Thomas W. Bethel
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Dec 12, 2001
- Location
- Oberlin, OH
I have some mastering clients that want to prolong the mastering at my expense long after the sessions are done and paid for. They leave here happy and satisfied and then three weeks later call me up and say that the bass player, who could not attend the mastering sessions, was unhappy with the bass in all of the songs we did and could we "revisit them" since he is not happy with the mastering. I told them yes but at their expense.
Or the young person, who after waiting until his CD was at the replicators told me that his 90 year old grandmother, who paid for the mastering, the recording and the duplication, did not like the mastering and could he get his money back. I told him that if his grandmother would come to the mastering studio and show me what she did not like I would be happy to fix it.
Or the client who called me on a daily basis to have problems fixed and after fixing all the current problems were fixed would find something else he did not like. It was not the fault of the mastering and was that his personal preferences had changed and he was trying to make up for a poorly done project by trying the get the mastering to fix all the problems he had created and the more I tried to help the more he wanted. I finally told him that he needed to get EVERYTHING completed because this was the final time I was going to fix the problems and from now on it would cost him. He called the week after and said he was upset because he found some additional "problems" and wanted them fixed but he did not want to pay for the additional time. I repeated to him what I had told him before that any additional "fixing" would be at his expense.
I also get clients who want me to FEDEX next day air any changes they request and when I tell them it will be at their expense get somewhat huffy. I will be happy to send it prioity mail or Fedex 2nd day air but for me to absorb a $20.00 cost or more on a project that was previously approved makes no sense to me.
These are the clients who sit here and tell me all the great things I have done for them and their project and then after a long period of time try and come back and have it all redone at my expense.
I have recently adopted a mastering contract to circumvent these types of problems but I am not sure if they understand the legality of the document they are signing.
These types of problems are happening more and more especially with projects that are self produced and self recorded and the person cannot make up their mind what they want it to sound like so they wait until the mastering session to finalize <pun> their thoughts and then decide they want major changes done after they leave here. Glenn Meadows came up with a good one recently on the Mastering Web site. He said you should tell clients that they can fix it in the heat shrink.... since everyone now tells their clients they can fix it in the mastering.<Grin>
Any one else care to comment on this somewhat disturbing"trend"?
Thanks
FWIW and MTCW
Or the young person, who after waiting until his CD was at the replicators told me that his 90 year old grandmother, who paid for the mastering, the recording and the duplication, did not like the mastering and could he get his money back. I told him that if his grandmother would come to the mastering studio and show me what she did not like I would be happy to fix it.
Or the client who called me on a daily basis to have problems fixed and after fixing all the current problems were fixed would find something else he did not like. It was not the fault of the mastering and was that his personal preferences had changed and he was trying to make up for a poorly done project by trying the get the mastering to fix all the problems he had created and the more I tried to help the more he wanted. I finally told him that he needed to get EVERYTHING completed because this was the final time I was going to fix the problems and from now on it would cost him. He called the week after and said he was upset because he found some additional "problems" and wanted them fixed but he did not want to pay for the additional time. I repeated to him what I had told him before that any additional "fixing" would be at his expense.
I also get clients who want me to FEDEX next day air any changes they request and when I tell them it will be at their expense get somewhat huffy. I will be happy to send it prioity mail or Fedex 2nd day air but for me to absorb a $20.00 cost or more on a project that was previously approved makes no sense to me.
These are the clients who sit here and tell me all the great things I have done for them and their project and then after a long period of time try and come back and have it all redone at my expense.
I have recently adopted a mastering contract to circumvent these types of problems but I am not sure if they understand the legality of the document they are signing.
These types of problems are happening more and more especially with projects that are self produced and self recorded and the person cannot make up their mind what they want it to sound like so they wait until the mastering session to finalize <pun> their thoughts and then decide they want major changes done after they leave here. Glenn Meadows came up with a good one recently on the Mastering Web site. He said you should tell clients that they can fix it in the heat shrink.... since everyone now tells their clients they can fix it in the mastering.<Grin>
Any one else care to comment on this somewhat disturbing"trend"?
Thanks
FWIW and MTCW