Do you need beat stems or trackouts for mixing?

What are trackouts or stems? What’s the difference?

The words Trackouts and stems are often used interchangeably. They are the individual sounds that make up a beat made into separate WAV files. “Trackouts” almost always refers to individual instrument sounds while stems may refer to sounds separated into similar groups. The trackouts for a beat are sent as a folder of WAV files. Each sound is labeled (ie Kick drum.wav, synth.wav etc) 

Why are stems better for mixing? The single file instrumentals have been mixed and often mastered by the producer to the best of their ability but without the context of your voice on it. Having stems offers the advantage of being able to shape the instrumental around your voice with much more control over the sound of the final product.

Does it matter which one I use? This depends on your goals as an artist, I have listed some of the pros and cons of trackouts vs single file instrumentals below:

Stems Pros: More control over the mix, better sound quality, and provide the option for more creative arrangement options (i..e removing different instruments and key times in a song.)

Stems cons: More expensive, takes more time to mix. 

Single File Pros: fast, cheap

Single File Cons: low sound quality, less control over final sound quality and can’t change arrangement.