Online music delivery has changed every part of the music industry in
recent years, including mastering. Data is encoded to squeeze as much
quality as possible into the smallest possible file sizes, loud
material is reduced in level to avoid annoying listeners, and even the
way people listen is changing with the popularity of portable players
and playlists.
So what is the best approach, now that CD and vinyl are only used by a
small percentage of people ? Should we change the way we master, and
the results we’re trying try to get ? How much does streaming change
the sound, and why ? How loud should we master ? Are there targets we
should aim for, and is there any advantage to being louder than other,
similar releases ?
In this talk mastering engineer Ian Shepherd addresses all these issue
and more, explaining his own approach to getting the very best results
mastering in the 21st century for any delivery format, including
online – and how you can do the same.
Bio:
Ian Shepherd is a British mastering engineer and MD at Mastering Media
Ltd. Over the course of his career he has worked on thousands of CDs,
DVDs and Blu-rays for all of the major record labels, TV stations and
independents, including several number one singles and award-winning
albums. He also runs the popular Production Advice website, and hosts
The Mastering Show podcast.
He is a fierce critic of the so-called Loudness Wars, and in 2010
founded Dynamic Range Day, an online event intended to raise awareness
of the issue.
He has also worked with MeterPlugs to create the Loudness Penalty
website and plugin; Dynameter, which helps users achieve optimal audio
dynamics for their music and the acclaimed Perception AB plugin, which
received an AudioMedia Gear Of The Year award.
More Info: http://www.productionadvice.co.uk/about
