Steve PMHMastering is a very important stage in music production. Without mastering, the tracks would sound dull, or at best, like a noisy hot mess. Therefore, mastering is the main thing that helps to make the final product of your track sound its best before it gets out of the studio to be uploaded to streaming platforms.
Mastering tracks involves the balancing of individual tracks and making the most tenuous changes possible in order to make sure that the track is audible and sounds clear as a whole.
There are several online platforms available to help you master your tracks from the comfort of your own home studio. Initially, mastering was a complex process which would require you to seek the help of mastering engineers but with the introduction of online mastering platforms, the whole process has been made much easier.
The following article is going to focus on the top 8 online mastering services in the world today; Landr, Cloudbounce, eMastered, Bandlab Mastering, Majordebicel, Aria Mastering, Maztr, and MasteringBox.
The article will analyze all their individual pros and cons, helping you determine which online mastering service would work best for you. Let’s begin!
Cloudbounce
Cloudbounce (review) is an automated online mastering service based on an algorithm. It is a Scandinavian audio start-up based in Finland. Cloudbounce is a product of the Abbey Road Red program and was founded by Anssi Uimonen in 2015.
What makes Cloudbounce stand out is the fact that it is AI-driven and cloud-based. Its latest update boasts of cutting edge technology in the audio section where the platforms artificial intelligence effectively equalizes, adjusts the echo effect, compresses, and makes stereo enhancement, greatly enhancing the quality of your tracks.
Cloudbounce’s Key Features
Cloudbouce has several key features which, together with its user-friendliness, makes Cloudbonce a great platform for mastering tracks.
With the cloud storage feature, Cloudbounce users are able to access their tracks through the platform from anywhere, at any time. This is a very important feature since not only are you able to master your tracks with Cloudbounce, but you are also able to access the tracks for future reference from right there on the platform. Since you are able to store your tracks with Cloudbounce, you can monitor your progress in mastering as you advance further.
The platform also has a free downloads feature which provides several templates and special content that can be downloaded for free. It also provides two instruments; synth and bass for free to be used during mastering.
Pricing
Cloudbounce has a well-defined price plan. You can opt to either pay-as-you-go or in monthly and annual subscriptions. In the pay-as-you-go plan, it costs $5 to download the track that you have mastered. For the monthly and yearly subscriptions, it costs $20 and $100 to get an unlimited number of masters for your tracks for the respective time periods.
Pros
- It is cheap
- It saves a lot of time since it takes much less time to master a track compared to human mastering engineers
- Payments made to Cloudbounce are made safely
- Cloudbounce undergoes frequent updates to improve the quality of the services it provides
- Desktop app coming soon
Cons
- Masters by Cloudbounce lack the “human touch” which is felt when the tracks are mastered by human mastering engineers.
- It does not work well on old browsers
- Does not have bulk mastering
Landr
Landr (review) is a cloud-based online automated mastering engine. It uses evolving artificial intelligence to master songs. Today, Landr is one of the major players in the rapidly developing online mastering industry. Landr was developed by MixGenius, a company based in Montreal, Canada, in 2012.
According to Landr, this programs main aim is to make the process of mastering tracks much simpler and quicker, and to make mastering services available to all musicians. With Landr, artists do not require any special knowledge in mastering. The mastering of tracks is automatically done using an algorithm.
Landr’s Key Features
Landr has several key features which make it user-friendly. It has a free desktop app which was launched in 2015. The app makes the mastering of music much easier since makes amazing features such as cloud storage backup for all the mastered tracks, digital audio work stations, and file management readily available to the musicians.
Landr users are also able to upload whole albums for mastering. This is known as bulk upload. Bulk upload is very convenient since it provides musicians with a cheap, simple and quick way to deliver an album which exhibits a unified and cohesive sound, while at the same time individual tracks are mastered independently. Landr is the first cloud-based mastering platform to offer mastering for the entire album.
Landr also offers multiple formats for mastering tracks. There are three different types of mastering sounds that are available to those who have subscribed to Landr. One of the sounds is “warm”, which delivers a thick and smooth feel to your tracks, making them have a vintage warmth. The other mastering sound is “balanced”, which mainly focuses on clarity, depth, and balance. The final mastering sound available to Landr users is “open”, which is more modern, delivering a punchy and more present effect on your tracks.
