Getting a track signed to a record label is an exciting step for any independent artist and producer. But once a label says they’re interested, what actually happens next?
There can be quite a few things to consider, from mastering and artwork to distribution, royalties and the release itself. The process can vary from one label to another, so it’s useful to understand some of the arrangements you might come across before agreeing to a deal.
What you might expect to happen
Professional producers and established artists will often have their own choice of mastering engineer and may have a track professionally mastered before they even send it to a label.
If you’re a smaller artist just starting out, things can be very different. You may not have the money or experience to arrange professional mastering yourself, and you may naturally depend on the label to guide you through the process.
That’s where it’s worth paying a little more attention.
In my experience, when a label signs a track, mastering will normally be handled by the label at no additional cost to the artist, or the cost will be included in the agreement as a recoupable expense. In the latter case, the mastering cost is taken from the royalties the track eventually earns before those royalties are paid to the artist.
The logic behind this makes sense to me. If a label is prepared to invest in a track and believes it has enough potential to release it, then it also makes sense for the label to take the initial risk on the costs involved in getting that track ready for release. If the mastering cost is recoupable from future royalties, the label has a way of recovering that expense from the track’s earnings rather than asking the artist to pay upfront.
If a label recommends a particular mastering engineer and there is a separate fee to pay, don’t assume that you have to use that engineer simply because they have been recommended.
There are plenty of mastering engineers out there, so it can be worth asking other producers in your community who they use, listening to examples of their work and comparing prices. You may find an engineer whose work you prefer, or one who offers the service at a price that suits you better.
You can then go back to the label and ask whether they are happy for you to have the track mastered independently and send them the finished master.
The important thing is not to get carried away by the excitement of that first “we like your track” message and assume you have to accept every recommendation that follows. A label expressing interest in your music is great news, but you are still entitled to understand the costs involved and look at your options.
This is based on my own experience of working with labels and having tracks released, rather than being a definitive guide to how every label operates. The arrangements can vary considerably, so always check exactly what is included in the agreement and what, if anything, is being charged to you.
And who knows, perhaps we are not that far away from AI mastering reaching a point where it can consistently deliver genuinely high-quality results. If that happens, the cost and process of mastering could look very different for independent artists and labels in the future.