FAQs

What is Mastering
A recording engineer knows how to make a great song, but it takes a mastering engineer to make a song sound great – whether it’s being played through a car stereo, a portable CD player or a top of the line stereo system. With mastering, we optimize your CD, making it sound punchy, warm and full, while raising the overall level and highlighting details.
What is ISRC?
The ISRC (International Standard Recording Code) is the international identification system for sound recordings and music video recordings. Each ISRC is a unique and permanent identifier for a specific recording, independent of the format on which it appears (CD, audio file, etc) or the rights holders involved. Only one ISRC should be issued to a track, and an ISRC can never represent more than one unique recording.

ISRC’s are widely used in digital commerce by download sites and collecting societies. An ISRC can also be permanently encoded into a product as its digital fingerprint. Encoded ISRC provide the means to automatically identify recordings for royalty payments. CLICK HERE to obtain an ISRC code.

What Do I Need To Know After Receiving My Mastered Music?
After listening to your mastered music, please let us know if there is anything you want changed or done differently. It is our policy that if there is a problem with the mastering, we will fix it at no charge until you are 100% satisfied. However, if you submit a new mix/mixes, you will re-incur normal charges.

Please make sure to download your mastered files and save them to your own computer/external hard drive ASAP. The link that we send to you to download your mastered files will expire within 10-14 days.

Let us know if you need a DDP file for CD replication (more information below).

If you were wanting ISRC codes on your song/album, those do not “follow” .wav files or mp3’s on the internet. They are only embedded on the actual disc or sent in a DDP file.

What is a DDP File?
This delivery format contains an image of your project. It’s a series of data files that can be read by CD replicators. These are not music files that can be played on a standard CD player. These are strictly data files and represent the most reliable way of submitting your project to a replicator. However, some CD replicators do not accept DDP Image files. It’s best to check with your replicator of choice before proceeding with this format option. Let us know if you’d like us to supply you with a DDP file.

Metadata/ID tags (media based information)
Please remember, we do not have anything to do with metadata/id tags. All we do is CD text (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CD-Text) during the mastering process.

How to Edit an MP3
The metadata of an MP3 contains the song’s title, artist, album, genre and other identifying information, which allows applications including iTunes to organize your music collection. The “ID3 tag” attachment, which you can edit easily in iTunes, stores this data. Also, you can go HERE for more information.
Why Should I Trust You With My Music?
Excellent question and we have 4 good answers! You should trust us because (1) we will treat you as a high priority client (2) your satisfaction is guaranteed (3) we have the classic studio gear that other facilities can only dream about and, most importantly, (4) we have a proven track record that is unmatched by any other mastering facility in the music business. Our clients have so far received over 78 certified Gold and Platinum Albums, 14 Grammy Awards and 2 Academy Awards. Browse our partial client list and you’ll see that, when you use us, you’re in great company.
Do You Require Payment in Advance?
No. However, payment at the time of the session is required, in full. You will receive an invoice from us at that time outlining exact charges for your bookkeeping records. If there are any questions regarding specific payment arrangements, please contact us.
What is the Turnaround Time for Mastering?
Fast. Yes, fast.