Landr also offers volume matching, which is very important for playback. Volume matching lets you A/B between the original and the mastered track when uploaded at the same time. It, therefore, allows you to be able to determine what sounds better by comparing volumes, helping you avoid the often misleading notion that “louder is better”.
Additionally, Landr has curated samples which are available to its users for free. These samples help the artists who are mastering their tracks using Landr to gauge the level of mastering that will be done on their tracks. The samples available cut across all major music genres, therefore, influencing the artists to choose the type of mastering of their preference.
Pros
- Offers instant AI mastering
- Supports bulk upload
- The masters it provides are of good quality
- It is cheaper compared to human mastering engineers
- Undergoes frequent updates to improve the quality of the services it provides
Cons
- Landr’s pricing system is hard to understand
- Landr’s masters lack the “human touch” which is usually felt when a track is mastered by a human mastering engineer
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eMastered
eMastered (review) is an online automated mastering engine which uses artificial intelligence to master tracks. It was founded on March 6, 2016, by hit EDM singer/producer Collin McLoughlin and Grammy Award-winning engineer Smith Carlson in Greater Los Angeles Area, West Coast, Western United States.
The mastering platform gives its users the ability to instantly master their tracks online, making a process which when done traditionally is expensive and complex, available to artists worldwide. The engine of eMastered was developed by a team of Grammy Award-winning producers and engineers to ensure that the mastered product meets professional standards.
eMastered uses its audio recognition and cutting edge technology to analyze and represent the sonic identity of your track.
When using eMastered, you must avoid clipping. You also need to make sure that your master channel never hits 0dB. Instead, you need to ensure that your master channel hits between -3 and -6dB.
eMastered works with a variety of files. The types of files that eMastered supports currently are for .WAV, .AIFF, and .MP3, fir files up to 900 megabytes in size. You can, therefore, master and download your tracks in your most preferred version.
With eMastered, you can only master one song at a time. You can, however, load multiple tabs of eMastered to master several songs at the same time. The good thing is that you there is no limit of the number of tabs you can open. Therefore, you can open as many eMastered tabs as your bandwidth can allow, and master multiple tracks at once.
eMastered has an elaborate payment plan whose subscriptions are Plus, Professional, Advanced Plus, and Advanced Pro. Plus costs $6 per month, Professional costs $15 per month, Advanced Plus costs $19 per month, while Advanced Pro costs $29 per month.
Pros
- Offers pro-level mastering of your tracks
- It masters tracks faster than human mastering engineers
- It is affordable
- It undergoes updates to improve the quality of the services they provide
Cons
- Its computer-generated algorithm is unable to pick up on some nuances in the audio which could be picked out by a human
- The quality of its master is not as good as that of an experienced human mastering engineer
Bandlab Mastering
Bandlab is an app and web-based online social creation platform where you are given the ability to make music, share existing tracks, and collaborate with other users from anywhere in the world. Recently, Bandlab launched an intelligent online automated mastering engine known as Bandlab Mastering.
Bandlab Mastering was developed in collaboration with Bandlab community’s professional mastering engineers. It is powered by a signal chain which is comprised of emulations of classic mastering processors. There is a model of a robust multiband compressor, the Aphex Aural Exciter, a lightning-fast discrete mastering limiter, and detailed transient shaping through reel-to-reel tape emulators.
Bandlab Mastering has three settings which you can choose from when mastering your track. The settings have been carefully configured in order to make it easy for the users to identify the sound they are looking for. They include CD Quality, which is the most versatile, adding polish and boosting the overall volume, BassBoost which adds punch to the low end, and works best for EDM and hip-hop, and Enhance Clarity which brightens the track up and increases its clarity.
In addition to that, it is not necessary for you to be a member of Bandlab for you to access Bandlab Mastering. All you need to do is to visit the Bandlab Website, upload your track, wait for it to get mastered, and listen to the results. If you sign up with Bandlab, you can master all your existing and new Bandlab projects for free. You also get no limit on the number of mastered tracks you can download in MP3 or WAV format that also comply with the .1 dB headroom which is a specification in the mastering guidelines of iTunes.
