For example: during the chorus the vocals take the lead, so the volume of the vocal track(s) is raised over the instruments to make the chorus stronger. During the mixing stage, the engineer raises or lowers the levels of each track so they have their own place in the mix. The engineer combines each instrument and vocal take into one song. The artist or producer then sends those tracks to a mixing engineer.The artist and/or producer decide which takes during the recording are the best and compile each of those tracks.

If they can afford it, they hire a producer or recording engineer who sits with them through the recording process to help them achieve a desired sound, or they just produce the song themselves. A band or artist goes to a studio to record their music for simplicity’s sake, we’ll say they’re recording one song.But how do we get that audio master? Here are the steps an audio recording takes from beginning to end: When you listen to a song via streaming, download or physical format, you’re listening to a copy of the master audio. It’s what is pressed on vinyl or burned to CD, and what digital services like Apple Music and Spotify use to encode the files of your music they make available. The audio master is what is used to make all future copies of the recording. Before we pull back the veil on this mystery, let’s define an important term.Īn “audio master” is the final version of a song that’s prepared for sale, download, streaming, radio play, or any other form of mass consumption by listeners.

But many in the music industry still see it as dark magic. Since magnetic tape replaced straight-to-lathe cutting in the late 1940s, audio mastering has become its own artform. During mastering, additional audio treatments are applied to your mix to correct problem frequencies and enhance the musicality of your track. Music mastering is the final step in the recording process.

Master my song