How to make money, or how to make MORE money - Mastering

[Jules]

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[lukejs]

I'ld love to make money doing mastering work, since nobody even close to my area in southern mexico has the resources to do it. I've seen mastering engineers who only use an outboard Weis EX, multiband compressor, and stereo processor, and some a great speaker set up... granted this stuff is really expensive. but I'd like to do some mastering with plugins such as Powercore's MD3, UAD-1 compressors, and Isotope's Ozone 3. Could I make money and acheive comparable results using just plugins or do I have to go all out and buy really expensive outboard gear ? I always figured that I could make money mastering if I had the "golden ears" and plugins, and that I could compete with external gear.... Can I make money mastering ??

[matucha]

Low-end mastering ;-). There is similar situation in my country. There is a studio (complex) aimed ony on mastering, but they have mediocre sounding rooms and mediocre equipment... most importantly the results are not stunning. On the other hand they are 100% booked all the time.
Then every studio here offers mastering, though they have unsatisfactory sounding rooms even for mixing... let alone the equipment (behringer is a king still here)...

But I found myself in situation, being known around as an (electronic)artist and picky ear on forums, so time to time someone comes with a small mastering job.
Mostly it is bad mixed techno for a vinyl release, where the guys are weird underground types doing their junk in reason... but surprisingly they have no problems paying in cash and in time.
Other thing is the Magazine CD compilations that just need to even out and to do a smooth or well timed track-to-track transitions. The problem is those people payment delays can be as long as year.

This ain't no highend mastering. Just Adam S3-A, Apogee MiniDAC combo for monitoring in a small room and plugins (UAD, Waves, Sonalksis). But still it is superior setup to 90% of people making music in the Czech Republic.

In case you are curious, yes I'm going to upgrade and upgrade so maybe in the end I can ask for a good money and for a good jobs.

[lukejs]

Hi Matucha ! We're almost in the same boat, since we both have mini Dacs and are using plugins that we will use for mastering....although you have much better monitor set up ( I have Alesis Pro Linear DSP 820's ) . I may buy a Cranesong STC8 and a Millenia N-SEQ EQ for mastering purposes... ( and possibly a HEDD 192 ) along with some better speakers. What mastering gear are you thinking about buying ? It seems that people interested in mastering their work will almost always pay more if they see some fine external equipment rather than just plugins....since if they see that I'm just using plugins, they'll probably think " why am I gonna pay somebody just to pass my tracks through plugins that even they may have access too " I guess in the end, it's the mastering engineers ears that the clients are actually paying for....... and seeing equipment may make their ears look more "golden" !!

[chuckj]

I have found having a "demo" mastering CD is helpful. I also keep the before and after files loaded in my computer for a quick demo. Having a client be able to hear the things you are able to do to improve their mixes goes a long way. I will offer to do one song for no charge. I also do not charge by the hour for mastering unless a client wants to sit in and book the time. I charge by the length of the project. This way the client knows their price and there is no teeth gnashing while they watch the clock. Most of my mastering is done via the mail. I inform the client of when I think the next available opportunity will be to start the mastering. This is based on my session schedule. If they receive the CD and want a few tweaks, I tell them it's no problem. I'm not happy until they are! Most clients will not take advantage of you with endless tweaks. They hired you because they like what you do in the first place. This method has resulted in mastering being about 20-25% of my business now.

Chuck J

[matucha]

Is there someone around that stepped up from "plugin junior mastering" to "almost analogue" way of working and gained significant nr of customers with more cashola? Well it sounds reasonable, but whats the real effect?

Lukejs > it appears we are on the same boat, STC8, IBIS, MP, Lavry... but mostly secondhand, still I'm mostly buying it for myself, because I can't expect I can rise the rates so high it could pay itself. Nevermind there is something sweet about pioneering highend (thoug it is secondhand and small ;-) ).

Demo-CD... really helped? My expirience is not good with that, well not with mastering, but I become sketical about demoCDs.

[karatemanjohnny]

Chuck J,

I'm curious about how you charge for mastering - do you charge per minute or per song? And do you end up making at least your hourly rate listed on your website?

Thanks,

John

[Level]

I hold classes and will be happy to teach.

