Why are Master CD's so expensive?

[GearGeek]

Please forgive this beginner question. As a producer, my clients have always paid for the mastering job. But now that I'm getting ready to release my own album, I'm paying for it myself. This question only applies to the CD itself, not the ME or studio time.

I've been getting different quotes here in Los Angeles and it seems like the going rate for a reference CD is $100 and a Master CD is $500. Why so much? I know Master CD's are not burned like CDR's but this seems rather high. $100 for a reference? I can buy 50 CDRs for $15! Can anyone clarify? Thanks.

[Darius van H]

100$ for a ref is a rip-off, plain and simple (i charge about 3 euro for a ref, although it's included in the studio time)

500$ for a master is also a rip-off, in my opinion.

However, you must realize that making a master does take some time. everything needs to be checked in triplicate (CD text, ISRC), the master is generally burned at a lower speed. It then needs an error check......then someone (me) listens to the whole master on headphones. (I'm sure at the places charging 500$, it's not the hi-profile ME doing the listening!)

The way i do it, and the way i expect many of the guys on this forum do it, is that the master is included in the original quote for the album. If extra masters are need at a later date, then i charge around 100 euro (more if changes are needed to the actual audio).

[jdg]

it does take alot of time to check a disk. but like darius, i include it in the price... as that's still a part of the job.

but if i could charge $500 for just burning a CD.. i'd do it too.

[GearGeek]

Yeah I knew something was fishy...thanks for the replies.

These were some stock quotes I got from websites and e-mails so I'm sure there is room for negociation.

One website claimed that the Master CD is created in a "clean room" where the technicion wears protective gloves and and facemask to prevent dust and dirt and yada yada yada......sounds like BS.

Reminds me of Ebay. "SM57 for 1 cent" Then you go to the bottom. "shipping $150". fuuck

[Darius van H]

Originally Posted by GearGeek

One website claimed that the Master CD is created in a "clean room" where the technicion wears protective gloves and and facemask to prevent dust and dirt and yada yada yada......sounds like BS.

Are you maybe talking about the price of the glass master? ( Compact disc manufacturing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

[GearGeek]

Originally Posted by Darius van H

Are you maybe talking about the price of the glass master? ( Compact disc manufacturing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia )

I'm not sure where I read that. It could be. Here's a link to one of the Mastering Studios rates I was checking out. Mastering Lab : Rate Sheet

[jayfrigo]

Originally Posted by GearGeek

I'm not sure where I read that. It could be. Here's a link to one of the Mastering Studios rates I was checking out. Mastering Lab : Rate Sheet

Notice that Doug Sax at the Mastering Lab is $450/hr. To work with the elite, you'll pay elite prices, including parts. Places like Sterling, Gateway, and Sony etc. will have similar prices.

In the real world for the rest of us, it's usually based on the time, not the media. Even though a CDR is under a buck, you need to charge for the time it takes time in the studio to set it up, burn a DDP image at speeds that won't risk corruption, and then burn a couple discs from it, again at reasonable speeds that produce discs with the lowest error count (4X often works well these days with the common Plextor/Taiyo Yuden combo), prepare the PQ log, error test the disc, and do the QC listening pass. If the studio charges $125 hour, and a full length album takes 2 hours to complete the process above for the average full-length CD, it's going to cost you $250. If the studio charges studio time while it does all that work, and still charges $250 for the master, then you're being taken advantage of.

In our studio, the studio clock stops after EQ/edit time, and creating parts is done off the clock, but priced according to the average time it takes to create and verify the parts in question. Labels and other clients alike often like to see fixed costs for parts so that if they make an additional parts order for a different market or a myriad of other reasons, they can count on what it will cost. Parts charges are usually not a recoupable expense for the label either (considered a manufacturing expense), so separating the items for billing helps in accounting as well. Still, it's the time and labor you're paying for. The media is free.

If a studio keeps the clock running while creating parts, the media price should be quite small by comparison. Either way, studio time and labor is the mystery behind the price of parts. It's just how they break it out on the bill.

[lucey]

A premaster for what seems like serious money is likely verified by the engineer, and an intern or assistant. That's an hour of intense listening, and is thus priced on par with their services generally. Considering the risk of ensuring the work it makes sense for some people.

I leave the checking of masters to clients and no one complains. CDs are $5 which pays for the media (.50 with a case) and the burner depreciation (.20) and the time (2 mins - $4.30).

[mikeeusa]

What is burner depreciation? (.20)

[Bob Olhsson]

I generally spend three hours checking a master and I frequently need to run several before I'm satisfied that there are no technical glitches or subtle problems that I missed in the eq session or the client missed listening to the ref. It isn't worth doing this before the client has signed off on a ref for the basic eq, levels, spreads, etc. I send this disk that I have carefully checked and perfected to the plant and a copy of it to my client.

It's traditional to charge a flat rate that includes the final nit-picking and any replacements needed by the plant. It's also traditional for only eq./editing/session time to be charged to the artist's royalty account and not the the master disk charge. This is why mastering charges are structured this way.

Obviously one could just send a ref to the plant and save a few hundred bucks. It's just a question of it being worth the gamble.

[streaky]

Our masters are run out real-time so part of the price is taken up by the actual studio time that it takes to listen to an album start to finish. This is the first line of the final quality control.

Then the CD has to be burned, and although it's not a 'clean room' like someone mentioned before, we do employ special carrying methods that ensure extra-secure transfer of the CD master from the tray to the hand. This is done using a specially designed hand with 7 fingers that ensures maximum grip and the most efficient spreading of pressure around the outer edge of the CD. The hand also has a special thumb that pops into the central hole, incase the 7 fingers malfunction.

Then the CD is checked for errors in Plextools, which takes however long you want it to take depending on the verification speed. Then it has to be labelled and boxed.

In all seriousness though, the reason many studios are charging amounts like $1200 for a final master is that it's basically a product-release fee from the studio - although you can partly explain it away with studio time against material costs against whatever, it's essentially a handling fee. Oh also our reference CDs don't have the catalogue number, ISRC codes and barcodes embedded.

[Sunbreak Music]

Originally Posted by streaky

Then the CD has to be burned, and although it's not a 'clean room' like someone mentioned before, we do employ special carrying methods that ensure extra-secure transfer of the CD master from the tray to the hand. This is done using a specially designed hand with 7 fingers that ensures maximum grip and the most efficient spreading of pressure around the outer edge of the CD. The hand also has a special thumb that pops into the central hole, incase the 7 fingers malfunction.

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by streaky

Then the CD has to be burned, and although it's not a 'clean room' like someone mentioned before, we do employ special carrying methods that ensure extra-secure transfer of the CD master from the tray to the hand. This is done using a specially designed hand with 7 fingers that ensures maximum grip and the most efficient spreading of pressure around the outer edge of the CD. The hand also has a special thumb that pops into the central hole, incase the 7 fingers malfunction.

I always thought there was something fishy about Alex...now I know what it is, he's a genetic mutant!

[peeder]

I know a guy who just had his full-length mastered by Doug...he seems very happy...

[streaky]

Originally Posted by psycho_monkey

I always thought there was something fishy about Alex...now I know what it is, he's a genetic mutant!

Har har mr Breakspear!

We employ a crack team of mutants to run & check our Master CDs here - there, the truth is out.