Get the record finished and ready to release.

Mix readiness

ChecklistPrepare a mix that gives mastering room to work.Check clipping, bus processing, fades, noise, references, and the shape of the ending before you export. ChecklistExport your mix without adding a surprise.A cross-DAW checklist for file format, sample rate, bit depth, normalization, dither, and a final listen. ExplainerMixing vs masteringWhat mastering is, what it does, and what it cannot fix — quoted from the people who do it.

Mastering choices

ComparisonAutomated or personal?Match the process to the mix, deadline, and decisions that still need a human. ListenActual-level samplesCompare original mixes and mastered files with measurements in view. How it worksWhat mastering changesFollow the signal through balance, dynamics, limiting, and delivery.

Loudness and delivery

ReferenceLoudness targets, platform by platformSpotify and SoundCloud publish −14 LUFS. Apple, YouTube, TIDAL, Amazon Music and Deezer publish no stereo target. Every figure here is quoted and linked. PlatformMastering for SpotifyThe loudness Spotify normalises to, what happens to louder and quieter masters, and the true peak it asks for. PlatformMastering for YouTubeYouTube publishes no loudness target. What it does document, and the upload settings it recommends. PlatformApple Music and Sound CheckWhat Sound Check does, how to turn it on or off, and why Apple publishes no stereo loudness target. ExplainerLUFS explainedLoudness the way a listener hears it, defined by ITU-R BS.1770, and how it differs from dBFS. ReferenceMastering for vinylWhat six pressing plants and cutting rooms publish about the file they want, quoted and linked. ReferenceGlossaryTwenty-six loudness and mastering terms, most linked to the document that defines them.

Measure your own file: LUFS meter · Loudness penalty

Artwork, releases and live shows

GuideMake a band stage plot and input listShow the crew where the band stands, what needs connecting and who hears each monitor mix. GuideTurn an album cover idea into artworkChoose a subject, mood and style, review the image, then add readable type and check the export. ReferenceAlbum cover size, platform by platformThe pixel sizes, file formats and colour that Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube Music, Bandcamp and distributors publish, quoted and linked. ChecklistBuild a music release checklist around your dateKeep final files, details, distribution and promotion moving with owners and workable deadlines. ExplainerISRC codes explainedWhat an ISRC identifies, when a new version needs its own code, and how to get and find one.

Hear your own mix.

Preview the full automatic master for free before buying a download. Explore the tools included with Unlimited for the release and show that follow.