Why Master?

With cash at a premium many artists are looking for ways to cut costs as they make and record their music. You might be wondering if professional mastering is really worth the expense.

So what can you expect when you have your record professionally mastered? First, it is the job of the mastering engineer to take a broad, overall view of the album as a whole. This is why certain mixing elements (EQ, compression, etc) are best left in the hands of the mastering engineer. It is his job to make sure that each track sounds good not only as a stand alone piece but also in the context of the album as a whole.

Good mastering also provides balance in dynamics and frequency and improved consistency throughout the album. Also your mastering engineer should be able to enhance your record by drawing focus to specific elements of your music. Finally, professional mastering serves as a last stop to catch any mixing problems before your record is cut.

Tom Volpicelli in an interview in Audio Production/Engineering put it this way, "The Internet has opened the floodgates for artists; it has leveled the playing field in terms of promotion, marketing, distribution, and global audience access. When promoters, labels, and potential fans listen to a song on Sonicbids, or any other social networking site, they could be comparing music that has been produced in a small project studio against those done with a significantly larger budget. Even though the song may be great, without mastering it can sound muddy, weak, and lack the impact of a properly mastered song. It’s analogous to a job interview; no one goes to an interview in dirty clothes and a bad haircut. Mastering provides the “grooming” for your music to help ensure that it makes the best impression. Mastering is also a reflection of the professionalism and maturity of an artist. Non-mastered tracks tend to sound amateur against a well-mastered track."

So is this something that you can do at home? The problem with trying to master in a home studio is that without the proper set up you are risking a sub-par finished product. For example, if the home studio is bass deficient, you mixes may end up bass heavy. If your monitors are not full range then you will end up making bad EQ decisions. Also, much of the software that is produced for home mastering does more harm than good by generating unintended distortion and noise.

In the end, the best option, whenever possible, is to have your music professionally mastered. In an extremely competitive music marketplace it is worth the cost.

Taking a Cue from the Experts

Matthew Knowles, father of Beyonce and manager of Destiny's Child, on breaking into the music business: "You've got to have passion, think out of the box and have basic fundamental business knowledge. You must have the ability to go to talk to people intelligently. You have to come with your own plan. Be prepared to spend time on artist development and not depend on the record label to do it."


Knowles, who is now president and CEO of Music World/Sanctuary Urban Holding Group, Inc. continues, "Breaking into the music industry won't guarantee riches overnight either. On average it takes five years from the day you get a record deal to the day there is a financial reward. So you've got to be prepared for that."


Randy Jackson, American Idol judge and award winning producer puts it this way, "Everyone fancies himself a shower singer. People sing in their ears. Some sing in choirs, and it's 'Man, you can sing. Why don't you get a deal?' But how good are you compared to the competition? You have to be able to gauge that... work on that... practice."

He also stresses the importance of perseverance, "Look, the journey to get to anywhere near the top is really hard. In order to keep on that road, you have to have a pretty strong interior and exterior because some things are going to fall when you do that. If you focus on your career, other things in your life may fall apart."