eMixing

Real World has contributed to the success of countless artists, and continues to play a major role in defining the sounds of many of the world’s most talented musicians.

Our eMixing service gives you the opportunity to have your recordings mixed in the same hallowed studios as those artists, by a top mix engineer, at a price that will surprise you.

How does it work?

You send us the multitrack audio files of your song (or songs) in WAV or AIFF format, by uploading or mailing it to us. We recommend including a Spotify playlist of reference material, summarising your musical influences and the particular tracks you’d like your song to sit with

We then send you back the mixed stereo master, worked up to the tier of your choice from the options below. The highest tier may involve broadcasting the mix live to your home or studio while the engineer discusses it with you over Skype.

What do you get?

The first mix you’ll receive will be a ‘jiffy mastered’ 16-bit WAV file – ie, one that’s been put through a basic maximising process for realistic comparison to other tracks at similar volumes. This mix is purely for listening reference and approval purposes.

Once you’ve approved the mix, an unprocessed 24-bit WAV file will be created, ready for final mastering. As well as the final mix, where possible/relevant, you’ll also get instrumental and a capella versions.

We’ll keep the mix session backed up for a year, too, in case you need to make changes to it in the future.

Mix tiers

Our mixes are performed in discrete stages, so you can decide the level of completion to which you want us to take your song, from Monitor Mix to Tweaked Master, and how much you want to spend. By stepping the cost, we ensure that you’re happy with the results as the mix evolves, and that you don’t waste money on a mix that turns out to be ineffective due to, for example, a poor-quality original recording.

For even greater value, combine eMixing with our eMastering services.

Monitor Mix

At this tier, we’ll apply basic processing to achieve a static balance, giving a general overview of how we think your track should sound. It’ll have all the tone and energy of a fully worked-up mix, but not the dynamics and transitions of a finished record.

The Monitor Mix comes with an Engineer’s Report, summarising our thoughts on the quality and potential of your track. If you like the way the mix is sounding and agree with our suggestions as to where it should go next, you can opt to upgrade to the second stage…

Master Mix

This is a dynamic mix that, to the engineer’s ears, is how the final track should be heard, taking into account its musical direction, inherent energy, and the quality and character of the source recordings. Vocals will be refined and ridden to hold the listener’s attention; instrumentation balances are automated to realise the song’s dynamic intent; and musical changes are shaped to enhance the composition.

With mixing being such a subjective process, however, there may well be things you want to change. The Master Mix stage includes one re-visit based on your detailed feedback, but there maybe times when you want to get forensic which is where our top tier service comes in…

Tweaked Master

If you like the Master Mix but want to make further adjustments to it (bass up in the chorus, hi-hats down in verse, etc), step up to the Tweaked Master tier and submit your list of changes to the engineer. If necessary, the engineer can then stream the mix directly to your computer and, at the same time, discuss your tweaks with you over Zoom. The session will take up to two hours, after which you’ll be sent the finished Tweaked Master, with all changes made as agreed.

Once you’ve approved the mix, you can have it finalised for broadcast, streaming, download and physical release with Real World’s eMastering service at a discounted rate (see below).

Things to know

Our recommendation is always to start with the Monitor Mix tier, as this enables us to make sure the raw track is in a fit state to be mixed properly.

The engineer and studio used for the mix depend on schedule and availability, but the end result will always be of the quality Real World is famous for. Our on-site mix engineers relish the opportunity to get involved in new music, so you can rest assured that they’ll be as enthusiastic about your mix as you are.

Rates

Quoted rates are per song. Rates are based on a maximum song length of five minutes – see below for excess. Each mix can comprise a maximum of 50 tracks (mono or stereo). All prices are exclusive of VAT.

eMixing

Monitor Mix: £120
Master Mix: £450
Upgrade to Master Mix from Monitor Mix: £330
Tweaked Master: £600
Upgrade to Tweaked Master from Master Mix: £150
Excess for mixes over 5 minutes long: £60/min pro rata
Excess for songs with over 50 audio tracks – £5/track (mono or stereo)
Editing (tuning, timing etc.): £70/hr

eMastering

Software, previously eMixed material: £60/track
Software, not previously eMixed material: £90/track
Hardware, previously eMixed: £120/track
Hardware, not previously eMixed: £160/track
Buy four, get one free.
DDP creation: £60