Around 40,000 songs are uploaded to Spotify every single day. That’s 14.6 million songs every year.
With so much music available, listeners have come to expect a certain level of quality. Not only must your music be mixed to a good standard, but it must also be mastered.
What is mastering music, exactly? Why is it important?
Read on to learn more.
What is Mastering Music?
Mastering is the final stage of music production.
You start by recording your track. You then mix it, balancing the levels of the different instruments to make it sound as good as possible. The final step is mastering, which gives a final polish to the entire song.
Mastering uses techniques such as compression and limiting to make the final version of the song the best it can be.
Why Should You Master Your Music?
If you’ve mixed your music as well as you can, or hired someone to do it for you, it should be perfect right? Is there any need to master it too?
Short answer: yes! Here are some reasons why mastering is so important.
Meet Broadcast Standards
If you’re planning on uploading your music for distribution, then it needs to be at a certain level of quality.
Spotify, for example, requires you to target the loudness level of your master to -14 LUFS with -1 db headroom. If you don’t use the correct levels, these sites will compress your music to meet them, which can make it sound much worse.
If you’re planning on releasing CDs or vinyl, your music should be professionally mastered before it goes to press.
Make Your Album Consistent
If you’re putting an album together, then proper mastering is vital.
If you don’t master the whole thing correctly, each song will sound different from the next. It could be louder, or feel muddier, making the process of listening to the album far less enjoyable. Listeners may keep having to change the volume to get the same level of sound for each song.
Good mastering will make your entire album sound consistent.
Professional Sound
Proper mastering can turn a song that sounds a little amateur into one that sounds completely professional.
All major artists have their music professionally mastered, and even if you’ve never even heard of mastering, you’ll be able to hear the difference between a track that hasn’t been mastered properly, and one that has.
Without mastering, you’ll never achieve the professional quality of sound that listeners have become used to.
Are You Looking for Mastering for Your Music?
Now you know why mastering music is so important, you may be looking for someone to master your music. If so, you’re in the right place.
I offer quick, convenient and accessible online mastering services. Upload your tracks and I will master them using state of the art equipment, with a personalized customer experience that is second to none.
Upload your song today for a free mastering sample.