Recordings are released in several formats – CD, as streams at different resolutions, and vinyl. One master does not fit all!
At Airshow, your project will be mastered in 24-bit resolution. Your Airshow mastering engineer will also archive the session at the same resolution at which it was processed, so your project has been future-proofed. From the session archive, we can create any number of masters at various resolutions or formats to suit your release plans.
- Physical release
◦ For CD release, your master will be a PMCD – a physical CD – or a DDP file set for upload to the manufacturer, at 16-bit/44.1 kHz resolution.
◦ For vinyl release, we’ll create 24-bit .wav masters (one per LP side) at the highest available sample rate for delivery to the lacquer master cutter. The LP song sequence may differ from the CD, and the LP master files might have less peak limiting than the CD version. - Digital streaming
Artists and labels typically distribute their recordings to multiple streaming services, generally through intermediaries that have specific format and metadata requirements.
What masters do you need?
- The digital master we upload to your CD manufacturer or a master CD we ship to your manufacturer.
- A physical CD master part for your professional archive, for CD reorders
- An HD master as files on disc for your own future-proofed archive and for licensing and digital streaming delivery.
Please take the time to discuss your release or licensing strategy so we can cost-effectively deliver the master parts you need when you need them.