With new audio technologies being developed at a staggering rate, many sectors of the music industry are under threat. The CD mastering business is here to stay, but its evolving into a broader service that is becoming feasible to a wider range of the public i.e. the average musician. The average CD Mastering studio has always been a service that is only available to labels and high-key musicians which could afford to spend large sums of money on their album, but all that is about to change…

Here at Earwax Audio Mastering, we recognise the importance of the changes in the modern music industry. Labels are suffering, and their losses are being passed onto musicians. It’s becoming increasingly popular to see labels that eradicate their A&R departments and only strike deals with bands that have recorded an album on their own back: bands that have paid for studio time, and paid for CD mastering, which as you know can be a very expensive process. By only taking on established artists, the labels can reduce their expenditure, with no studio or CD mastering fees, they only pay for CD manufacturing and marketing, then take the majority of the profit.

For this reason, an increasing amount of bands are ‘going it alone’, so an affordable online mastering service is vital to their success. By keeping our CD mastering prices as competitive as possible we are able to appeal to all musicians, giving them the opportunity to create an album/EP which can stand up against commercial releases. With low CD mastering prices, our studio can also help independent labels to keep their overheads down, and with a bit of luck get their A&R guys back into the gigs seeking new talent like the good old days!