Master Of Your Domain

When are they (the plug-in software community) going to come out with the "Bob Clearmountian Mastering Suite" plug-in? To expand on an earlier posting, part of the other flip side of 15 year old producers and pro applications in everyones hands is the sheer amount of tracks being released on a weekly basis. Obviously these are not all stellar tracks but back in the day when labels had to pay for things like manufacturing, mastering, artwork and distribution they were selective about their releases. Now that anyone and their mother can essentially be a label and put content on a digital store these online outlets are inundated with literally hundreds of new releases each week which makes searching for new tracks overwhelming. Where the whole mastering factor comes in is with so many new releases and the low cost per unit, paying money to master a track with a commercial mastering plant is a costly gamble. Let me explain:
Let's say you have a new track called "Bass Spanker" and you're only doing a digital release of this one track with an instrumental version as well. On iTunes it's going to sell for .99 cents per download which Apple gets a cut of around .10 cents leaving you with .90 cents per download. If you go through a digital distributor knock another .10-.20 cents per download and let's round it off to say .75 cents per download coming back to you. This doesn't take into account any manager or third party fees. Let's assume you're the label and the sole writer so that .75 cents is all yours, awesome. Now let's say you had to spend a few hundred dollars to master the release. How many tracks do you need to sell before you have recouped your mastering costs?

$250.00 mastering / .75 per download = 333 downloads

Thats just to cover mastering so you haven't seen a profit. Sell 500 downloads and you just earned yourself a hefty $125.00 profit. There are other variables for other releases such as working with other writers, vocalists, or producers in addition to releasing another artists record which can alter that .75 cents you would normally get by half or more. So how do you justify commercial mastering for a track that or may not even break even? This has led to the revolution of self-mastering, mostly via plug-ins such as those offered by Waves or the stock plugs offered on the hosts DAW. Given the fact that the majority of producers are NOT mastering engineers this has led to an increase in the decrease of the quality mastered product. Its a struggle for mastering houses to find the niche in the new model where physical releases are fewer, singles outweigh full lengths, and budgets get lower and lower. Many offer reduced rate online mastering in a "B" room ("A" rooms are reserved for big budged projects) but even that may be cost prohibitive leaving many with the option to self-master or go without mastering altogether. It seems every month magazines such as EQ, Future Music, and more have articles and even entire magazines devoted to the subject of mastering. But of course an article won't give you golden ears or a 1-2-3 step on how to master YOUR track but it should at least make you more aware on how important it is. But until Mr Clearmountian puts his DNA into a plug-in many of us will still be heading to that Waves L3 for some afternoon track slamming. You can also check these links out:
Auto Audio Mastering System - As the name suggests, it's an auto mastering system yielding pretty good results. You can analyze any source material or use one of the presets and of you go. The GUI is pretty daunting but it's quick and painless once you get the hang of it.

Har-Bal Visual Mastering System - Website says "This superior method of EQ'ing and harmonic balancing gives Har-Bal it's distinction as the premiere spectrum analyzer for the most important step in the CD mastering process. It truly separates an amateur recording from a professional recording and removes the need to test your CD's on different systems and environments." I say "Harder to figure out then your VCR's flashing 12:00."

Digital Sound Labs Mastering - DSL is an online mastering solution for musicians and independent record labels around the world.They dedicated mastering facility that understands it is not always possible for the average musician to purchase high priced studio time by the hour.
This is an opportunity for you to achieve the same quality that is given to some of today’s major artists, but at a much lower rate. They charge $99 for an entire CD up to 80 minutes or $15 a song...