[chap]

I master about 20 cds a year and usually 2 are for major labels. I would recommend the 'intuitive billing method'.
It would work like this:
If it's a local musician/band and you have the gear and chops, quote $1000 for the job and throw in
a do over and backup

If it's a national act or label, charge $2000.
Make sure that you provide that amount of service, effort and comfort level as well as prioritizing them
You can ask that because they're asking for YOU.
If you go any higher, they may as well go to someone like Greg Calbi, who's mastered 1000s of CDs.
peace,
chap

[matucha]

Normal rates here are less than 1/2 in a regular facility... And I'd probably wouldn't get any job asking that much (!) dfegad . I believe I can get to $500 when I have complete studio with analog chain. But we will see.

[Alécio Costa]

Hi
I am kind of studio chamaleon here -lol
Sometimes I am recording, mixing, producing ad sometimes doing the final junior mastering.
I have been surprised of how many crap I have received to audition, already masterd at top rooms. I am not saying the tops are doing bad job but sometimes it makes me wonder, what a bunch of analog gear and L2 abuse is doing at those rooms.
I also intend to pick some fine analog stuff soon, besides better monitoring.
Here, mastering a 10song- album goes as low as U$220!!!

[JohnMcD]

Well, I personally charge per song instead of by the hour. This way, it gives more solid confidence in what the prospective client just has to spend instead of some nebulous figure that could kill the budget.

I charge $150/song with reduction rates accordingly to 7-10 songs or more.

Another thing to try is after listening to the mix, tell them what is possible in the extreme as well as minnimal. This gives them a measurement to what can occur when working with you as a ME. This gives another confidence booster if you're able to exceed expectations.

One thing I don't recommend, but I do employ is a stagger effect with Studio packages. I work at a one-stop production facility and it works like this. Record/Tracking is the cheapest and gets done regularly quick. Next on the food chain is the mixing, which gets things in the ballpark. I've gotten to the point in this stage in knowing how ragged I can leave a mix to get a polished master. This way, someone doesn't go off to another ME for cheaper.

Now this is where I can apply to this Mastering topic. You charge the most for the Mastering service, knowing full well the mix done may be ragged, but in no way hinders a wonderful Master.

Exceed expectations accordingly. Give hope with confidence and people will be more eager to part with money because they believe in the work done . This is always half the battle, people listen to their work. They listen some more and notice little things that exaggerate and pretty soon kills the buzz they originally started on in the project.

Just my two cents for capitalism.

-John

[chuckj]

Hi KaratemanJohnny,

I usually end up getting about my average studio rate for mastering. Sometimes more (not usually), sometime less (more frequently). Since I do this during times of no bookings, I usually spend more time on my own dime. I try new techniques and gear. I constantly try to learn more to improve. It has helped me immensely. I charge by the finished minute of the final product. If the project needs some major editing, I inform the client that they will be billed extra at my hourly rate.

To add to the previous comment about a demo CD not being very effective, I will say that the "one song for free" is what usually seals the deal for the business. Having the client hear their own song mastered gives them a better understanding.

Chuck

[Level]

1300.00 here unless I cut some deal for the hell of it. Free sometimes just to show off.

I have had a 22K mastering session. It simply depends.

Free for one track to anyone, anytime. Write it off as advertising.

[Mr. Fancy Pans]

My average runs 750.00 for a whole album or roughly 65.00 a song and I have all the Weiss, Z-Systems, L2 etc... gear and all the analog gear from Pultecs to Millenia NSEQ (tube side modded to original spec). Monitoring is with the big B&W 802 speakers. I also built a building dedicated to mastering and have been mastering for 10 years now. Engineering for 24 years.

Guess I'm not charging enough, hey? But the way I feel is I've eliminated my overhead so I pass the savings on to my clients. Most of my clients are independent and can't afford high rates. Also I'm in upstate NY right in the center between NYC, Boston & Montreal so that helps and I built the building on my own land so the rent I charge goes into my pocket, so again very low to no overhead, pass on the savings.

As far as gear for mastering, it's much more important to have an accurate monitoring system and an acurate room, and to know that room and those speakers better then anything. Also you better be a music lover of ALL kinds of music.

The old "less is more", as in life itself, applies to mastering as well.

best - Larry

[karatemanjohnny]

chuckj, level:

i definitely am liking the one song for free. i have done that with recording, but not for mastering. and level, writing that off as an advertisement is pure genius.

and this is all pointing towards me really putting together a demo CD, with before and afters.

thanks for the dialogue.