Pros
- Undergoes frequent updates to improve the quality of services that it provides
- Offers three high-quality automated mastering features
- There is no limit to the number of tracks that you can download
- Mastering takes a much shorter time compared to when the mastering is done by a human mastering engineer
- It is free
Cons
- It does not support bulk upload
- The masters lack the “human touch” which is usually felt when the masters are done by a human mastering engineer
Majordecibel
Majordecibel is an automated online mastering engine. It does not use any third party audio processing software or hardware. This allows them to apply advanced audio signal processing techniques which rival most professional equipment.
Majordecibel features a very user-friendly interface. All you have to do is to upload your track and then wait for it to be mastered by Majordecibel’s servers, a process which takes only a few minutes. The tracks are mastered using various techniques including stereo-linked multiband compression, linear phase equalization, bass, and sub-bass enhancement, stereo enhancement and gain and limiting to widen the sound stage.
Majordecibel’s mastering produces a signature sound based on how the process has been tuned and developed. When using Majordecibel, it is important to export your tracks when they are in WAV form, which allows the platform to deliver masters of the highest quality possible.
It is also important to avoid performing excessive dynamic processing on your tracks when using Majordecibel to master your tracks. Majordecibel also does not provide any active noise reduction techniques so it is important to upload your best recordings for the user to get optimal results.
Majordecibel provides three mastering options; Low, Medium and High. With High, some of the dynamic range is sacrifices to favor a sound which is punchier and louder. Low works to preserve more dynamic range and work well in the loudness. These three mastering options are available to all users.
For Majordecibel users who have purchased a Premium Mastering Pass, there are several additional different post-mastering equalization options: Brighter, Bright, Neutral, Warm, and Warmer. These are optional and can be chosen after selecting the intensity of your mastering.
Warm and Warmer tame the treble and emphasize on the low end of your track. Neutral applies no additional shaping to your track while Bright and Brighter tame the bass and emphasize on the high end of your track. These equalization adjustments help to provide adjustments to your track which are intuitive, effective and simple.
This program currently accepts audio formats which are in WAV at 16, 24, and 32 bits at 44.1 and 48 kHz sample rates. The track which you upload should be a WAV file for the mastered version of the track to be the highest quality.
With Majordecibel, you are able to upload 2 tracks every month for free without even signing up for an account. They also offer unlimited mastering together with access to your mastered tracks in HD WAV and Hi-res.
Pros
- You can upload 2 tracks for free every month without signing up for an account
- Their masters take a shorter time to complete
- Undergoes frequent updates to improve the quality of services they provide
Cons
- The tracks you upload are removed from their servers within 48 hours
- Does not support bulk upload
- The masters lack the “human touch” which is felt when the tracks are mastered by a human mastering engineer.
Aria Mastering
Aria Mastering is a new player in the online mastering industry. It is an automated intelligent online mastering platform. What makes it unique is the fact that although it implements digitally automated parameter adjustments and digital detection, its actual signal processing is a 100% top-of-the-line analog chain.
Aria Mastering has a bit of a curve when it comes to its use. It has four settings which are aimed at reflecting different mix approaches especially in regard to the management of the amount of dynamic range incorporated into the mixing process.
In addition to that, the mastering process is automated, making it easy to use. All you have to do is to upload your track and then wait for your track to be mastered. The mastering by Aria Mastering is real time.
After your tracks have been mastered, all your mastered files are supplied as 24bit 44.1 kHz WAV files and 16bit 44.1 kHz WAV files. You can also order your tracks to be supplied in MFiT and 48kHz files but for a small fee. In case you need your tracks in a different resolution, you can also contact them and they will supply them with no additional costs. Aria Mastering allows its users to preview the sections of their mastered tracks for free. After your song is mastered, a 15-second section is returned back to you for preview. However, only the first five previews are free, then you are charged $2 per preview for all subsequent previews.
For a single purchase of your mastered track, Aria Mastering charges $35. There are also two tiers of subscriptions: $100 per month to download 25 mastered tracks and $250 per month to download 100 mastered tracks. The run time of each song is generally under 10 minutes with the option to run full albums simultaneously.
