3

Things To
Get Right
Before
Releasing
Your Music.
Release-Ready Checklist
Does this sound like you?

You’ve put a lot of time and effort into making a song you think is amazing…

You’ve finished the arrangement, mixed all of the elements together, and are about
to master it, or send it out to be mastered.

You keep on listening to it over and over again wondering if the song is finished and
ready to be released, or sent to a record label.

Deep down, you don’t know a definitive answer on when a song is complete or when
you should keep working on it.

Trust me, I’ve been there. This used to be a big problem for me, but now this is
something we help all of our students overcome in our mentoring program.

If we have not officially met, my name is Thomas Anthony. I’ve been making and
releasing music for over 15 years, and I’ve signed record deals with Interscope,
Confession, Dim Mak… Just to name a few! I have done official remixes for artists
such as Snoop Dogg. My music has charted 7 consecutive Beatport #1 Singles &
Releases, and been streamed over 5 Million times across all platforms (Spotify, Apple
Music, Youtube, etc.).

One of the biggest issues that producers face, is deciding when a song is finished.
Knowing when the song has all the elements it needs to sound full, is mixed
properly, sounds powerful, and is ready to be sent out to labels and shown to the
world.

I’ve spent months endlessly tweaking and changing things in my songs to get them
to sound just right!

I’ve kept songs buried on my computer because I wasn’t sure if they were ready for
people to hear.

I’ve missed out on thousands of streams, downloads, and new fans because I
couldn’t decide if my song was finished.
It’s a fact that a song is never 100% finished. We could make changes to a song for as
long as we want, but at some point, there are diminishing returns on your time.

Good news, there’s a solution!

There are several things I do when I have finished my tracks to make sure that they
are ready to be released. I created this PDF focusing on 3 things to help make your
decision process easier.

1. Creative Check 2. Mixing Check 3. System Check

Before you go through this process, let the track sit for a few days and don’t listen to
it. You want to come at this with a clear perspective. I also suggest doing this process
in the morning when your ears are fresh.
1. Creative Check

The first thing I do when I think a song is finished is compare (reference) my song to
finished songs from professional producers. I like to choose 3 tracks in the same style
and genera to my track.

I lay them out in my DAW (Ableton) and open up a digital note pad to make notes if
need be. Next, I put locator markers every 8 bar, or make a dummy midi clip that is 8
bars long and lay it at the top of the session. The goal here is to easily divide sections
of the track.

In most professional songs, something is either being added or taken away every 16
bars. An example of this could be:

Adding / Removing:
- Drums - Effects - Plucks - Pads
- Bass - Vocals - Leads - Loops

Changing:
- Chord Progressions - Drum Grooves - Bass Patterns

Listen to the reference tracks and see what elements are being added and removed.
Compare that to your song, and make adjustments if needed.

If you find that your track is always peaking your interest in each section, this is a
good sign.
You don’t need to have the exact same elements or arrangement as your reference
tracks, but your song should be AT LEAST 80% as interesting.

Next look at the idea of the song. Is the focal element the bass? The melody? Or the
vocal?

Is that idea easily identifiable? If yes, is it 80% as interesting as the reference tracks?
Next, look at the overall arrangement. Does the song have contrasting sections?

If a song is all bass, your ears will become used to that very quick and it won’t stand
out. See how your reference tracks uses contrast to make the chorus/drop more
impactful.

I don’t want to overwhelm you, so these are just

some of the main elements to focus on. In reality
however, you should be referencing: Song
structure, section clarity, emptiness/silence,
transitions, variation, repetitively, harmonic NOTE: Creativity is the first
structure, duration, and cohesiveness. thing to check for a reason
of why your music is not
sounding great. If your song
In the mentoring program, we go through each of
is lacking in this main area,
these step-by-step while creating your track, so
no amount of mixing or
that you know all these elements are in place by
mastering will make it a
the time the song is finished.
great song.

Overall, if you song is 80% (or more) as good as your Remember, you can’t polish
reference track, creatively. You’re good to move a turd
onto the next section.

2. Mixing Check

The next thing I do when I think a song is finished, is reference the mix of my song to
the mix of 3 commercially polished songs from professional producers.

Again, I like to choose 3 tracks in the same style, genre, AND KEY to my track. The key
is very important when comparing/referencing tracks for mixing purposes.

If you compare the bass your song is made in (for example, F Minor), it will sound
very different from the bass of a song made in A Minor… Due to of the frequency of
the note, the F will be lower and have characteristics that are different from A.

Same thing goes for Major and Minor keys.

