vocals, drums, bass, and other instruments in under a minute. No per-track fees, no monthly minutes cap, and the stems land directly inside your catalog ready for sync pitches.
Start Free Trial →7 days free, no credit card required
What AI stem separation is and does
AI stem separation is the process of using a machine-learning model to split a finished audio mix into its individual instrument groups. DropCue produces four stems from any uploaded track: vocals, drums, bass, and other (which captures everything else, including guitars, keys, pads, and orchestral instruments). The model is Demucs, a hybrid transformer architecture trained on a large corpus of multi-track recordings. It runs in the cloud on Replicate and returns four new audio files in roughly 30 seconds to 2 minutes per track.
Stem separation is now a baseline expectation in professional music workflows. Sync supervisors request instrumentals on accepted placements. Trailer composers need clean vocal removals for cue cuts. Producers pull acapellas for remixes, drums for sampling, and bass lines for reproduction. What used to require a paid mix engineer can now be done in minutes by a trained model.
Where DropCue is the better fit
Standalone stem separation tools like LALAL.ai, Moises, and Audioshake all do one job. You upload a file, the model runs, and you download stems. The stems then live as loose files on your hard drive. If you want to use them in a sync pitch, you re-upload them to whatever platform you use to send playlists. That round-trip breaks the moment you have a catalog of any size.
DropCue is built differently. Stem separation runs inside the same platform that hosts your catalog, builds your playlists, and sends your pitches. Every separation creates four new tracks in your library, automatically nested under the parent track as alt mixes. The instrumental version is ready to drop into a sync pitch playlist the moment Demucs finishes processing. No re-uploading, no folder shuffling, no renaming. Plus DropCue supports bulk separation across the whole catalog, which LALAL.ai and Moises do not offer in any tier.
DropCue vs LALAL.ai vs Moises
| Feature | DropCue | LALAL.ai | Moises |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $15/mo (Pro annual) | $14.99/mo (Pro) | $9.99/mo (Premium) |
| Monthly minutes cap | No minutes cap | 100 min/mo (Pro) | Unlimited |
| Per-track fees | None | Pay-as-you-go option | None |
| Bulk separation (multi-track) | Yes | No | No |
| Stems become library tracks | Yes (auto-nested) | No (loose files) | No (loose files) |
| Bundled catalog management | Yes | No | No |
| Bundled pitching + analytics | Yes | No | No |
| Powered by Demucs | Yes (open-source) | Proprietary | Proprietary |
| Trial / free tier | 7-day free trial | Free tier (10 min) | Free tier (5 separations) |
Pricing verified at time of publication and may change. Check each provider's official pricing page before purchasing.
Who uses stem separation
Trailer composers, sync songwriters, producers, and music supervisors all use AI stem separation differently. DropCue covers every workflow.
- Trailer composers — Pull clean instrumentals out of a vocal track for trailer cuts and pitch-ready alt mixes.
- Songwriters pitching for sync — Deliver vocal-only or instrumental versions for licensing without paying an engineer per song.
- Producers and remixers — Reconstruct songs, pull acapellas for remixes, or isolate drums for sampling and re-production.
- Sync placements requiring stems — Music supervisors often require stems on accepted placements. Generate them in under two minutes.
- Karaoke and cover prep — Remove vocals from a reference track to record a clean cover or rehearse a vocal arrangement.
- Dialogue-friendly mixes — Build TV-ready versions with attenuated vocals or drums so editors can place dialogue cleanly over the music.
- Catalog-wide instrumental versions — Run bulk separation across a back catalog to give every track a sync-ready instrumental alt mix.
Pricing in 2026
Stem separation is included with every DropCue Pro plan at no additional cost. Pro starts at $15/mo on annual billing ($180/year, Pro 1K with 1,000 track capacity). Higher tiers scale by track count: Pro 3K at $20/mo annual, Pro 5K at $30/mo annual, Pro 10K at $42/mo annual, Pro 20K at $69/mo annual. Monthly billing is also available.
For comparison: LALAL.ai Pro is $14.99/mo with a 100-minute monthly cap. Moises Premium is $9.99/mo. Audioshake charges per track. Hiring a mix engineer manually runs $50 to $200 per song. DropCue Pro is cheaper than all of them, includes bulk separation that none of them offer, and bundles catalog management, playlist sharing, per-recipient analytics, and the rest of the AI tool suite.