Pros
- It uses high-end mastering 100% analog equipment during the mastering process
- The time it takes to master tracks is significantly shorter than the time taken by human mastering engineers
- It undergoes frequent updates to improve the quality of services it provides
- You can run full albums at one go
Cons
- It is expensive compared to other online mastering platforms.
- The masters lack the “human touch” compared to when a track is mastered by a human mastering engineer
Maztr
Maztr is an automated online mastering platform which was established in 2016. It has an intelligent engine with algorithms built to understand the needs of its users based on the settings of their projects thus helping you to get the best sound out of your recording.
Maztr also provides cloud storage for your tracks. If you are a Maztr user, you will be able to download your tracks from anywhere with an internet connection. Users get unlimited downloads of their tracks in 192k MP3 but the unlimited 320k MP3 and unlimited 16-bit or24-bit WAV masters are only available for download in the paid version.
Maztr lets its users choose the custom EQ settings, intensity, and genre, giving them control over the mastering process. This gives the users the chance to create their own sound, avoiding the generic sound usually felt in the masters of some platforms.
The payment plans for Maztr include: the Free plan where users get unlimited downloads for low resolution masters and get less storage, the Pro plan where users get to download mastered tracks of a higher quality and get more storage for $9.99 per month, the Pro Plus plan where the users get to download mastered tracks of a higher quality and get unlimited storage for $19.99 per month.
Pros
- Has a free account
- It has an elaborate and affordable payment plan
- It undergoes frequent updates to improve the quality of services it provides
- Provides cloud storage for your tracks
- Takes a shorter time to master than human mastering engineers
Cons
- Does not support bulk upload
- The masters lack a “human touch” which is felt in tracks mastered by human mastering engineers
MasteringBox
MasteringBox is an instant online mastering service. It has an algorithm which uses artificial intelligence to analyze the spectral and dynamic characteristics of your track to determine the best settings to use to master your tracks.
MasteringBox supports bulk upload. Users are able to upload multiple songs, including an entire album, to be mastered simultaneously. This helps to save time since the process takes a much shorter time.
The payment plans available with MasteringBox are Basic, Pro, Unlimited, Studio. The basic plan costs 4 euros per month, the Pro plan costs 7 euros per month, Unlimited plan costs 14 euros per month and the Studio plan costs 29 euros per month. The privileges increase as one upgrades their plans.
Pros
- Has an attractive user-interface which makes it easy for its users to understand
- Offers bulk upload
- It takes a much shorter time to master tracks
Cons
- The masters lack the “human touch” felt in tracks mastered by human mastering engineers
- It has relatively higher pricing compared to some of its competitors
Buyer’s Guide: The 5 Main Criteria for Choosing the Best Online Music Mastering Service
When you’re thinking of committing to a music mastering service, you have to look at all the pieces to find what’s right for you. Whether you need something inexpensive or even free is a huge factor, and the same is true for storage options, features, and mastering options.
What you need most from a mastering service should be what you get. Let’s explore a few of the variables you should consider before you choose a service.
Price
When it comes to independent or newer musicians, the price of a music mastering service is a huge factor. If you don’t have a lot of income, cheaper or even free services are a great choice. While you generally get what you pay for, you may not need anything too complex or advanced if you’re starting.
For music professionals who have established more of a budget for overhead and more expensive service may be the right next step. Consider your budget and plan for a percentage to go to music mastering.
Another great way to get flexibility is that many services offer different payment tiers to give you more options the more you pay. Most have a free version or at least a free trial, so you can test various services to find the one that suits you best before you commit to their programs.
We recommend narrowing down to one or two services that seem like a great fit and then experimenting with a free trial before you commit entirely.
Adjustment Features
Every music mastering service provides different adjustments and enhancements that create unique sounds for your tracks. You can decide whether you want equalization adjustments, loudness adjustments, or others.
A free trial can be handy to explore adjustments because you can experiment with different adjustment options.
Some services are more limited than others in terms of what they can do to polish your sound. However, if a service’s limited options serve your needs, there’s no reason to look for another just because it has some flashy features.
But if you prefer more ways to tinker with your tracks and more features to explore, a service with more choices and more possibilities will work more in your favor.
