A Cappella Mastering
Mastering is a very specific skill set, and Bill has decades
of experience on hundreds of major projects. Bill started
mastering in 1984 on all-analog equipment, so he has the history
to understand the extra esoteric edge that gives and translate
it to the digital output of today! He has re-mastered and
restored classic analog albums for digital, including being
trusted with an album of the legendary Peruvian singer Yma Sumac
directly from the precious decades-old mixdown reels from
Electric Lady (Jimi Hendrix' studio) in New York. Given that
sort of background, mastering modern digital mixes is a "piece
of cake" for Bill!
Contemporary A Cappella is a challenge
for most mainstream mastering engineers, and even some of the
most legendary hit-makers will miss the mark because of the
unfamiliar sonic shapes that A Cappella provides. After some
clients spent upwards of $1200 for high-end professional
masters, they brought their tracks back to Bill for a "second
opinion", which he far surpassed for about a third the cost.
Many groups that don't record and mix with Bill still send
their finished mixes to him for a final polish and to get some
of the "hit-making fairy-dust" of so many great albums passing
previously though his fingers!
Quite a few chart-topping
hits on Billboard and iTunes have been mastered by Bill,
including the 4th-biggest-selling album of 2014 - Pentatonix'
"That's Christmas to Me" (Platinum record for over 1 Million
Sales).
Bill's control room was designed by Michael
Blackmer, who has created some of the greatest mastering rooms
around the world. An over $100,000 investment, the accuracy of
the room shows in the way your album will sound when played in
the real world.
Bill is certified with Apple to be able
to provide official "Mastered for iTunes" albums and tracks.
This is a special process that optimizes tracks for iTunes
(though regular mastering works quite well too). iTunes will not
put the coveted "Mastered for iTunes" badge on projects not
mastered and approved by an MfiT-certified engineer.
Bill
is an official R.I.A.A. ISRC manager. Rather than having the
hassle of applying for and buying ISRC codes yourself (usually
$80), Bill can assign them free of charge as part of the
mastering process.
Mastering Rates
Standard mastering is a simple $40 per song. A single
will cost $40. A 10-song album will cost $400. No other fees,
not even rush fees or late fees.
This includes:
A DDP file with embedded player (will
work on any computer) to audition, check all coding, and
burn CDs that will behave exactly like the production run.
This is also your CD master for replication.
A WAV
package to be delivered to any online distributors you will
be using.
ISRC Assignment (USA releases only)
CD-TEXT/ISRC coding.
Permanent archiving for any future
needs.
"Mastered for iTunes" can be added to existing
mastering for $20 per song.