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Audio engineering · Recording

Stem Player

What is stem player? A clear definition from the audio engineering and recording section of our glossary, with 13 related terms and further reading.

Definition of Stem Player

The Stem Player is an audio remix device and music streaming platform developed by British technology company Kano Computing in collaboration with American artist Kanye West. The device was launched in August 2021 in conjunction with the release of his tenth studio album, Donda. In February 2022, West made an announcement that he would begin releasing music exclusively to the device, commencing with his eleventh studio album, Donda 2, that month.

The Stem Player has four touch-sensitive haptic sliders that adjust individual stems for tracks, and six hardware buttons for volume and effects. The device's service uses artificial intelligence to split tracks into four stems (sometimes isolated vocals, bass, and drums) with each track being able to be manipulated using a front slider. Users can add tracks to the device by uploading an audio file to the device through an official online web application.

Kano ended their collaboration with West in January 2023 in light of West's antisemitic remarks, and discontinued the Donda variant of the Stem Player. The company has collaborated with a variety of artists since, including Ghostface Killah, Bhavi, and a posthumous collection from J Dilla. West later released Donda 2 onto music streaming services in April 2025.

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What is Stem Player?

The Stem Player is an audio remix device and music streaming platform developed by British technology company Kano Computing in collaboration with American artist Kanye West.

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