Who pays for mastering, you or label?!

[Littlefoot]

To me, part of the label's quality control is the control of sound, and that is only done by a long lasting relationship with an ME you have chosen becuase he/she works well on your music.

[mico viejo]

what if the label is willing to pay for mastering, but not with your usual ME (cos their ME is cheaper)?

[macc]

Lisyen to the result and see.

[lowpass]

what if the label is willing to pay for mastering, but not with your usual ME (cos their ME is cheaper)?

Well, ask them why they are spending money on a ME in the first place,

the answer will probably be because they want a nice polished product they can sell,

better audio = more likely to sell

if you're ME gets better results then explain that to them, when they hear that it's likely to sell more then they will be more likely to invest more money.

(btw this isn't implying that all labels are money grabbing bastards, they do care about the music but this is a business investment nonetheless and should be treated as such)

[abZ]

what if the label is willing to pay for mastering, but not with your usual ME (cos their ME is cheaper)?

I usually like to use my guy, I like things on my label to have consistency from release to release. Interesting story tho, for one release I let the artist use his own ME who was a little more expensive. We had problems had to have the ME go over it again. Said artist turned around and started using my guy for his label after this

[macc]

Dunno if that was me or not, hehe ^ But that does happen a lot, even between the biggest places. I've had people come here from bigger and smaller places, and I've had people go to smaller/bigger places from here. It's just part of the game/market - if everyone wanted exactly the same thing there would be one place to have it done, like 'Big Brother Mastering' or something Or an algorithm *shudder*

The bottom line is that it should be someone who gives you the results and quality of service you're looking for. It might take a bit of shopping around to find the dude that does it just right for you. Might be cheaper, might be more expensive, whatever. All that matters is you're happy when all's said and done.

[Blue Patterns]

Dunno if that was me or not, hehe ^ But that does happen a lot, even between the biggest places. I've had people come here from bigger and smaller places, and I've had people go to smaller/bigger places from here. It's just part of the game/market - if everyone wanted exactly the same thing there would be one place to have it done, like 'Big Brother Mastering' or something Or an algorithm *shudder*

The bottom line is that it should be someone who gives you the results and quality of service you're looking for. It might take a bit of shopping around to find the dude that does it just right for you. Might be cheaper, might be more expensive, whatever. All that matters is you're happy when all's said and done.

Club Master Preset with or without tweaking is the solution









just playing

[macc]

Works for me here Ssshhhh!!

[dom]

we would not dream of asking an artist to pay for a master. if you are not prepared to invest in a bit of music as a label, then you obviously dont have the confidence that it will sell.
the only situation that i can think of where an artist should pay is if they are insisting on someone vastly more expensive than who the label usually goes for.

[abZ]

Dunno if that was me or not, hehe ^ But that does happen a lot, even between the biggest places. I've had people come here from bigger and smaller places, and I've had people go to smaller/bigger places from here. It's just part of the game/market - if everyone wanted exactly the same thing there would be one place to have it done, like 'Big Brother Mastering' or something Or an algorithm *shudder*

The bottom line is that it should be someone who gives you the results and quality of service you're looking for. It might take a bit of shopping around to find the dude that does it just right for you. Might be cheaper, might be more expensive, whatever. All that matters is you're happy when all's said and done.

Nope you didn't have anything to do with it but yeah shit happens.

[safeandsound]

It would be typical for the label to pay if you are signed.

I find mainly independent artists pay their own way with mastering

[my_fickle_eye]

slightly off topic but would you pay for mastering of a demo you would send out to a label? or leave it un-mastered

[abZ]

slightly off topic but would you pay for mastering of a demo you would send out to a label? or leave it un-mastered

You could do that if you really need it. Most decent producers know how to do some basic limiting to get it to sound loud. Labels understand that they are usually hearing an unmastered song. If it needs more than limiting then maybe you need to work on mixdown a little more before you pass em around.

[snuff]

ultimately you pay whether now or later as label will always recoup it's costs from your release at the earliest possible opportunity. STANDARD.