FIND MIXING AND MASTERING STUDIO - HOW TO RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT SERVICE PROVIDER!

In the time of the Corona crisis, more and more service providers are popping up who advertise taking your song to the next level, mixing it (mixing) and or to masters. But when there is so much choice, how do I know that I have ended up with the right service provider?

On the following points at the selection for your mixing/Mastering studio we would like to go into more detail:

  • Price
  • Experience
  • References
  • Contact / response times
  • equipment
  • Reviews
  • SUCCESS

PRICE

The price is a decisive factor for many musicians. The price factor should not be neglected, but neither should it be overestimated.

WHAT'S A RIGHT PRICE?

In order to be able to determine what a “correct” price is, we have to do a bit of a calculation. In general, the same way of thinking applies here as in the case of craft companies. A very low price suggests that the provider does not operate the whole thing full-time. This does not have to mean bad or inferior sound, but it can be a good indication of it. A not fully self-employed activity is also possible Conclusions about the expected processing time and response time for any questions. As a rough guide, we would like one here Hourly rate for audio services between € 50 and € 150 per hour gross consider appropriate and realistic for a full activity.

VALUE ADDED TAX

Another indication for a successful self-employed activity in the audio industry is the reporting of sales tax. From an annual income of € 22000, sales tax can be shown. From € 60000 must these are shown. So how does a monthly income of at least 1800 € or 5000 € speak.

EXPERIENCE

Especially in the field of music, experience is of enormous importance. Separate production process steps as the EQing or the compression are basic parameters that can be learned quite easily. The right insertion in the right place is necessary some level of experience. The rule here is that many roads lead to Rome! So if you have a wealth of experience, you always have several possible solutions to choose from and can therefore choose the right path based on the experience you have gained. Here, too, it is true that experience alone does not have to directly reflect the quality standard. service provider in the area rock and metal more experience, but another in the field Pop or Hip-Hop. If you work across genres, a service provider with several engineers who have experience at different levels and in different genres is an advantage.

Here it is important to pay attention to it how much total experience the respective service provider has, and how many years of experience in full self-employment.

REFERENCES

It is an advantage if you have a larger selection reference productions to the respective service provider. Here, of course, care must be taken thatthere are productions that correspond to their own genre. It should also be noted here that different productions, with different equipment, in different rooms, may have been recorded and that Sub-areas of post-production have already been performed by other service providers. Therefore, references should only serve as a guide for a certain quality standard.

CONTACT

Here it is important to check how the service provider is usually contacted. Contact is only held here in writing, or a personal conversation is offered. You should also find out how long the average response time to possible queries is. Since audio production is often about emotions, we recommend a service provider who will deal with you personally and discuss your project in detail.

EQUIPMENT

Of course, the use of the equipment is a decisive factor why you might consider going to an external service provider. Music production equipment can often be very expensive, which is why not everyone can afford it as much as they want. It is important to note here, however, that one does not buy the equipment as a service, but rather the specialist sitting behind itwho must also be able to operate this efficiently and correctly.

REVIEWS

Reviews are indispensable nowadays and a high guarantee for a certain quality standard. First impressions of the quality of work, customer contact and the handling of changes can be found primarily on Google or other review portals.

SUCCESSES

Awards and prizes as well as certificates are a guarantee for a certain quality and success with this quality level. It is not absolutely necessary that a good service provider is also super successful and has a lot of awards, however, a significant indicator.

IMPRINT / CONTACT DETAILS

Every serious service provider has an imprint and should provide all the necessary information there. These include the Managing Director, the contact details, tax information, as well as all data protection information. In any case, before making a purchase, you should check whether you are dealing with a reputable provider on the one hand, and whether they are located in the same country if possible on the other. This can be very important, especially in dispute matters that we do not want anyone.

 

STILL LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT MIXING AND MASTERING STUDIO?

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Chris Jones

Chris Jones

CEO - Mixing and mastering engineer. Has been running Peak Studios since 2006 and is the first online service provider for audio services. More about Chris

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