What is mastering?
Once the The process of blending separate recorded tracks together to create a cohesive and balanced sound recording. is done, it’s time for mastering. Mastering is when a A person who makes adjustments to enhance the final mix of a sound recording and prepares it for distribution. adjusts a Typically, the recorded performance of a musical work protected as a phonogram under copyright law. to enhance the A term used to describe a sound recording in its final stages of audio processing and adjustments, aka mixing, before mastering. and prepare the The original sound recording. Typically, the recorded performance of a musical work protected as a phonogram under copyright law. for The process of delivering sound recordings to DSPs and physical retailers..
To read more about the role of a mastering engineer, read our page about Engineers in our Recording topic.
Mastering a sound recording is the final step in the process before sound recordings are prepared for distribution in various forms. When producing the mastered version, Refers to the volume of audio signals during the sound recording process., The frequencies of sound produced by instruments or vocals, An audio processing technique used in recording and production to control the dynamic range, which is the difference between the loudest and quietest parts of a sound or a mix., and The silence or space between sounds are adjusted to enhance the overall sound.
Mastering is also the stage when International Standard Recording code: a unique identifier for sound recordings. should be encoded into the sound recording file. If the sound recording is released by a A company that invests in, manufactures, distributes, promotes, and monetizes sound recordings on behalf of the artist., the label will usually supply the mastering engineer with the ISCRs and other Data that describes other data, for example, information that describes creators, other rights holders, musical works, and sound recordings. to encode into the sound recording file. If you are a Artists that release their music without the support of a record label., it is your responsibility to ensure that is the case.
Read our topic Getting Credited and Paid to learn more about ISRCs and metadata.
Not affiliated with any other entity or company. creators or artists with their own label can register with a recognized ISRC agency in their region to get an ISRC for their sound recordings. It is also common for the ISRC to be assigned via a A company or service that delivers music to digital streaming platforms and physical retail stores. such as an A type of distributor that only distributes sound recordings to online stores and streaming platforms..
Learn more about distributors and aggregators in our Music Ecosystem topic.
You can find a list of ISRC agencies on the IFPI/ISRC website.
Once the mastering is done, the sound recording is ready for release in all different formats. We have more information on that in our Distribution and Marketing topic.
How does mastering affect rights?
Mastering engineers usually receive compensation for their work from the recording studio, record label, or other sound recording owner and, therefore, don’t have any rights in the sound recording.
Since the selection of the contributions to the final sound recording is made during the mixing process, the mastering process does not affect which A person who makes an original contribution to the creation of a musical composition or lyrics. and performers are entitled to what rights and Also sometimes referred to as shares, the portion of ownership a rights holder has or the portion of income they are entitled to. in the The term "song" does not have a legal definition. It is frequently used to mean "musical work” – the composition and lyrics (if any) created by songwriters and composers. However, it could also refer to a “sound recording” (a specific recording of a musical work), or a “performance” (a live performance of a musical work)., which by then has already been determined.
To learn more about contributor roles, rights, and royalty splits, visit our Songwriting and Recording topics.
Image credit: Tiffany Orvet