- John

[Brad Blackwood]

FWIW, be careful writing off freebie work - the Feds only legally allow you to write off supplies used in advertising work - your time cannot be written off. Otherwise, you could claim you did 20,000 freebies last yer and owe nothing...

As for the original question, I think it's simple. Be a specialist (not a tracking engineer, mixing engineer, and a masterign engineer) and do it all the time. Do great work, and use the best equipment available. People will come.

[jazzius II]

Invest in yourself........buy good gear.....people will hear the difference and be impressed by the studio bling......shallow but true......get experience.......stay humble.......always try to let people leave feeling good about themselves and their project......don't be too negative or whiney...be positive!...oh yeah, and try to do good work!..... ....laterz......

[chap]

Freebies suggest that you need work.
If it appears that you need work than it also appears that you don't know what you're doing.
Always charge a fee for demos or spec work especially when your competitors are not.
"Percieved value" is not just a marketing term.
Let your clients know what you're up to in a humble way and drop the names if they come up
in conversation. As in " Springsteen?, yeah, I do like him. In fact I just mastered a live CD for him and Clarence, live in Asbury Park. It was really fun."
See how I just dropped that name?

And I got paid!

Spec work in the advertising world, suggests that you are desperate. Find out the terms and deliver an 'idea' demo' for your costs or $500 and you already have them invested in you. You can offer to deduct the demo cost from the final product.
That way, everyone wins.
$$$$$$$$$,
chap

[JohnMcD]

Be a specialist (not a tracking engineer, mixing engineer, and a masterign engineer) and do it all the time. Do great work, and use the best equipment available. People will come. -Brad Blackwood-

I wish I could be in the same boat as you Mr.Blackwood. I've faithfully watched your forum and what you regularly post. Along with others on your forum, you're in an enviable position in life.

Anyways, I agree that specializing in one thing always works wonders and is usually better in production within the grand scheme of things.

Personally, I'm 24 years old and I need money. I'm what you consider in street terms "hungry". If I have to mix and master literal karaoke lipsynch'd popular music, which I have before, I'll do it regularly to put food in my mouth. I probably sound very selfish and crafty for working and doing what I mentioned in my previous post but when reality sets in, it can be heavy.

People can't always pick and choose project by project. I'll take anything and everything, including scraps from the bigger fish.

-In the end, I hope to get known from the massive amount of work with skills that can give me the luxury most aspire to have. -

At the moment, it is beggars can't be choosers. Which comes around for another way to make money in this topic.

-Master anything, regardless if you know it is going to be crap compared to "__"-

People will come, but in what quantity? I like to think of working in the law of averages. After a certain threshold, you're going to get some pretty crap mixes to master. Some may tell the possible client "no". Then they lecture them how to make a better mix. But without prior knowledge from not working with the occasional tracking and mixing, it might be futile to give them any info at all to help! ( No bad inference intended)

In any case, very noble indeed. But I'm the type that would take the money, Master it, and then give them advice. Get the flow going instead of start and stops. As a former teenage rock band guitar player, it can get discouraging once money has been spent on a final atrocious mix. To be told that you have to go back and do a better job is a horrendous impact to morale. I'm all about working with what is given, regardless of what source in the vein for "progress". I hope I've covered all possible aspects of the idea of Mastering everything you get in.

I have taken very simple mixes on portable recorders with minnimal effects and made it just as robust and larger than life as some commercial music.

Anything is possible, it is just how you want to do it. Maybe throw in "how much" and then we can call it good...

-John

[chuckj]

Hi All,

Brad from Euphonic Masters makes a good point in being a specialist. He has mastered work from my studio. He does a great job. There are absolutely valid reasons for going to a specialist, just as there is in medicine. I also am not in the position to specialize, nor do I think do I want to go that route. I enjoy being a general practitioner. (My apologies if there any "real" doctors in the house!) I am forthright and honest with my clients. They realize I do not "specialize" in mastering. Not everyone needs (or can afford) to go see a specialist for a cold. It would be great if you could. If I could send all my clients to Brad, that would be great, because my stuff would sound that much better! The truth of it is, in the indie band world most all of my clients cannot afford Brad's fine work. I let my work speak for itself and if a client wants to take it to a trusted specialist that I know also performs good work, it can only benefit everyone involved.

Chuck

[Alécio Costa]

but if you do practice and love what you want someday you may also do a very fine job on mastering and be able to pick out some finest gear.