SoundCloud Mastering Review: Unbiased & Honest Opinion

SoundCloud Mastering is an audio mastering technology that gives musicians access to an innovative and intelligent way to finalize their music tracks before release. Powered by Dolby, an iconic pioneer in the surround sound and audio technology game — this partnership has set out to bring musicians an advanced audio production tool to create a dynamic sound experience at an affordable cost. 

Dolby uses artificial intelligence combined with thousands of hours of music analysis to replicate the working process of a professional engineer. 

“By critically listening to your music the way an engineer does — identifying the details, the unique sections, and musical transitions that give your song its unique story arc — the audio technology preserves your original intent while delivering a final track that sounds wide, powerful and ready for streaming playback wherever it goes.” - Soundcloud

The technique of mastering is incredibly essential before you release music. It fine-tunes loudness, EQ levels and overall clarity of your track to create a balanced and full sound. This ensures the song sounds consistent and clean throughout any speaker, radio, headphone set, or sound system it is played on. 

This trailblazing technology is by far one of the best in terms of audio mastering technology. 

What’s great about Soundcloud’s new Mastering service is that the tool is available right there on the website, in the same place where you would upload your tracks to the platform.

To get started, just click on the upload button on Soundcloud like you normally would. Once your audio is uploaded, you’ll see a new ‘Master Track’ button. 

Soundcloud offers the option to sample and hear a free preview of a mastered version of the track you upload. This is sort of like a ‘try before you buy’ option. You’ll select a portion of the song you want to hear the master of, then within a few minutes, the finalized mastered portion of your song will be ready to listen to. This allows the artists to listen back and forth between the original upload and the master version, which lets you clearly hear the difference between the two. 

But, it doesn’t just stop there. The service allows you to customize the master to your liking with various presets and profiles of your choice. This detailed “sonic map” is then used to sculpt the tone and overall dynamic of your mix while prioritizing your creative intent.

There are four different mastering style presets you choose from, that we will discuss in detail below:

Because mastering can be very subjective, there are four different sonic options for users to choose from to ensure their audio style and preferences are met. On the main mastering page, you will find the four different presets that can be applied to your audio master: 

If you're experimenting with ambient tracks and looking for a light and airy sonic feel, then you should definitely think of going with the Aurora preset.

Once you have your track uploaded and mastered to your sonic preference, the next step is to pay for the final mastered version of your song. There are a few different price hierarchies that Soundcloud mastering offers, depending on the level of subscription you have with the streaming service. 

• Soundcloud Pro subscribers can access the mastering service for $3.99 per master and receive 3 free masters every month.

• For those with a Basic Soundcloud Membership (free), the price per master costs $4.99 per single track. 

• Soundcloud Pro: $7/month

• Soundcloud Pro Unlimited: $15/month

Depending on how much music you produce and plan to upload, a Soundcloud Pro membership could end up saving you a decent amount of money in the long run. For more information on the different features and benefits of the Soundcloud Pro and Soundcloud Pro Unlimited memberships, check out this article. 

Just like any service, there are always some pros and cons to consider before committing to buying. Below we are going to list some of the biggest benefits and downfalls of Soundcloud’s Mastering service, so that you can make the most informed decision on what’s best for your music. 

SoundCloud Mastering powered by Dolby is a really simple and easy to use high-quality music mastering technology. Best of all, it is extremely affordable and accessible to anyone. You're going to be able to make amazing songs and master them to perfection using SoundCloud Mastering. This is a service we highly recommend for anyone looking to take their music production or sound design to the next level!