Related on DropCue
- DropCue pricing — All plans and track tiers.
- AI lyrics transcription — Auto-transcribe vocals to searchable lyrics.
- AI music artwork — Generate cover art from text prompts.
- DropCue for composers — Sync pitching workflow in depth.
- DropCue for producers — Producer and remixer workflow.
- How AI features fit a composer's workflow →
- Start your free trial →
AI stem separation, included with every Pro plan
7 days free. No credit card. Four clean stems from any uploaded track, no per-track fees, no monthly minutes cap. From $15/mo annual.
Start Free Trial →Frequently asked questions
What is AI stem separation?
AI stem separation uses a machine-learning model to split a finished audio mix into individual instrument groups. DropCue produces four stems from any uploaded track: vocals, drums, bass, and other (capturing guitars, keys, pads, and orchestral instruments). The model is Demucs, a hybrid transformer architecture trained on a large corpus of multi-track recordings. It runs in the cloud and returns four new audio files in roughly 30 seconds to 2 minutes per track.
How does DropCue stem separation compare to LALAL.ai?
LALAL.ai is a standalone stem separation tool that charges $14.99/mo for the Pro plan with a 100-minute monthly cap, or pay-as-you-go at $5 for 20 minutes. DropCue includes stem separation in every Pro plan starting at $15/mo annual, with no monthly minutes cap and no per-track fees. The bigger difference is that DropCue lives inside a full music catalog platform. Stems become tracks in your library, nest automatically under the parent, and are ready for sync pitches without any re-uploading.
How does DropCue stem separation compare to Moises?
Moises charges $9.99/mo for Premium with unlimited separations, but Moises is a practice and remix tool aimed at musicians who want to slow down songs, change keys, or jam along. DropCue is a professional sharing and pitching platform for composers, songwriters, and producers. Stems you generate in DropCue land directly inside your catalog and become part of the playlists you send to music supervisors, agencies, and publishers. Moises has no equivalent industry workflow.
How does DropCue stem separation compare to Audioshake?
Audioshake is an enterprise stem separation service priced per track and aimed at labels and post-production studios. DropCue includes stem separation in every Pro plan with no per-track fees and no minutes cap, starting at $15/mo annual. For working composers, sync agencies, and music libraries, DropCue covers the same separation workflow at a fraction of the cost, plus the resulting stems land directly inside a catalog ready for pitching.
How much does stem separation cost on DropCue?
Stem separation is included free with every DropCue Pro plan. Pro starts at $15/mo on annual billing (Pro 1K, 1,000 tracks). There are no per-track fees, no monthly minutes caps, and no metered usage. The only cap is the total track count on your plan, and stems count as tracks. By comparison, hiring a mix engineer to separate stems manually runs $50 to $200 per song, Audioshake charges per track, and LALAL.ai caps monthly minutes.
How long does stem separation take?
Most tracks finish in 30 seconds to 2 minutes. Processing time depends on track length and current queue load on Replicate. Bulk separations across multiple tracks include a short pacing delay between submissions for queue stability. You can leave the page during processing. DropCue completes the jobs in the background and the resulting stems appear in your library when they are ready.
What model powers DropCue stem separation?
DropCue uses Demucs (specifically the hybrid transformer variant) running on Replicate. Demucs is an open-source model originally developed by Meta and now widely used in professional audio production. It consistently ranks at or near the top of stem separation benchmarks for clarity, lack of artifacts, and accuracy of low-frequency content. Competitors like LALAL.ai and Moises run proprietary models.
Can I separate multiple tracks at once?
Yes. DropCue supports bulk stem separation directly from the Tracks page. Select any number of tracks, click Separate Stems, and the system queues every job with a short pacing delay between submissions to keep the queue healthy. Progress is reported per track. This is a feature LALAL.ai and Moises do not offer in any tier. Standalone tools force you to upload one file at a time.
What happens to stems after separation finishes?
Each of the four stems (vocals, drums, bass, other) becomes a new track in your DropCue library, automatically nested under the original parent track as an alt mix. The stems inherit the parent metadata where it makes sense (artist, BPM, key) and you can edit anything. They are immediately available for drag-and-drop into playlists, share links, and sync pitches. No exporting, downloading, or re-uploading required.