You may think the idea of someone mixing a track for $50 is a myth, check out a couple of online sites or social media and there’s plenty of people making that offer, some offer to do it for $10. We explain why it's a bad idea for both the buyer and the seller.
A note. This article is written mainly for those working in the UK, US and Europe, so you are going to have to translate the $50 number to account for the average cost of living in your own part of the world. Suffice to say, what we are really talking about here is cheap mixes.
First - What Does It Take To Mix A Track?
Before we even delve into the arguments about why cheap mixes are a bad idea, let’s look at some feedback from some of the biggest names in mixing on the planet. Between them they have numerous Grammy awards and have mixed hundreds of chart hits and albums. We asked them this question “Pro mixing friends, on average in hours how long does it take you to mix a track?”
One answer was perhaps the most telling, this was from Avril Mackintosh - Producer, Engineer with acts such as Ronan Keating, Louise, TYNI. Her response was simple “How long is a piece of string?” This is the problem when someone is suggesting they can mix a track for a low fixed cost, fixing the cost means that depending on the complexity of the project, that at a fixed cost something has to give. If that fixed cost is low then you can bet (unless they are running a charity) that what will give is quality.
So the first issue with people claiming to be able to mix your track for a low fixed cost is that they haven’t considered what the track is, how complex the mix will be or how many revisions it will require. Or they have and the advert is a classic bait and switch - in other words, they advertise something for a ridiculously low price to get your attention, then hit you with the real price when they have it. If you’ve ever booked a Ryanair flight then you’ll know what we mean.
We got over 80 responses to that question, first let’s look at what mixing a track entails.
Liaising with the client to ensure mix is delivered in correct format. Ascertaining the client’s desired outcome for the mix in terms of sound, this may include being sent reference material that needs to be listened through.
Checking edits and fixing any bad ones.
General QC on all tracks - time to deal with this can depend on project delivered. In some cases and for many modern tracks that will include pitch and timing fixes.
Mixing the track.
Sending to the client for approval.
The above list is generally what any professional worth their salt is going to do with a mix. If you want to know more about this then Dom Morley has written the excellent “What Is Mixing? The Anatomy Of A Mix”
Dom Morley, Grammy winning mixer with credits that include Sting, Adele and Amy Winehouse makes perhaps the most important point about this subject;
“Your songs are important, if you’re are paying someone $50 to mix your track then they are either cutting corners or not very good. You’ll probably get a better result mixing the track yourself.”
Why A $50 Mix Is A Bad Idea For The Buyer
The simple answer is it’s the same as buying a $50 parachute, or hiring a $50 surgeon, in either case the quality isn’t going to be good. Bearing in mind you want someone to take your precious track and make it sound the best it can be, it’s highly unlikely that’s going to be the case with someone charging $50 to do it.
Lots of things are worth $50 or less, the issue isn’t the $50, it’s what you can get for that. There are plenty of things, a pair of jeans, some cables, but nothing that requires attention to detail from a professional.
There’s lots of things you can buy cheap, but like the aforementioned parachute or surgery we wouldn’t recommend getting a $50 mix.
Let’s unpack it a little more, this will also come up in the article later.
We asked top mixers what they considered to be a reasonable time on average it takes to mix a track. Their average (for a top pro) was about 10 hours to get a track right. Some said they could mix some tracks in 4-6 hours, but again that depends on the quality of the recording and the complexity.
Rik Simpson, producer known for his work with Coldplay says, “12 hours is ideal, split over 3 days. It’s good to keep coming back to the mix fresh and ensure that whenever you’re working you’re being super efficient.”
George Shilling, producer, mixer, engineer with credits including Blur, Texas, Primal Scream says, “It varies wildly depending on the quality of song, recording and arrangement. If I recorded it, then 4 hours tops. If I need to put everything in tune and in time, add a cello part, trigger drums or battle with parts that clash then a whole day. It also depends how clear the brief is. Rarely a problem but it’s important to know what you’re aiming to achieve stylistically etc. I’ve just received a multitrack with three alternative drum kits to choose from. That’ll make it take a bit longer...!”
Olga Fitzroy, part of the Air Studios team and having mixed for artists including George Michael and Paul McCartney says; “10-12 hours for a track.”
Craig Bauer, known for his work with Kanye West, “I typically spend 1.5 days to mix a “full production” before sending the mix to the client. If it’s a smaller jazz ensemble or singer songwriter production with less elements, then it’s done in a day.”
So if it takes people who mix some of the biggest hits in the world over a day to mix a track, then someone offering to do it for $50 is not going to be making a lot of money. If they mix it in an 10 hour day then they are earning $5 an hour! Alternatively they, by some stroke of a miracle can mix faster than some of the best ears in the business, let’s call it 5 hours, so now they are earning $10 an hour!