Moral of the story, choose reference tracks that are in the same key, or very close to
the key of your track.

From here, we need to make sure that all the songs are matching in volume. You will
be comparing your song to a fully mastered song, so that means it will be louder
than yours. If a song is 3db louder than your song, it is going to be perceived as being
better. We need to level match all the songs to compare them accurately.

The way I do this is by lining up all the drops/chorus of each song.

Then, I switch to the mixer view (so that I can see the exact values in decibels of each
track).

Adjust the volume of the reference tracks to match the volume of your track. The
volume will always be changing so adjust it to a similar level (+/- 1db).

Before: After:
Now that your songs are level matched, you can accurately compare the differences.

Listen to the different sections of your song and compare it to the reference tracks:
Intro, breakdown, buildup, drop, etc.

The things that I am looking to compare:

- The highs, mids, and lows

- The balance between the highs, mids, and lows
- Mono/Stereo capability
- Dynamics
- Clarity

Let’s look at these categories in depth:

The Highs, Mids, & Lows

To check this, I put Ableton’s Multiband Dynamics onto the master. This allows me to
solo each band and compare it to my reference tracks.

If you don’t use Ableton, you can also use an EQ or an imager (like Ozone Imager) to
solo the bands.

Start by soloing the lows and then solo your track. Listen to the groove of the song
and the relationship between the kick and the bass. Does it sounds fluid? Does it
make you want to move?
Then listen to your reference tracks low end. Does your track sound boomy, too loud,
too quiet, not as powerful as the reference? If so, you need to go back to your mixing
project and make adjustments

From there, repeat the same process for the mids and highs.

Compare the fullness, loudness, and clarity between each of the bands.

The Balance Between The Highs, Mids, & Lows

The difference between an amateur mix and a professional mix can be easily
identified by the balance between the highs, mids, and lows.

It is difficult to get a balanced mix because your studio, and your headphones, have
their own frequency responses.

This results in making incorrect mixing decisions.

To check this, I like to use Izotope’s Tonal Balance Control 2

This allows me to see the balance each frequency band and compare it to my
reference track.

One thing to note here is, that your

song does not have to always be inside
the designated zone.
If your song is just kick and bass, you
shouldn’t expect it to be full in the
upper half of the frequency spectrum.

This is why it’s important to pick

reference songs that are similar to your
song. The Tonal Balance Control is a
great referencing tool.

Individually solo the reference tracks

and see how they look in Tonal Balance Control.
Typically what we see from students before the mentoring program, is that the bass
is way too loud. Balancing the low end is a big problem for many producers. We
show our students the correct tools and teach them the exact steps to create a
perfectly balanced mix.

If your song is unbalanced compared to the reference tracks, it’s time to go back to
the mix and make adjustments.

Mono/Stereo Capability

Your song needs to sound good in mono and stereo.

It is not uncommon for elements to disappear, or become less prominent when you
check your mix in mono.

To check this, you can put Ableton’s utility on the master and click the mono button,
or use a plugin like Wave’s Imager or Izotope’s Imager and collapse the signal to
mono.

Pay attention to what elements become quieter and less clear.

Next check the stereo capability.

To do this you can use the Ableton multiband or Izotope’s Imager to solo each band.

Listen to how wide or narrow each element is when you solo the high, mids, and
lows respectively.
For most electronic music, the low band should be very narrow (if not completely
mono), the mids can be wider, and the highs can be very wide.

Compare to your reference tracks and again, make adjustments in the mix if need
be.

Dynamics

Even though the sausage fattener

is a hilarious plugin, you still want it
to maintain some sort of dynamics
in your song.

To check this, I like to use Izotope’s

Tonal Balance Control’s “Crest
Factor”.
This allows me to see how
squashed or dynamic my song is
compared to the reference tracks.

Run your song and the reference tracks through the plugin, and compare the
dynamics.

If your track is too squashed, consider going back to the mix and easing back on
some limiting and/or compression.

Knowing when and how to use compression and limiting (and when you’re
overdoing it) is a complicated process. In the program, we’ve simplified the whole
process into a series of step by step actions that can be applied to any song.

Clarity

The last step to checking your mix is comparing the clarity of important elements.

Each section typically has one important element that you want to listener to focus
on; An example of this could be the bass, the vocal, or a lead.
When you listen to your reference tracks, try to
pinpoint the focal element of that section.

