These are the terms and conditions for mixing and mastering services by John Nicholls, trading as audioracket.com. They were last updated on 15th February 2022.
Payment
All quotes, telephone calls and advice are free. If you wish to accept a quote, before I begin I require either 50% of the balance or £200, whichever is greater, along with email acknowledgement that you’ve read my FAQ and Terms & Conditions.
Please note for jobs under £200 full payment is required.
Payments can be made via a UK Bank Account or PayPal.
Revisions and Assessment
As I have previously mentioned, I don’t limit the number of revisions and wish to work on tracks until you are 100% happy. However, I would like to clarify exactly what is and isn’t covered by that:
What is covered:
- Volume adjustments
- FX and reverb adjustments
- Specific production ideas that may not have panned out how we anticipated, e.g. a sweeping envelope filter over the drums during the middle 8.
What is not covered:
- The introduction of new parts or instruments not included in the original session.
- Changes in arrangement or direction of the mix
- Going round in circles
- Revisions once work has been signed off and I’ve printed the final work.
An important part of my job is monitoring the audio on a variety of speakers and headphones to give myself an accurate, yet broad perspective of how it sounds. I ask that as much as possible, please do the same. If you can find two or three different ways to listen then you’ll give yourself a much better chance of making good judgements and therefore give me more helpful feedback.
If one of those is your iphone speakers, that’s ok, but please then balance that with some good headphones and perhaps a decent hifi.
Signing Work Off
Mixes
Once we’ve completed all your requested revisions and you’ve had sufficient time to check that you’re satisfied with the final mixes, I will send an email asking you to confirm that you’re happy to sign them off as complete and the remaining balance will be due. After that point no changes can be made without incurring further costs and I am no longer responsible for any subsequent changes or processing anyone may make to them.
Masters
Once you’re satisfied with the final masters, I will send an email asking you to confirm that you’re happy to sign them off as complete and the remaining balance will be due.
After that point no changes can be made without incurring further costs and I am no longer responsible for any subsequent changes or processing anyone may make to them, or any problems that arise in manufacture.
CD and DDP Masters:
If a DDP has been requested, I will also provide the client with a DDP player on which to check the final file themselves before signing off.
Vinyl Masters:
If your release is intended solely for vinyl, I recommend that you use a dedicated vinyl mastering engineer. If however you are doing multiple formats, I’m happy to prepare the digital masters for vinyl based on my knowledge and requirements of the medium. I don’t, however, have a cutting lathe and am therefore unable to provide the client with a test pressing.
I strongly urge the client arrange getting one done by the pressing plant and accept no liability for any problems caused by this process being skipped or poorly executed. I also do not guarantee a definite figure of how much one will cost.
Credits
If it is possible within your artwork and/or promotional material, I very much appreciate being credited for the mixing or mastering as appropriate.
Please use any of the following as applicable:
- Mixed by John Nicholls at audioracket.com
- Mastering by John Nicholls at audioracket.com
- Mixed and mastered by John Nicholls at audioracket.com
Privacy and File Storage
Our transaction is for the delivery of mixed or mastered stereo interleaved files at a previously agreed sample rate and bit depth. I do not agree to release to the client any other files, including but not limited to pro tools sessions, plugin user presets or individual audio files created within the process.
All projects will be kept and safely backed up for at least 12 months unless deletion is requested by the client. Backups are kept as a courtesy and in the unlikely event of accidental data loss, I will not be held responsible for any lost material.
Refunds
In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied, I will do everything possible to work with you and resolve the situation, however all sales are final and no refunds will be given.
Please take some reassurance that in over twenty years it has never come up.