What kind of features you want also depends on how much experience you have.
If you don’t know very much about mastering and trying it out for the first time, you might want a service that automatically makes more adjustments. That way, you don’t have to fumble through trying to change certain elements. Automatic adjustments can help you learn as you go, too.
But, if you have a certain kind of sound in mind and your mastering service doesn’t allow you to edit the way you want it to, it’s time to search for a more advanced choice. Again, you may have to pay more, but at that point, it will likely be worth it.
Library Features
One of the most valuable features of a music mastering service is a library of free samples you can add to your tracks. If you’re at the place in your music mixing where you need many content and samples, you’ll want a service with the most available free samples.
Also, if you enjoy the option of extra sounds or samples, you’ll want to pick a service with an extensive library with lots of samples to choose from.
Free samples are a great benefit that offers a big payoff for the service’s fee. However, they aren’t necessarily a prerequisite for all musicians. If you don’t need a library of free samples, this feature is entirely arbitrary.
Some services that provide libraries don’t have a super extensive archive, so you might want to pass them over for a service with more choice.
Track Storage
Some services provide track storage to save and keep mastered tracks in a secure location. Depending on the service you choose, your option to save a track is either included or not.
Some services allow for automatic saving, so you always have a secure copy of your track. Automatic saving prevents accidental deletion or loss.
However, some services require you to save your track in your files immediately. Otherwise, they will be lost forever. If you value more time and extra security to save your songs, a service that provides automatic saves will be better for your tracks.
We always recommend looking for this feature because just one slip-up can lose you hours of work. However, if you know you don’t have a problem remembering to save your work, you might not find this feature is critical.
Sound
Each online mastering service has a different sound. Though they run with algorithms with no biases or preferences, each algorithm is different.
Therefore, each track mastered by the same algorithm will have a similar sound or ambiance. The variance may seem really obvious to a trained ear or might be hardly noticeable if you’re just starting. But it makes a big difference.
If you test out several mastering services, you might find you prefer a different particular sound over another. Sound is also dependent on the choices and features available to adjust your track.
But if you find a service that fully supports the kind of sound you are trying to accomplish, you will likely prefer it over any other service available.
Q&A
What is Mastering Music exactly?
Mastering is a process for audio post-production. It involves certain tasks such as transferring music from the source to a device specifically designed for data storage, like a magnetic tape or optical disc.
The process can also include other tasks like adjusting the volume, editing out unwanted sounds, adjusting the length of silence between music tracks, and maximizing sound quality.
Mastering is usually done for musical artists’ albums and created by mastering engineers. A “master” record is the final product of an artist’s album.
What is Online Mastering then?
The process of mastering music has changed drastically in the last few decades. Online services allow for mastering to take place in the comfort of your home. They also provide a much quicker and smoother process.
Previous to online mastering, mastering engineers and music producers would need to gather together to make the final product. There were a lot more people involved in the process because there needed to be.
However, with today’s online mastering, the programs allow fewer people and a less tedious process.
Though online mastering is convenient and affordable, many services are not created to replace actual engineers. It’s almost impossible to replicate the talent and expertise an engineer offers.
Because of this difficulty, automatic AI services can sound more unnatural than a mastering engineer. However, online mastering does provide an alternative option that’s usually cheaper and faster than traditional mastering.
Final Thoughts
Online mastering platforms do a good job improving the quality of a track. The master tracks much faster than when the same tracks are mastered by human mastering engineers. They have also managed to make mastering available to many artists.
These platforms also offer a cheaper alternative for mastering compared to human mastering engineers who are much more expensive.
Mastering platforms, however, have a lot of catching up to do since experienced human mastering engineers still produce tracks which are of much better quality. These platforms should carry out frequent platforms to improve the quality of the masters they produce.
I would suggest you use one of these online mastering platforms, such as CloudBounce or Landr, to master your tracks if you cannot afford a human mastering engineer or if you are short of time. However, if you can comfortably afford an experienced mastering engineer, you should master your tracks with them.
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1 comment
The masters lack the “human touch” felt in tracks mastered by human mastering engineers
The quality of its master is not as good as that of an experienced human mastering engineer