Then, listen to your track and see if your attention is

drawn to the element you want the listener to focus
on. NOTE: Referencing tracks in
the same key will make it
There are obviously many elements going on at one easier on your ears to find
time in a song, but one should stand out. differences and similarities.
After things sound
For example, you want the listener to focus on the harmonically right, it’s all

vocal in a section of the track, make sure that they about the right placement in
the stereo field, the
can clearly hear it.
frequency spectrum, and the
volume levels.
You will notice by listening to the reference tracks,
that professional producers will use techniques like:
Remember, each element
lowering the volume of other elements, EQing out
needs it’s own space.
masking frequencies, or simply removing other
elements, to highlight the desired element (eg the
vocal).

If what I just said confuses you, don’t worry! You just haven’t been trained yet how to
do this. The main thing to ask yourself is: “Am I able to hear the main element of this
section?”

After checking all of these areas, take an objective look at your track and see if it is at
least 80% the quality of the reference tracks. If it is, then your mix is ready, and you
can move onto the final section of the checklist, the system check.

3. System Check

No matter how trained your ears are, or how treated your room is, you will never be
able to truly know what your song sounds like in the real world without checking.

Many producers will check their mix out on their monitors, and maybe their
headphones, but they forget about where their audience listens to music.
- DJs / Producers: - Regular People:
- Studio Monitors - Ear Buds
- Studio Headphones - Bluetooth Speakers
- Club Systems - Car Stereo
- Smart Phone Speaker
- Home Stereo
- Laptops

Not everyone has access to all of these systems, so make due with what you have. I
like to check my mix using the above techniques on my studio speakers and my
studio headphones.

I will make sure the song sound as good, if not better than the reference tracks.

Next, I transfer the song to my phone, and listen to it on my apple ear buds, in my
car, on the stereo system in my living room, and on my laptop. These are the systems
I listen to music the most, so I’m aware of how music sounds on them.

From there, take a notepad (I like to use physical paper) and begin listening to your
song and making notes on how it sounds.

I listen for what elements are too loud, or too quiet, are there any elements that are
too harsh/make me cringe? Most importantly, does the song make me want to
move/dance (if it’s a dance track).

Don't forget to also listen to your reference tracks.

I’ve listened to my music and been disappointed
because I “remembered" hearing other tracks that
sounded much better. DO NOT DO THIS! Your
memory is not accurate!
NOTE: Listen and take notes
on your track and the
Listen to your track, then the reference track, then
reference tracks, on different
your track again and make notes.
systems, to find out how to
best address your potential
After listening on all of the systems, I go back to mixing downfalls and adjust
the studio (if need be), look at my notes and begin as needed.
making adjustments.
Remember, your memory is
This step is very important, because you never not a good way to reference
tracks.
know who will hear your track, and where they will hear it.

Final Thoughts

There are really 2 things that are critically important: One of them is to have an
interesting song that captivates the listener from start to finish. The other, is
that your song needs to sound professional when it’s played on any type of
system.

Your music needs to be clear, powerful, & balanced. When referencing you want to
make sure that it matches up to AT LEAST 80% in song writing (creativity) and
mixing, so that it sounds great on most systems.

If it doesn’t, this will result in: No streams, no fans, and more rejections by record
labels.

When you know how to create a high quality song that captivates your listener, you
are at a distinct advantage right now with the enormous amount of music that is
being released every day.

Don’t worry, it’s never too late to become a better music producer and simply make
better music.

Our Music Mentoring Program guides you step by step to finish high quality
electronic music, fast!

So by the time you finish the program, you are going to have a step by step process
to make interesting music that sounds professional, with your own commercially
polished mixed and mastered track you’re proud of.
Listen, producers who aren’t trained to make professional music waste countless
hours googling questions and watching YouTube tutorials.

They don’t understand how to put a song together to make it interesting, mix it to
make it sound professional, and master it to make sure it sounds amazing on every
system.

They become frustrated and confused when they apply generalized advice to their
specific situation and it doesn’t work.

All of this leads to a song that doesn’t sound as good as their favourite artist, gets
rejected by labels, and it isn’t streamed or shared.

However, if you know how to make high quality music… You will be proud of your
mix, satisfied with your music, attracting the attention of other artists, labels, fans,
and ultimately feel confident about the future of your music career.

The key to stream, getting on labels and playing festivals, the key to your future, is
making amazing music!

If you would like us to listen to your music and determine if it’s ready to be released,
schedule a free strategy session. On the call, we’ll design a custom blueprint to help
you accomplish your goals.

OR

If you want to stop wasting your time repeating the same mistakes without results,
and you want to start feeling proud of your music, and confident in your mixing -
Schedule a free strategy session today! On the call, we’ll design a custom blueprint to
help you accomplish your music goals.
FinishBetterMusic.com