Recording Studio Terms & Conditions
revision 3-1-19
Recording Studio Terms: A simple table for those that don’t want to be bothered with the entire terms & conditions. Exceptions to this table include special promotion prices which may be lower than what is stated.
Mike Strip/MJENT Recording Studio
Recording Studio Terms
Mastering is $85/hour for a pre-recorded single track .wav file. For recording, remixing, production, stem mixes or custom edits, prices start at $105 an hour.
RUSH PROJECTS WITHOUT A BOOKING ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE ARE SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL FEES
Our mastering work is made to help musicians and record labels achieve a superb quality master. Mastering each song takes at least 1 hour to get the perfect sound out of it. There are no presets or templates used as every song must have its own parameters. During the time of mastering our engineers will contact you and discuss all progress so that your master is going in the right direction. Any suggestions or recommendations will be made during the process of mastering so that you get the best mix.
Agreements
There are a few things that must be set in stone before mastering. You (the client) must agree on the tempo, key and timing of the song. Also if vocals are being added to an instrumental then the exact timing must be written down or musical measure. This saves our engineers time and guess work. After the hourly-based mastering is done, the next step is to produce a reference or master, which can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours time. The next step is the master is sent to you and after your approval the further renditions will be made and the project completed. Note that excessive edits requested will incur additional fees that will be approved on a per invoice basis. This is defined as more than 4 edits to the track.
File format requirements:
Mixing digitally in a modern DAW which is 32-bit float native, please send 32-bit float stereo wavs as the sample rate of your session.
Sample rate should be 48 kHz or 44.1 kHz. recording. put a dithering plugin on the mix bus.
For specific software programs see below:
Pro Tools 10 HD: If you are mixing natively with the native mixing engine, then mix to 32 bit float format and send us 32-bit float wavs. If you are using the older HD mix engine with the core and accel cards, then you should use the dithered mixer. You’ll be glad you did! Write for instructions.
Pro Tools 9 HD: If you are mixing with the HD Core and Accel cards and the 48 bit digital mixer, be sure to replace the default non-dithered mixer with the dithered mixer. You’ll be glad you did! Write for instructions.
Digital Performer: Export 32 bit floating and at 48kHz. “.wav” is the preferred format.
Ableton or Others: Save your mixes as 32-bit float stereo in the sample rate of the session. For example: If your session is 48 kHz, then bounce/capture your mix to 48 kHz/32-bit float stereo files.
Estimates and Rates
For mastering from one “.wav” file the hours go as follows:
An example would be:
Estimate about 5 hours at $150/hour. 5 x 150, $1000 (average hours for a typical album)
For an EP (up to 4 songs) estimate 2-3 hours at $200/hour. 3 x 200, $600 (average estimate of hours for an EP)
Due to our charge by the hour, not by the song, this is a big advantage for you. An album of 10 songs takes far less time and less cost to master in one day than mastering 10 singles on separate days. Likewise, multiple singles mastered on the same day takes less time and far less cost than doing them on separate days. As well as these charges there are possible other charges incurred hence these are on a per-edit basis.
Stem Mixing or Mastering (Completing the Master by individual mixing per track)
This is if you would like your album completed by the most professional way possible.
Stem mixing one song costs $150 a song. Takes 90 minutes to master a song.
A a “typical” 10-song album is around $1200. This includes an estimate of 5 hours mastering time and $300 for both the track master and individual track .wav files.
A “high work” album (e.g. sonic problems, special assembly, intricate editing or mixing, etc., and effects ) could take longer and cost more.
A “simple” album that was well mixed will cost around equal or less than that of a “high work” album. This is equal to .wav files being mastered and pre-mixed.
Most ep or albums cost between $600-$2000.
WAV files (single song), include 2496 high res, 2444 for MFIT and 1644 for standard downloads.
Post Project Completion Re-Mixing/Mastering
If you have a project file from another studio in raw format that you would like to have us mix/master. Our mixing rate is $85 per hour, which is performed by superb mix engineers and experts in your style of music.
Studio Time
No refunds upon booking. By paying you are agreeing to these terms and conditions. There are no refund policies. Work is not completed by your opinion of “completion” but on an hourly specified rate with a deposit in full for the hours contracted in order to begin the project.
If you would like for us to listen to your album and tell you how much work is really required, you can drop us an email at bookings@djmikestrip.com. The website “wetransfer.com” is a great free way for you to send us your music and is less confusing than File Transfer Protocol. An alternative to this is google drive, but this is used only in certain circumstances.
Rules / Code of Conduct:
You will be charged for services by the hour. A “per-edit” project with small changes needing to be made continuously, it will be rounded up to each hour. Recording Studio Terms and Conditions apply to all and the following.
1. In order to reserve studio time and to ensure seriousness, payment in FULL is due in order to reserve the time. No deposit in advance means that no studio time will be reserved.
2. Operating hours for editing are between 9am and 8pm. Do not call or contact the studio professional outside of this time frame. Hence, e-mails, texts or phone calls outside of this time frame are considered rude and unprofessional. Understand and respect your assigned engineers operating hours.
3. If the assigned engineer completes the assignment in less time than the invoice, the remaining amount will be charged for that amount. This is the number of hours of instruction which the client has not received but for which the client has PAID and the denominator of which is the total number of hours of instruction for which the client has paid.
4. There are no reservations for specific engineers/staff. If this is not clear please re-read the terms & conditions as well as the studio description.
5. If a session is scheduled with a specific time and date it will start and end at the time stated on the contract. So please arrive 15 minutes early as a consideration. A 15 minute grazing period will be added to sessions over 3 hours.
6. There’s an hourly fee of $95 for remixing paid in full.
Yes there are more…
7. Consequently all agreements or invoices are bound to these terms & conditions and governed by the county of Los Angeles and State of California. There are no refunds for services rendered.
8. Furthermore, tracking and mixing stages our studio will record by invoice and per hour. This will save you money and time financially. Please refer to the invoice before making any purchases.
9. Indemnification: This is a legal clause in a contract that many studios insist on to help protect them from costs of lawsuits and attorney fees. All content produced, mixed, mastered or remixed must be yours. If it is not yours it must have legal clearance by the record company/publishing company it belongs to. It is your responsibility by agreeing to services guaranteeing the content against any copyright infringement.
10. Finally, it is responsibility of the client to choose a date for the expected completion date of the project. You must establish a mutual date on the invoice for both the client and music studio.
11. Contact a music lawyer should before signing any recording studio agreement. This is a recommendation for all clients.
12. Especially relevant, by utilizing the services performed at Recording Studio MJent, you are agreeing to these Terms & Conditions. In addition, these are known as “Recording Studio Terms.”
13. GOVERNMENT, CIVIL SERVICE OR FEDERAL GOVERNMENT AGENCIES HAVE A NON NEGOTIABLE HOURLY FEE OF $1375 PER HOUR. Any work, subcontracted work, undercover operation, “sting” operation or conspiracy by a government agency to create a crime is a FEDERAL offense and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Mjent does not offer transportation services or referrals as well as other unrelated services not mentioned on this site. Full disclosure of law enforcement affiliation is required before any agreement is made so that you will be referred to another studio. Any contact or harassment made by an employee, government official or subcontractee of “The City of Los Angeles, Los Angeles Department of Transportation or Los Angeles Police Department or related entities” presents itself as a conflict of interest and violation of the law and will be report to federal officials immediately. In addition MJent Recording Studio is ADA compliant as well as animal friendly.
