Mastering rates:
Online mastering is $50 per track. Unless you are having a physical CD replicated, this is the mastering option to choose.
CD mastering is $70 per track and is for those musicians preparing a physical CD for replication and/or duplication at a pressing plant. This service includes embedding ISRC codes, track spacing, and the generation of a DDP (Disc Description Protocol) file needed by the CD plants. The additional cost of production mastering covers the time needed to prepare these CD-specific items. Please email me for a quote if you are interested in CD mastering.
DJ Mix mastering is $100.00. If you need a physical CD with track markers for each track in the mix, there is an additional fee depending on a few factors, so please contact me for more information.
Stem mastering available in special circumstances, however the rate for this service will vary depending on numerous factors, so please send me an email to discuss the options and pricing. “Mastered for iTunes” compatible files are also available, contact me to talk about the specifics if your label needs these.
For online mastering, you can use the PayPal shopping cart below to make a payment , or you can log into your PayPal account and send the money directly to InnerPortal@Gmail.com. I also accept Google Checkout payments if you do not have a PayPal account or wish to pay by credit card. Please contact me for details.
PREPARING YOUR TRACKS FOR MASTERING – IMPORTANT, PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU SEND ME ANYTHING!
- Please listen to the mixdown file start to finish and ensure it is correct before you send it.
- Include your artist name and the track name in the wav or aiff files when you send them to me. “Artist Name – Track Name.wav” works best.
- Please wait to send the tracks and the payment until BOTH are ready. It can take up to a week to get a PayPal account set up and verified, so I recommend completing that process before you send me any of your tracks. Likewise, please don’t send a payment if the tracks still are not finished and ready to upload.
- I accept WAV and AIFF files at any bit depth and sample rate, but would prefer 24bit or higher files when possible. Do not send MP3s.
- If you need a fade out at the end of the song, let me know where the fade out should start.
- Leave approximately 3-6dB of headroom (or more) for me to work with, and make sure that the “Normalize” and “Dither” options are turned off in your DAW when you render or export your song. Render the song at the same samplerate your DAW was set to when you wrote the song.
- If you used a compressor, limiter, or other dynamics processors on the master channel of the DAW when rendering the song, please let me know, as I will ask for a version of the song without these too.
- Turnaround time is usually less than 1-2 days, if it’s going to be longer, I’ll let you know before I take the job. I do my best to make sure clients don’t have to wait long to receive their masters, but I cannot be responsible for your deadlines. Leave enough time for mastering and proofing the tracks I return to you when planning your release schedule. Contact me as soon as possible if you have a last minute rush job.
- Masters are returned as 16bit/44.1kHz wav files. AIFF, AAC, FLAC or MP3 are all available if you need those formats as well. If you require MP3s, please let me know at what bitrate (I.E. 128kbps, 192kbps, 320kbps etc).
- Once you have prepped your tracks per the above instructions, please visit the Upload Page to send the files to me.
- Once I have confirmed receipt of the payment, I’ll listen to it and see if I hear any obvious issues that might be better addressed by the artist going back and adjusting the mixdown (when possible). If I don’t hear any major problems, I’ll start work on the mastering.
After the track is mastered, I’ll send you a link to download the mastered song as a CD-ready 16bit, 44.1kHz wav file. If you need other formats I will provide those at no extra charge.
If you’d like me to make any changes to the mastering once you’ve listened to the track, I will do up to 2 revisions for free. After that I will have to charge you for additional mastering time. This does not apply if you change the file you sent me, i.e. you redo the mixdown on your own and not at my request. That requires starting the mastering over from scratch, and the full mastering rate will apply again. PLEASE PROOF THE EXACT FILE YOU ARE SENDING ME TO ENSURE THAT IT IS CORRECT.
Be aware that I’m often correcting issues that are caused by acoustic and/or monitoring issues in your studio. For this reason I recommend listening to the mastered track on as many different playback systems as possible before asking for a revision.
I am not a fan of making things loud simply for the sake of making them loud. When you get the mastered track back, it will be at a volume that I think strikes the best balance between competing with other commercial releases, and preserving the integrity of the dynamics in the song. However if you absolutely must have it louder, let me know and I’ll do my best to achieve this as cleanly as possible.
If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact me at: