
188 THE GAME PRODUCTION HANDBOOK, 2/E
about one month before beta. If it is in the contract, the final music deliverable
should also include the stems. Stems are the individual instrument tracks that
exist within the final music mix. The stems can be used to compose variations for
commercials, game trailers, or future games.
Plan to have all the music rights finalized and contracts signed about one
month before beta. This ensures that everything is ready to go in time for the
game’s ship date. If you can’t get a music track secured by beta, think about re-
placing or removing that track from the game.
Figure 11.1 is a general overview of the music ...