The Pro"s and Con"s of Online Audio Mastering Vs Attended Audio Mastering
Audio mastering is deemed the final stage before music is distributed for mass consumption.
This was traditionally done in a studio with all production parties present.
The advent of the internet and faster broadband connections has enabled a new business model to develop - online mastering.
With online mastering the same high quality equipment should be used to perform the mastering adjustments however instead of hearing the changes as they are made the client receives short previews of the work completed on the mixes for approval.
If they are not quite to the clients taste adjustments can be made and re-sent to the client once again for approval.
Then the final disk creation stage occurs and the final master disks are shipped to the client by secure means.
There are pro's and cons to choosing either online or attended mastering sessions.
The pro's of online mastering: 1)Significantly lower cost.
2)Adjustments without client input can resolve issues that need clear objectivity and a fresh set of ears.
3)Convenient and can be performed without leaving home/work.
4)No surprises when listening to the mastered music later at home if client has had significant input when listening to their music on a monitoring system they are not familiar with.
(in an attended mastering studio) 5)No payments required until masters have been approved.
The Con's of online mastering: 1)Care must be taken choosing the right engineer as there are some operators who may not be completely honest about their experience/equipment and suitability to perform such a critical stage of the production process.
2)If you are unlucky you may get an engineer who is unable to communicate/understand/interpret your taste requirements.
3)Requires the client to have a fast internet download speed.
(To protect against these cons it is suggested that clients consider, engineer experience, equipment being used, photographs of equipment actually "in situ" in the studio, check engineers name is present on site, check recent clients list, good online studios offer free mastering preview of 1 track so do take advantage of this offer and finally I suggest phoning the engineer to get a first impression.
Online mastering certainly has significant advantages which must be weighed up by the potential client as to whether it is a suitable means of mastering their work.
Taking care to choose the right engineer is important and with the right choice the savings can be very significant.
This was traditionally done in a studio with all production parties present.
The advent of the internet and faster broadband connections has enabled a new business model to develop - online mastering.
With online mastering the same high quality equipment should be used to perform the mastering adjustments however instead of hearing the changes as they are made the client receives short previews of the work completed on the mixes for approval.
If they are not quite to the clients taste adjustments can be made and re-sent to the client once again for approval.
Then the final disk creation stage occurs and the final master disks are shipped to the client by secure means.
There are pro's and cons to choosing either online or attended mastering sessions.
The pro's of online mastering: 1)Significantly lower cost.
2)Adjustments without client input can resolve issues that need clear objectivity and a fresh set of ears.
3)Convenient and can be performed without leaving home/work.
4)No surprises when listening to the mastered music later at home if client has had significant input when listening to their music on a monitoring system they are not familiar with.
(in an attended mastering studio) 5)No payments required until masters have been approved.
The Con's of online mastering: 1)Care must be taken choosing the right engineer as there are some operators who may not be completely honest about their experience/equipment and suitability to perform such a critical stage of the production process.
2)If you are unlucky you may get an engineer who is unable to communicate/understand/interpret your taste requirements.
3)Requires the client to have a fast internet download speed.
(To protect against these cons it is suggested that clients consider, engineer experience, equipment being used, photographs of equipment actually "in situ" in the studio, check engineers name is present on site, check recent clients list, good online studios offer free mastering preview of 1 track so do take advantage of this offer and finally I suggest phoning the engineer to get a first impression.
Online mastering certainly has significant advantages which must be weighed up by the potential client as to whether it is a suitable means of mastering their work.
Taking care to choose the right engineer is important and with the right choice the savings can be very significant.
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