Standard Pricing for Mastering
▪ Mastering rate for 1 one song = $250 each
- 2 songs = $225 each
- 3 songs = $200 each
- 4 songs = $175 each
- 5 or more songs = $150 each
- Alternate mixes of the same song = $50 add. each
Please contact for a custom quote for your mastering project.
Submission Compliance
Mixes intended for mastering are best delivered using the following criteria:
- Keep mix files the same resolution as the recording/mix session. (Usually a hi-res wav or AIFF file).
- To preserve the music quality it is best not to change the bit depth or sample rate convert.
- Average levels should be around -23 LUFS or -23 db RMS (this is equivalent to 0 dB on an analog mixer)
- Peaks should be held to around -4 DBFS (mix bus fader at 0 with no limiter is best).
- Stereo Interleave WAV or AIFF files are recommended. (No MP3s, AACs or M4As please).
These are general guidelines and not exacting. Every song is different as long as you are in the neighborhood all will be great. Please stay away from 0 DBFS peaks because that adds distortions and hurts your music. It is suggested to zip (compress) multiple mixes into one file for transferring with WeTransfer or Box.
Delivery
When the mastering is complete and payment has been finalized your files will then be released to you upon notification. Digital files are uploaded to our local server and attached to a download link that will be sent to you via email. If there are any concerns each submission qualifies for ONE edit session. All resubmissions are an additional fee.
Session Attendance
Due to acoustic considerations the attendance is limited to no more than two people. One of the two people attending should be the final authority to make any decisions that your mastering engineer may ask about. Typically, attendance is only necessary during the initial consultation when the final mixes, song sequence, and documentations are delivered to the mastering engineer. The other instance would be after your music is mastered and ready for a final listen and/or editing.
Equipment
We strive to produce the finest musical results enhancing your product to be the best possible. With full optimization and focused imaging, your mastered playback performance will be consistent across all medias including FM radio, download/streaming services, car stereos, club or home systems. We customize our process based on each individual project with respect to each song so that it is appropriate for your genre and market. The following equipment used are as follows:
- SADIE 6 DAW Sound Suite
- Crane Song STC – 8 (M&K Mods)
- Crane Song IBIS (Mastering Mods)
- Millenia NSEQ – 2 (Mastering Mods)
- Whitestone P331 Tube Loading Amp
- SPL – Hermes – Analog Router
- Crane Song Avocet Monitor Controller
- Fred Forsell MADA – 2 ADDA
- Tannoy DMT 215 System II Audio Monitors
- Benchmark AHB2 Power Amplifier
- JL Audio F112 Sub Woofer
COS Mastering provides music mastering for all major media platforms including Apple Music, Amazon Music, Spotify, Tidal, YouTube, FM Radio, CD/Vinyl pressing and others.
Each platform has their own personal limiters for submission uploads. Professional music mastering is the best route to get the most out of your music with minimal risk of being penalized (turned down) by the streaming service. It is customary for COS engineers to deliver mastered files at the standard format of 44.1k-16 bit WAV and MP3 for convenient distribution. Higher sample rates may also be delivered when requested and typically when the original mix is recorded in such quality. We are also an Apple Digital Masters approved studio, which optimizes your mastered files to Apple’s AAC format.