So the person mixing it is going to be below average US minimum wage. The only way for them to get above the average minimum wage is for them to mix it in less than 5 hours! Do you really want someone to mix your track in that short an amount of time? You’ve spent hours, weeks, month, perhaps even years waiting to track this song and share it with the world and at the last moment you want to be cheap with the mix? Really?
Use Google and you can get advice on anything, medical, legal, there’s even companies offering you services around those professions for not a lot of money. Here’s the fact, anyone who is any good isn’t going to be selling their service in that way. Some time ago I needed to remove a wall during some remodelling of the house. I needed to know if it was a supporting wall. I could have Googled it, perhaps even a YouTube video, or asked on social media, but when it’s something as serious as the roof coming down on our heads the only sensible thing to do was to get a qualified professional structural engineer in to advise.
Social media is great for asking people what the best Netflix show is, or where to get great pizza, only the foolish use it to ask serious questions. Given the fact that someone pops up in your feed with “I’m not a lawyer/doctor/engineer but…” answers, that should be enough to sound warning bells.
There’s a more serious matter, by using these kind of services you are driving down the VALUE (not price) of a highly skilled service. Mixing is not easy, it takes years to perfect and a lot of experience and investment of time and money. We’re not here to advocate for some closed shop, on the contrary, we think it’s essential people take the cost of making records seriously.
If you don’t value your own music why are you expecting anyone else to?
Why A $50 Mix Is A Bad Idea For The Seller
We’ve already alluded to some of the reasons why offering to mix tracks for $50 is a bad idea, let’s break down the numbers. If you can mix a track to the same standard some of the best in the business can, then it’s going to take you around 10 hours. That means you are earning $5 an hour.
Let’s assume you can mix in half that time, then you are earning $10 per hour, less than the average US minimum wage.
If you could mix two songs a day, every day, every week then you would earn $26,000 per year, before ANY deductions such as tax and medical. This also means you also need to mix 500 songs a year. 500 songs a year presents you with two challenges, one, getting that amount of work consistently and two, maintaining quality when you’ve effectively become a mixing robot.
If you can only mix at the same speed and quality as the best in the business then you are back mixing a track in 10 hours and the numbers are woeful. $13,000 a year before any deductions. You could push that up to $18,200 per year if you work every day of the year, no time off and no vacations. That’s only going to work if you are living at home with kind parents and don’t pay any rent - remember to get to just $18,000 your social life is pretty much screwed.
If you forget anything else then remember this. If you are taking the whole idea of making records seriously and investing in education, gear and a space to do it, THEN YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN THIS. Too often people say “everyone is doing it.” That’s not a reason to devalue yourself or an entire profession, it’s a hard enough task to get the public to give music any value, selling yourself short isn’t helping. Imagine being at a party and you bump into some friends from school. Some are lawyers, doctors, some are ministers of churches now. Some work in factories, some in stores, some offer childcare. They have partners, kids, cars, homes, healthcare, vacations - they are making great lives for themselves. You are still living at home because you can’t afford to do anything else and perhaps don’t have many of the things they have. They know you are trying to make it in music production, how do you think they perceive that profession?
Too many people think the profession of making music is a joke and that we should get a real job. Charging rates that keep you broke and with few prospects only perpetuates the lie.
Summary
There’s always someone who is offering to do it cheaper, but normally no one wins.
The customer ends up with something that isn’t as good as it could be, cue the “I got a track mixed for $50 and it sounded great” response. Perhaps you did, but compared to what? If you’ve not had your track mixed by someone who is going to use their years of experience, time and care, then you have no benchmark to base your assessment on.
Also, don’t confuse cheap with affordable. Affordability differs from person to person, some can only afford a burger while others a top restaurant. The quality may be good in both, or conversely it may be bad. What matters is whatever your level of affordability, make sure you are getting the best possible quality for your budget, if your budget is small then it may be better for you to mix the track yourself.
William Wittman discusses this in his excellent article Should You Hire A Professional Mixing Engineer?
Spend the money you would have spent on a cheap inexperienced mixer on a site like PureMix, where some of the best mixers in the world are helping you to learn how to mix better. One thing is sure you’ll likely take more care over it than someone wanting to put your precious song through their ‘sausage factory’ mix process.
If you are one of those people offering cheap mixes you may be thinking, everyone has to start somewhere. An argument some may make is that without experience it’s impossible to charge decent rates. No mixes = no experience and it’s a vicious circle. It’s a valid point, but if you are just starting out then you may have a better chance of having a decent career with real income by working alongside an experienced engineer or in a studio learning on the job, getting experience and building a reputation. Then, as has happened to countless engineers and producers, one day there’s a named artist in the studio and the engineer calls in sick - then you get the break you’ve been hoping for.
More importantly, we need to stop devaluing a profession that’s already being devalued by record companies, streaming services and the public - it doesn't need any help from us. That’s like drinking poison and expecting someone else to die.
Discuss.