AI mastering in the Studio
AI mastering for independent musicians, ready for the distributor
Turn a final mix into a finished master without leaving BandNavigator: pick a loudness style or a reference track, hear the master beside your mix, and download a 24-bit WAV for your distributor and an MP3 to share.
- STEP 1Start from your best fileThe WAV, mastered at its own rate up to 96 kHzDone
- STEP 2Balanced · -11 LUFSGentle, Balanced, Loud, or a reference trackYour call
- STEP 3Your mix beside the masterThen a 24-bit WAV and an MP3 to downloadNext
The work in view
A finished mix still isn't a finished master
Distributors expect a master: a 24-bit WAV at a finished loudness, with its peaks held under the -1 dBTP that streaming services ask for. Getting there shouldn't leave the song's Campaign Plan waiting on a file.
Workflow
Three moves, with the artist in the loop
- 01LOAD-IN
Start from your best file
Masters are made from the song's stored audio. Give it the WAV, AIFF or FLAC you exported and the master is made from that, at its own sample rate up to 96 kHz.
- 02SOUNDCHECK
Pick the sound
Choose Gentle (-14 LUFS), Balanced (-11 LUFS) or Loud (-8 LUFS), with the song's genre suggesting one. Or upload a reference track and master toward its sound instead.
- 03SHOWTIME
Listen, then download
Play your mix and the master side by side, read what was done to the mix in plain sentences, then download the WAV and the MP3.
What is ready to work with
Built for the details behind the next decision
Three loudness styles
Gentle keeps the dynamics, Balanced is louder and tighter with most of the punch left in, and Loud is as dense as rock, hip-hop and electronic records run.
Reference mastering
Upload a finished song whose sound you want and the master moves toward its tonal balance, stereo width, dynamics and loudness. The reference is deleted once the master is made.
A mastering engineer's chain
Sub-bass rumble filtered, the bass made mono, a compressor for each part of the spectrum, a touch of short reverb, then a soft clipper and a limiter with peaks held under -1 dBTP.
It stops short rather than distort
If reaching the loudness would take clipping you could hear, the master stops short of it and tells you so in its notes.
Buyer questions
What to expect in practice
Which plans include AI mastering?
Indie, Pro and Label. Mastering opens once a song with uploaded audio has finished its analysis; the free Starter plan doesn't include it.
What files do I get?
A 24-bit WAV for your distributor and an MP3 to share. Give it the lossless mix and the WAV keeps that mix's sample rate, up to 96 kHz.
What should I upload?
A final mix that hasn't been mastered yet, ideally the WAV, AIFF or FLAC exactly as you exported it. A reference track can be an MP3, WAV, M4A or AAC of at least 10 seconds.
How long does a master take?
Usually a minute or two. The song's page updates by itself when the master is ready.