Mastering FAQ

Every master gets a −1 dBTP true-peak ceiling and a measured before/after report. The main master is built to sound loud and clean on any system, not to chase one platform's number.

If you want a specific level, optional listening-profile versions are available on the platform targets:

• Spotify −14 LUFS
• Apple Music −16 LUFS
• YouTube −14 LUFS
• TikTok −14 LUFS
• Club / DJ −11 LUFS

Each version still carries the −1 dBTP ceiling and is measured before you download it.

No. Streaming services turn their own loudness normalization up or down at playback, so a quieter, more dynamic master usually survives them better than a hyper-compressed one. The platform versions above are optional listening profiles — handy when you want a specific vibe for a specific place, not a distribution requirement. Your main master is the one we'd put on the record.

It's how loud a track sounds over its whole length, the way streaming platforms measure it — the lower the number, the quieter the track (−14 is quieter than −9).

No — the platforms have the last word. Streaming services normalize playback to their own level: Spotify and YouTube around −14 LUFS, Apple Music around −16. A master louder than the target gets turned back down at playback, while a quieter, more dynamic master usually plays at its natural level. Chasing loudness beyond that just burns dynamics for nothing.

Every service handles it a little differently, and the rules change over time: Spotify turns loud masters down but generally leaves quieter ones alone, Apple's Sound Check moves both directions, YouTube targets roughly −14. That's exactly why the AIE master is built to a clean, measured level with headroom instead of chasing one platform's number — the optional listening profiles are there when you want to match a specific platform's vibe.

Uploads get compressed to lossy formats (Ogg, AAC) before they reach listeners. On a hot, brick-walled master that encoding can push peaks above full scale — distortion you didn't hear in your studio file. The −1 dBTP ceiling (measured with true-peak reconstruction, not just the digital samples) leaves room so the encoded version stays clean.

Mixing is blending your separate tracks — vocals, drums, 808s, everything — into one balanced stereo file. That's the Mix Suite: full stem mixing in your browser, Vex auto-mix, Scrub, vocal FX and the rest.

Mastering is the final polish on that finished stereo file: level, loudness, true-peak ceiling, tonal balance and dynamics, so it holds up next to everything else. That's the Mastering Studio — one finished track in, one measured mastered WAV out.

One line to remember: mixing makes the song sound like one record; mastering makes that record ready for release.

A finished stereo track — WAV is best, MP3 works too. Mix it as well as you can, leave the level around −6 dB at the peaks and don't limit it into the ceiling; Vex takes it from there. Nothing you upload is ever altered: your original file stays untouched, and Vex masters it privately in your browser.

A 48 kHz 24-bit WAV master plus the measured before/after report — integrated loudness, true peak, dynamics, stereo width and more — and a level-matched A/B so you hear the change at the same volume, not fooled by "louder sounds better". Masters also save to My Mixes, and you can submit them to AIE Radio with your consent.

The report measures your original upload and the finished master with the same meter, so you see exactly what changed. The main ones:

• Integrated LUFS — how loud the whole track sounds; the headline before/after number.
• True peak (dBTP) — the real ceiling between the digital samples, measured with oversampling. The master is held at −1 dBTP or below.
• Sample peak — the plain digital peak. True peak is what matters after encoding.
• RMS and crest — average level, and the peak-to-average gap that shows how much dynamics survived.
• LRA (loudness range) — how much louder the loud parts get than the quiet ones.
• Correlation and mono fold — how the stereo image survives when everything is summed to mono; negative correlation means parts cancel.
• Low-end share and bands — the tonal balance from sub through air.

The A/B player is level-matched: original and master are trimmed to equal loudness, so "louder sounds better" can't fool you.

After mastering: the after LUFS landed near the target, the true peak stays at −1 dBTP or below, the crest isn't collapsed (transients still breathe), and correlation isn't negative. The diagnostics under the measurements are worth a read too — Vex flags ceiling, dynamics, mono and DC problems with a suggested fix. The numbers are advisory measurements, not a certification: always trust your ears.

First it measures: loudness, peaks, dynamics, tonal bands, stereo width and tempo. Then it applies a genre profile — a measured master EQ, gentle compression, stereo width and a loudness target for that style of music. Then it works the level: Vex drives toward the target in up to seven measured passes, and backs off automatically if the mix would need more than 6 dB of limiting — you'll see "stopped short of the target to preserve headroom and dynamics" instead of a squashed master. The −1 dBTP ceiling is enforced on every export, and every gain, EQ and compression move is written out in plain language in the readout.

What it never does: rearrange your song, invent sounds, replace your taste, or touch your uploaded file. It's measured gain, EQ, compression, width and limiting — not one-knob magic.

No. Mastering can't pull a buried vocal out of a wall of guitars or un-boom a room. Fix the balance first — that's what the Mix Suite and Vex auto-mix are for — then bring the finished stereo file here. If you'd rather have human ears on it, Analog Master by Rob is the analog option.

Both, honestly: the fast master pass targets loudness using the loudest stretch of the song, and the full-length file you download is rendered and completely measured first — the download check shows the real whole-song numbers and blocks anything invalid or silent before it saves.

It's a 0–100 advisory quality readout from Vex Check, the free pre-check you can run on any track before you master it. It grades loudness, true peak, clipping, dynamic range, stereo health, tonal balance against a genre reference, and the likelihood of AI-generation artifacts (fizz, hiss, resonances). It's Vex's conservative check — not a streaming-service certification.

The score adds up across categories — loudness, peaks, dynamics, stereo, tonal balance and artifacts. A few honest anchors from the rubric:

• Loudness: −16 to −12 LUFS passes against the −14 reference; anything outside −18 to −10 fails.
• Peaks: −1 dBTP or below passes; above −1 warns; above 0 or any clipped samples fails.
• Dynamics: peak-to-loudness range below 6 dB fails; loudness range over 15 LU warns.
• Stereo: negative phase correlation fails; anything under 0.2 warns.
• Tonal balance: genre bands beyond ±8 dB warn, ±12 dB fail — and three flagged bands fail the balance.
• Artifacts: an artifact score of 75+ fails, 30+ warns.

"Stream-ready: YES" needs at least 75/100 with no fail flags. It's advisory — Vex won't ever call a mix professional from the number alone, so always trust your ears and check your master on headphones, speakers and in mono.

No. Vex Check is free: 3 checks a day signed out, unlimited with a free AIE Access account. Everything runs locally in your browser — your audio never leaves your device unless you choose to send it onward.

Two options, no Mix Suite membership needed:

• Mastering Pass — $15/month: 30 Vex masters every month. Downloads of those masters don't count against the 30, and they save to My Mixes.
• Single Master — $5 one-time: one master, no subscription, 24 hours to download your WAV and versions.

AIE Amplify members get the Mastering Studio within their monthly Mix Suite caps, and AIE Spotlight members get it unlimited. Roster and Founding Artists are included too. See the Mastering Studio page for the cards.

Yes — Analog Master by Rob is $60 flat, no account required. Vex gets it loud; Rob makes it final on his analog chain and sends the master back by email. Details at /analog-master.

Email questions@aiemusic.com or head back to the Mastering Studio.