Why choose Anthem Mastering?

The mastering process can help you to deliver an engaging, digitally viable recording to the marketplace. Hundreds of labels, producers, and independent musicians trust Anthem Mastering to provide great sounding audio and meticulous attention to details for their music releases.

Anthem Mastering is an Apple®-approved Apple Digital Masters® provider. If you’re planning on releasing new material or reissuing back-catalog as Apple Digital Masters®, we can provide the materials you’ll need to ensure that your music sounds its best in the ‘real world’. As a specialized mastering studio, Anthem Mastering handles the detailed delivery requirements for digital music distribution every day.

Make your life easier (and better sounding): get in touch with us about your project! Email booking@anthemmastering.com, or call 314.669.1472

 

How do I get my mixes to Anthem Mastering?

Anthem Mastering will provide clients with secure dropbox or ftp resources to upload mix files and session notes. For mixes delivered on 1/4-inch or 1/2-inch tape, please email first to get specific shipping instructions. Do not ship tapes or drives that are not backed up.

 

Are there industry-standard guidelines for bouncing/creating digital mix masters?

Yes. The P&E Wing of the Recording Academy maintains:

“Recommendations for Delivery of Recorded Music Projects”

 

What is CD-Text?

CD-Text is an Interactive Text Transmission System (ITTS) that was added to the Red Book CD-DA standard in 1996. CD-Text stores information like Artist Name, Album Title, and Song Title in the lead-in of a Red Book CD. CD players and CD-ROM drives that support CD-Text can display that information during playback.

CD-Text does not supply metadata to digital media applications like Apple Music, Pandora, or Spotify. Rather, these types of applications use online databases like the Gracenote CDDB to access a much more detailed set of track-specific metadata.

CD database information must be submitted separately. This is typically handled by your record label or your digial music aggregator (i.e. TuneCore, CD Baby, etc).

 

How much does it cost?

$50 per song for CD-quality WAV files (16-bit, 44.1kHz) and 24-bit Apple Digital Masters®. We charge $75 for a CD/DDP master. Transfer, archive, and other projects that aren’t song-based are billed at $75 per hour.

We accept personal and corporate checks, as well as PayPal. Full payment is required before we will release, ship, or upload deliverables.

If you have more specific questions about rates or scheduling, please email booking@anthemmastering.com or call us at 314.669.1472 to discuss your project.

 

What other information should I provide for the mastering process?

In addition to your mix masters, we’ll need:

  1. a song order listing with complete song titles
  2. the project title
  3. artist name(s)
  4. any metadata that you want included in encoded deliverables

 

What is Disc Description Protocol® (DDP)?

Anthem Mastering will provide a DDP® image for CD-DA reference and delivery. Disc Description Protocol® (DDP) is a standardized format for providing a master disc image for CD or DVD replication. DDP® images can be uploaded directly to replicators for seamless, dependable master delivery. Check out this article for more information about using DDP®.

There is nothing more reliable than DDP® for delivering your replication data. That said, some replicators still choose to require hard-copy CD delivery. In this case, be sure to provide an appropriate shipping address for CD-DA masters and reference discs.

 

What is ISRC?

The International Standard Recording Code (ISRC) is issued by the US ISRC as a tool for identification and catalog administration. If you provide ISRC numbers, we can include this information in the metadata on your Red Book CD-DA master. For more information on obtaining ISRC numbers prior to your mastering session, check out this page.