Unleash Your Music's Full Potential: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Tracks for Streaming Platforms

Hi there, this is ill Factor from beatacademy.com. I've recently produced a new single titled 'Weight of Everything' featuring the incredible, Katie Garfield, and today, I'm excited to guide you through the mastering process for this track. We aim to polish the mix, so it's ready to be heard and enjoyed on streaming platforms worldwide.

Now, let's get one thing straight - mastering might seem shrouded in mystery, but it's not some magical solution that'll transform a mediocre mix into a professional-sounding track overnight. I like to use this analogy - imagine your mix as a car just returned from an off-road adventure, covered in mud and grime. The mixing process is akin to washing this car, removing all the dirt and making it clean and presentable. Mastering, on the other hand, is like applying a layer of wax to your freshly cleaned car, giving it a beautiful, glossy shine that turns heads.

So, if you try to wax a dirty car, it won't look as shiny as you'd like, regardless of how much wax you use. The same applies to music. If your mix is subpar, no amount of mastering will salvage it. Mastering enhances an already well-mixed track, giving it that final touch of sparkle.

Keeping that in mind, let's delve into my mastering process for 'Weight of Everything'. It's going to be an enlightening ride, so stick around!

After I'm happy with the mix, I typically start fresh with a new session rather than mastering it within the mix session.

I begin by dragging the mix file into the new session, untouched and unaltered, the 'Mix'. I then duplicate this file and treat it as the 'Mastered' version. This strategy allows me to flip between the original mix and the current state of the mastered version, ensuring I maintain the balance and character of the original mix throughout the mastering process.

Now, let's talk about metering, an essential tool for mastering. I use the dynamic range meter mark two by MAAT on my master bus to gauge loudness and overall volume. There are many excellent meter plugins out there, so it's a matter of finding one that suits your workflow and preferences.

An essential concept to remember is that mastering isn't about hitting specific numerical targets; it's not an entirely technical process. Often, you'll need to bend the rules, guided by the vibe and overall feeling of the track. So, while metering is a valuable guideline to ensure you're not straying too far out of bounds, it shouldn't dictate every decision you make. Mastering is a creative process with your artistic intuition driving your decision-making. It's all about enhancing the mix to complement the music.

As I mentioned before, metering is a crucial part of the mastering process, and one of the measurements I rely on is Loudness Units Full Scale (LUFS).

Why LUFS? Well, it's the current standard used by most music streaming platforms, like Spotify, iTunes, and YouTube. Spotify, for example, sets a target of -14 LUFS for its content. Any track louder than -14 LUFS will be turned down to meet this target, while quieter tracks will be left as is.

So, what does this mean for us as creators? We no longer have to "squash" our tracks to make them sound louder. Doing so could result in a less dynamic range and life in the music. Knowing that Spotify will normalize everything to -14 LUFS, we can now focus on maintaining the dynamics and overall feel of our tracks rather than just cranking up the volume.

Let's demonstrate this by playing a quieter part of my new single 'The Weight of Everything'. Right now, our LUFS reading is at -21, which means we have room to increase our loudness to reach the -14 LUFS target. However, instead of merely boosting the volume, we can now consider how to maintain the dynamics and emotion of the song as we make our adjustments.

Remember, mastering is a balance of technical and creative decisions. The LUFS standard helps us make more informed choices, leading to a better listening experience for our audience.

Now that we've understood how metering works, let's move on to the first plugin in my mastering chain: the FabFilter EQ. I use this primarily to eliminate any low-end rumble and it's set to a 6dB range to ensure that my adjustments aren't too drastic. Remember, the purpose of mastering isn't to revamp the mix but rather to enhance and refine it.

Following the FabFilter EQ, I use a second EQ from Ozone. This EQ is set from stereo to mid and side, enabling me to fine-tune the mid and side information separately. I can precisely dial in the balance and feel what I'm aiming for. As I adjust, I look for any frequencies that might be too dominant or too recessed, and make small, calculated changes.

The third EQ in my chain is the Master EQ 432 from T-Racks. This adds a little extra boost to specific frequencies, creating a richer, fuller sound.

To ensure that my tonal balance is on point, I use a handy plugin from Isotope called Tonal Balance Control. It gives a graphical representation of your track's tonal balance and helps indicate if there's too much or too little of a particular frequency range. This way, I can make sure my track stays within a balanced range that matches modern music production standards.

Lastly, I use the Pultec EQ from Universal Audio to add extra shine at around 4 to 5kHz. This frequency range is crucial for bringing vocals to the forefront and ensuring clarity.

Using multiple EQs in this way, each with its unique sonic characteristic, I can craft a finely-tuned, polished master that doesn't just sound louder but truly shines. Let's take a quick A/B comparison to see how the track sounds with these EQ adjustments. Remember, mastering is a process of subtle enhancement, not drastic changes.

In the next stage of my mastering chain, I employ compression. However, distinct from the compression I had on my master bus during the mix stage. The master bus compression served to glue the mix together; this additional compression is for more precise control over the overall gain and dynamics.

For instance, when transitioning from pre-chorus to chorus, rather than trying to match the levels of these sections, I use the FabFilter Pro-C 1 compressor to reduce the chorus level slightly, thereby creating a more cohesive overall sound. The aim here isn't to compress heavily but to subtly control the dynamic range.

Let's take a listen to how it works.

As you can see, we're only reducing about 1dB and then slightly boosting by maybe 1.5 dB. The aim is to make the transitions between different sections of the track smoother and less abrupt. Remember, when it comes to mastering, less is often more. The subtle changes we make during this process can have a significant impact on the final result.

Now that the compression is in place, I delve into the use of Ozone 8, a remarkable mastering plugin. What we're doing here can be likened to a de-esser, where we focus on a particular frequency band and slightly reduce its intensity. This technique proves particularly useful during sections of the track like the bridge.

After managing these frequencies, it's essential to introduce a limiter to the mix, specifically the Ozone 8 Maximizer. This addition ensures we prevent any peaks resulting from the changes we've just made to our master track. As we discussed earlier, with the loudness standards set by platforms like Spotify, our target is -14.0 LUFS. This allows us to maintain the dynamic range of our track without unnecessary distortion to achieve a perceived loudness.

Next, let's monitor our track using the M-A-A-T meter to determine our average LUFS. It's crucial to remember that our music's dynamic range is key here; we're crafting a musical journey, not just a wall of sound. After ensuring the track averages around -15 LUFS, we can afford a slight squeeze of around -2 dB of limiting.

Now comes the exciting part! We listen, compare, and fine-tune our mix to the mastered version.

The end goal isn't merely technical; it's about capturing the feeling and musical vibe of the track during the mastering process. If we've done our job right, we should be ready to export our track and share it with the world, knowing we've captured the essence of our musical vision.

I genuinely hope you found this session informative and inspiring. As a token of appreciation for your time and interest, I'd love to offer you a sample pack replete with construction kits, loops, one-shots, and transition effects. What's more, these are all 100% royalty-free, meaning you can incorporate them into your music right away and share your work with the world without copyright hassles. This sample pack is compatible with any DAW; you download it, drag and drop the samples, and you're ready. To get your hands on this gift, all you need to do is click the link in the description box below. Thanks for tuning in, and I look forward to our next session!