How Mastering on SoundCloud works
Mastering on SoundCloud uses advanced technology developed by Dolby Labs to deeply analyze your music and choose a mastering style that brings out the qualities you want in your sound. It's important to note that mastering isn't intended to change your tracks intent, but rather augment it. We want to take what you've created, and give it a level of polish that that boosts the right frequencies and gives you a result you can be proud of.
It's also worth noting that we're trying to master for every situation. SoundCloud is a streaming service, and with SoundCloud for Artists can help you distribute your music to other streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, and many others. For this reason, we're optimizing masters for streaming services.
If your goal is to master something for vinyl, or for another purpose, we wouldn't recommend using our tool but instead doing some research to find a good local mastering engineer. They'll do the job you need.
Ready to get started? Head over to Mastering on SoundCloud, powered by Dolby
Here’s a breakdown of how it works
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File analysis – File has been analyzed to ensure processing is applied with knowledge of the complete file. We took a critical listen to your song to get the vibe
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Dynamic map creation – Sections have been identified. Sketched out the verses, choruses, rises, falls, hooks, and drops and mapped it all out.
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Sculpting spectral and tonal balance – Dynamic Equalization has been made to align the spectral balance to your selected profile. The overall tonality of your track is sculpted to match the mastering style you chose.
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Dynamic range adjusted – The loud and soft sections of the song have been adjusted to match your selected profile. Using the dynamic map from step two, we add punch and clarity to your track all while keeping your dynamics intact.
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Loudness optimization – Optimized the loudness level for playback on streaming services. We adjust the overall track volume to hit the sweet-spot for playback on your favorite devices.
- Mastering completion – Delivered your master in your original file format. You’re ready to go with everything you need to get your tunes out to your fans’ ears.
Visit Mastering on SoundCloud and try running your track through the system. You don't pay unless you want to keep the master.
To learn more, try our Mastering FAQs