Pricing & Info

STANDARD Mastering RATES

ALL PRICING IN $US, ROUNDED TO WHOLE DOLLAR AMOUNTS

MASTERING

Pristine Audio Enhancement
$16/min. of audio
  • Traditional stereo file mastering.
  • Includes: 24 bit HQ masters, 16 bit / 44.1k WAV for CD, & 320kbps AAC’s.*
  • *Important Note: If you need to go back to the mix stage to fix issues, requiring new mastering settings, this will be billed as new time. Modified mixes that use the same settings are billed by the “alternate mixes” price.
  • “Single” releases are $80 
  • (Singles are 1 song by itself)

STEM MASTERING

Bus or Group Stems
$24/min. of audio
  • Projects that give us individual bus or group stems to use for mastering.
  • Next level control of the mastering process. Allowing us to make deeper adjustments by type of instrument/element, without affecting other parts of the mix. 
  • Please see our guide to preparing stems properly.
  • “Single” releases are $160
  • (Singles are 1 song by itself)

ALTERNATE MIXES

Mastering Alt Versions
$8/min. of audio
  • Running different mixes of the same material through approved master settings.
  • Typically these alternate mixes are label/producer requests of vocal up/down, radio bleep edits, or different arrangements, etc…

STEMS FOR VIDEO

Mastering for Video Sync
$10/Group Stem*
  • Perfect for artists interested in sync royalties.
  • Stay ahead with mastered stems! This applies cohesive master processing to all stems from your project for re-assembly in sync. Easy for video editors to place your songs to film.
  • *After stereo master approval

STREAMING & DOWNLOAD FORMATS

APPLE DIGITAL MASTERS

ADM™ - Formerly "MfiT"
$80/Album
  • Liquid Mastering is an Apple approved supplier of Apple Digital Masters, formerly known as MFiT™ (Mastered For iTunes). These can be prepared separately for a nominal cost, at any point after the mastering session. Delivered as 24-bit Wave files. These masters may be slightly lower in overall level, as per Apple Spec.

SOUNDCLOUD

Maximized For Their Algorithm
$5/Song
  • SoundCloud uses a lossy compression algorithm for its streaming audio that has a tendency to create audible distortion and crackling during playback. If you plan on uploading your masters to SoundCloud, we can prepare a special set of files to ensure you’re getting the highest-fidelity that is distortion free. Like MFiT, these masters may be slightly lower in overall level.

MQA

Master Quality Authentication
$100/Project
  • Files exported using the proprietary “MQA” encoding technology.
  • Learn more about the alleged performance of MQA here.
  •  

PHYSICAL FORMATS

DDP MASTER

File for Replication
$80/Project
  • If you plan to release your music on CD, you may need a properly assembled and error-checked DDP file set. Check with your CD Duplication / Replication company.
  • You can order these at any point after the mastering session.

VINYL

Optimized For Lathe Cutting
$8/min. of audio*
  • Files optimized for the limitations in, and focused for, the vinyl format. Giving your record more life and dimensionality in the needle groove. Provided as one HQ file for each – Side A, B, etc. 
  • *After stereo master approval

CASSETTE

Mastering for Tapes
$8/min. of audio*
  • Cassette masters are prepared as one file for each side of the cassette, rendered at 16-bit, unless your replication/duplication facility can accept 24-bit files.
  • *After stereo master approval

ISRC

Tracking Codes
$40/project*
  • We can generate ISRC for your project & give you a list with the master files to supply to your distributor. We can also embed your ISRC’s into the DDP master if you elect to go that route.
  • *Single releases are just $15

OTHER MIX & MASTERING SERVICES

MIXING

Professional Mixing
$250+/Song
  • If your mixes aren’t shaping up the way you want to hear, let us take them to the next level for you before the mastering stage.
  • Over 2 decades of experience mixing in almost every genre.
  • Mixing is charged hourly, or per song rate based on compexity.
  • Contact us to work out a budget that works for your project.

AUDIOBOOK MASTERING

Audible - Authors Republic
$40/Chapter or PFH
  • For those who record their own work but don’t have the tools to do the final editing and mastering, we will prepare your audiobook for online distribution. We handle any technical requirements for ACX & have mastered many audiobooks published on Audible & by self published authors.
  • Mastering can be contracted on either a per chapter rate if just mastering with no editing, or a per-finished-hour (pfh) rate for editing as well. Contact us to discuss your project.

PODCAST MASTERING

Final Polish for Publication
$5/min. of audio
  • For those who make their own podcasts but don’t have the tools to do the final mastering, we will prepare any material for online publications.
  • We handle all the technical requirements for distribution and have mastered many seasons of Podcasts.
  • Contact us to discuss your project.

TV SERIES MASTERING

Final Polish for Distribution
$5/min. of audio
  • We will prepare any TV/Film audio material for online distribution.
  • We handle all the technical requirements of global loudness standards (ITU-R BS.1770) for distribution and have mastered several seasons of shows on Amazon Prime Video.
  • Contact us to discuss your project.

CONSULTATION & DESIGN

SYSTEM & ROOM DESIGN

Home Studio - Live Sound
$Varies/Package
  • Besides designing the Liquid Mastering room in 2016 and building Sprout City Studios in 1997, Thaddeus has helped design acoustic treatment and sound reinforcement or recording systems in dozens of venues & churches, for hundreds of musicians, authors, podcasters, & budding engineers.
  • Also, having a passion for helping people understand sound physics, capture, and manipulation, he has taught audio engineering classes since 2003.
  • Let him help you in your personal, or business space and equipment design.
  • 2-Hour minimum on the first session.

MIX CONSULTING

Any DAW - Live Shows
$Varies/Package
    • Screen sharing, in person at your studio or venue, or in Liquid’s, Thaddeus enjoys helping people understand the deeper workings of their mixing system.
    • Let him help raise your understanding of mix balance, bus/aux routing, EQ, compression, limiting, expansion, gating, distortion, effects, and helpful tricks and tips to make the most of any setup you have.
    • 2-Hour minimum on the first session.

Making Top Quality Mastering Accessible To Everyone

→ We’re willing to put our best foot forward and offer you the most excellent services out in the Interwebs.

→ Plus, we’re going to be available for one-to-one conversations via phone, email, web chat and screen share in order to make sure you get the attention you deserve.

→ Whether it’s a special song you wrote for a Mother’s Day surprise or your tenth album after 15 years of touring, we’ll give you our full attention.

→ Best of all? Our standard turnaround is 5-7 days from the time we receive your tracks*.

*if booked in advance turnaround will be 24 hours.

WE STORE YOUR PROJECT FOREVER

SO COUNT ON US IF YOU NEED ACCESS TO YOUR MASTERS

AT ANY TIME IN THE FUTURE.

Mixing

  • We can help polish your mixes before the mastering stage as well.
  • Provide your Drum / Perc / Bass / Keys / Guitars / Vocal / Didgeridoo / Ukelele / FX (etc..) stems for a new take on your mix
  • Get the benefit of real analog signal flow and summing 
  • If your mixes aren’t shaping up like you want to hear, let a professional handle it
  • Mixing can often be similar to cooking, and it takes many years of practice to make a “cook” into a “Chef”
  • Billed either at $100/hr or by the project
  • Please contact us to get an idea of what your project will require

Recording in a studio can add an amazing amount of depth and clarity to your songs.

Please contact Sprout City Studios if you want to have a full a recording experience.
Visit Sprout City's Website