Steinberg adds AI stem separation to Cubase 15

The audio task

A producer remixing an existing song, rebalancing a rough stereo bounce, or pulling an isolated vocal for sampling has usually needed to send audio to a separate stem-separation service or a dedicated plugin outside the DAW. Folding that step into the core production environment removes a file-export round trip and keeps the working session self-contained, provided the separated stems are usable for creative work rather than a full substitute for multitrack masters.

What the documents show

Steinberg's own new-features page for Cubase 15 lists “Stem Separation” under a section headed “Power of AI,” describing it as letting a user “quickly extract stems from mixed audio using AI-powered separation tools — ideal for remixing, rebalancing, and creative sampling workflows.” The feature is tagged “Pro” on the page, meaning Steinberg lists it as available in the Cubase Pro edition rather than every tier. The same page lists other changes for the release, including a pattern sequencer for melodic ideas and expanded DAWproject file-sharing support across Cubase, Cubasis, and other editions including Cubase AI and LE. Steinberg's page does not date the Cubase 15 release itself, and does not publish a technical description of the separation model, an accuracy figure, or the number of stems the feature can isolate from a single mix.

Rights status

Steinberg's page describes stem separation only as a workflow feature and states nothing about who holds rights to audio a user did not originally record, or whether separating a copyrighted commercial track into stems for remixing carries any licence to do so. The page's framing around “remixing, rebalancing, and creative sampling” describes technical capability, not permission; nothing in the release notes states that using the tool on a third party's copyrighted recording is authorized by the rights holder.

What to check before you use it

This is an editorial checklist. Before separating a mix that a studio does not own outright, confirm whether the intended use, remixing, sampling, or rebalancing, requires a separate licence or clearance from the original rights holder, since Cubase's feature page does not address that question; verify the Pro-tier requirement against the edition actually licensed; and treat AI-separated stems as a starting point to audition for artifacts before they are used in a client delivery.

• Does the source material being separated belong to the studio, or does the intended use require a licence from someone else?
• Is the Cubase edition in use the Pro tier the feature page lists as required?
• Have the separated stems been checked for bleed or artifacts before they replace multitrack material in a mix?

Cubase 15's stem separation is a case of an editorial task, isolating parts of an existing mix, moving from a specialist external tool into the core DAW under an explicit “Power of AI” label. What Steinberg's own page leaves open is any statement about the licensing implications of separating material a user did not originally record.