AUDIO SERVICES & SONG MASTERING
At Identity Music Group, we like to think of ourselves as YOUR PARTNER IN SOUND. We know you’ve worked long and hard on your recordings, and we’re here to help you take your mixes to the “next level” so they match up sonically against your favorite major label releases in your playlist.
As much time as most musicians spend on their mixes (and masters) there just doesn’t seem to be the ability to make the mixes sound as BIG, FAT, CLEAR, WIDE, and LOUD as the major label mixes. There actually ARE some things you need to know and have in order to get that sound. In the meantime, we also acknowledge that most independent musicians simply can’t afford (and it doesn’t make financial sense to afford) to master hundreds of songs per year when many will likely not make much money from each song. Many of these types of recordings are destined for YouTube, SoundCloud, etc, selling at gigs, and for friends and family to listen to. In addition, most musicians have no idea exactly what mastering is, and seem to like the way their mixes sound as is. We get it!
If you are one of those musicians who need help getting your mixes to a level beyond what you can achieve by yourself, and for that special song or album worth of songs that really need to make an IMPACT, WE’RE HERE FOR YOU.
With over 30 years of music production, recording and engineering experience and 15 years of mastering experience, we utilize top-of-the-line hardware and software in a well-designed room with an accurate monitoring system to make sure we shape the sound with high-end eq to get you the outstanding results you’re looking for.
If you’re ready to get your songs mastered, or even just to see what mastering can do for your songs, please request a FREE, no-obligation sample of one of your songs by uploading your song to a file transfer service such as WeTransfer, DropBox, Google Drive or your other favorite service and then email us using the form at the bottom of this page with the file transfer link and project details so we can get your sample done and back to you for consideration.
If your mixes aren’t ready to be mastered, we can help point you in the right direction as to what you need to do to them in order to get them ready.
If you need a different service such as audio restoration or general post production work, please let us know that and we will gather information from you to proceed.
Please note that samples are offered time permitting.
AUDIO MASTERING PROCESS
Our audio mastering rates are somewhere in the middle of the price spectrum– not the cheapest, but not the most expensive either.
Please make sure that you receive and approve a FREE, no-obligation mastering sample first.
Here’s how this works:
- Upload a song for a FREE, no-obligation sample mastering (2-track WAV or AIFF files only, no MP3’s. Contact us for special pricing on Stem mastering). Please use your favourite file transfer service to send your file to jeremy@identitymusicgroup.com
- We receive the song and (time permitting) perform sample mastering on a portion of the song (usually to the end of the first chorus, or 2 minutes into the song/piece).
- We send back the song for you to listen to. Take a good listen to the song in multiple environments (home, studio, car, club, earphones, etc).
- If you don’t like it, keep the sample at NO COST to you.
- If you LIKE it, you may have 1 revision to make some changes to the master (e.g., too bright, too much bass, etc) included in the price. If you have only one song to master, payment is due (using the UPLOAD FORM) after the revision in order to receive the full song (.wav file, .mp3 file, DDP file, etc). If you have multiple songs (EP or Album), payment is due in order to master the rest of them up to the standards of the first sample.
AUDIO MASTERING RATES
Effective June 1, 2018. All prices in USD and do not apply to Stem mastering. If you need to send several tracks, contact us for special pricing on Stem mastering.
FREE Mastering Sample 1 song (FREE ) $0.00 USD
1 Song Mastering TOTAL $45.00 USD
1 Song + 1 Instrumental Mastering TOTAL $67.50 USD
2 Songs Mastering TOTAL $90.00 USD
2 Songs + 2 Instrumentals Mastering TOTAL $135.00 USD
3 Songs Mastering TOTAL $135.00 USD
3 Songs + 3 Instrumentals Mastering TOTAL $202.50 USD
4 Songs Mastering TOTAL $180.00 USD
4 Songs + 4 Instrumentals Mastering TOTAL $270.00 USD
5-Song EP Extended Play Mastering TOTAL $215.00 USD
5 Songs + 5 Instrumentals Mastering TOTAL $322.50 USD
10-song Album Mastering TOTAL $400.00 USD
10 Songs + 10 Instrumentals Mastering TOTAL $600.00 USD
14-song Album Mastering TOTAL $560.00 USD14 Songs + 14 Instrumentals Mastering TOTAL $840.00 USD
WHAT YOU RECEIVE WITH EACH AUDIO MASTERING PACKAGE
(sent to you via online file transfer):
16-bit/44.1k .wav file (standard for most aggregators like CDBaby, online stores, etc).24-bit/ (up to)
96k .wav file (in the event where your aggregator, etc., allows higher resolution masters)
.128kbps, 256kbps, and 320kbps .mp3 files.16-bit/48k .wav file (for possible video use and/or Film/TV Licensing, etc)
.DDP IMAGE FILE if necessary for duplication/replication (e.g., Discmakers, etc).
Please note: We don’t offer physical CD’s sent via mail.
Our mastering service puts your master in the ballpark to compete head-to-head with major label releases, and utilizes a combination of high-end digital tools and top-of-the-line hardware. For this service we utilize some of the big guns in audio hardware, including the Shadow Hills Mastering Compressor, Crane Song STC-8, Maselec MEA-2 Mastering Equalizer, Crane Song IBIS, API 5500 Dual Equalizer, and more.
Keep in mind that COMMUNICATION IS KEY.
We’ve almost never had to go beyond 1 revision in order to make a customer extremely happy with their master. We’ll definitely work to make you satisfied with the result, but beyond the second revision (or in some exceptional cases – third revision), and for re-mastering jobs brought back, studio time is billed at $45USD/hour.
ALL PRICING IS IN USD. USE THE XE CURRENCY CONVERTER TO CALCULATE PRICING IN YOUR CURRENCY:
XE Currency Converter
*Albums are projects with 14 or more songs. For all songs, running times should be no longer than 6 minutes each. Contact us for mastering projects with more than 14 songs, or for songs with longer running times than 6 minutes.
Special rates are also available for stem mastering or other types of recordings, e.g. concerts, live shows, voiceovers, etc. Contact us for information on special rates.
BEGIN THE PROCESS BY REQUESTING A FREE SAMPLE MASTERING
Remember, 2-track (stereo) WAV or AIFF files only, no MP3’s or stems (without prior approval).