- Every time you have an update on a song please use the feedback form:
- Market Compatability
- Project Outline:
- Planning
- Production
- Distribution
- Pre Release
- Peak Promo
- Passive Promo
- Evaluation
- Processes and Requirements:
- Songwriting Phase
- Recording Phase
- Mix/Mastering Phase
The most important factor for success in a release project is the quality of the songs. That’s why we’ve implemented a feedback process to be able to help you get the most out of your songs. Our aim is never to affect your creative direction. We just offer our advice and input when it comes to songwriting, recording, mixing & mastering. Our feedback is always based on your artist identity and genre.
We have a process to give feedback on all incoming songs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at around 13.00. All songs submitted to us during the week will be listened to and you will receive feedback the same evening.
Every time you have an update on a song please use the feedback form: #
Make sure it’s the direct share Google Drive link from the project folder and not the link to your own computer. We don’t want to guess which song to listen to. We will not feedback any songs outside Google Drive.
It’s very important we are able to listen as early as possible, the closer a song is to mastering, the more expensive it will be to make any changes. We do not want to give feedback on songwriting in the mixing phase. If we hear the song for the first time in a mixing phase, we will give feedback on all previous phases and it’s never fun for anyone to put a ton of time in just to get rejected.
We will be honest and we hope that you feel it’s okay for us to give constructive feedback. This is super important and we are only doing this to get the most out of our project together! If you don’t want feedback and prefer to just get a yes or no — all you have to do is notify us.
Please note: When we “reject” a song — it doesn’t mean you have to stop working on it. It does, however, mean that the track isn’t what we’re looking to work on together — and therefore we might deny the track a release date.
Please read carefully when we would like to give input on your songs and what we focus on below.
Market Compatability #
A song can be great, without getting approval from the market. Please read this guide about things that can spoil a release, even though the track is great:
How a Great Song Might Not Be Playlist-Compatible: Guidelines and Tips for Artists and Producers
Songwriting Phase #
In the songwriting phase, we are exploring your sound and evaluating demos and pre-productions that you or a songwriter sends to us. We would like to give approve the song before we proceed into the Recording Phase. Time period: 1 week–6 months.
Common pitfalls #
- Artist/Songwriter doesn’t find inspiration and the phase is taking longer time than expected.
- Doesn’t have the equipment to record and communicate the ideas to the team.
When #
- Whenever you have something to show but before the recording starts.
We give you feedback on the #
- Songwriting of the track
- How it aligns with your artist identity
- Priority of songs
- Potential reference music, i e similar songs you could be inspired by.
Files #
Depending on the quality of the demos, the files should be placed either in:
- 0.Demos (Early stage demos)
- 1. Pre Production (Later stage demos)
Process #
- Upload the songs to Google Drive – Demos folder.
- Send an email to mathias@rexiusrecords.com with a direct link to the drive folder.
- The whole team at Rexius are listening to your demo and gives input on which songs we would like to focus on going working further with.
- Feedback is sent out to the artist via Rexius Globi, along with our recommendation.
We recommend that you #
- Proceed with the demo to recording phase (Accepted)
- Update demo with feedback from us (Update)
- Focus on other tracks, as we don’t see the potential of this specific track in comparison to the other music you make (Rejection)
Recording Phase #
In the recording phase, the music is recorded in a professional studio and ends with us approving the recordings before sending the songs to a mixing engineer. Time period: 1 week–12 months.
Common pitfalls #
- Taking longer time than expected. Usually, time flies in the studio depending on how well-rehearsed, and how developed the songs are.
- Booked studio days are not sufficient. The producer might be booked the coming weeks and it takes time to find a bookable date in the future. (the whole project will be delayed)
- Not keeping the Rexius team in the loop during this period due to studio stress and a busy mind.
Process #
- Upload songs to Recording folder in Drive.
- Artist notifies via email to mathias@rexiusrecords.com with a link to the file
- Mathias and/or the team goes through the arrangements and recording quality within 7 days.
- Feedback is sent out to the artist via Rexius Globi, along with our recommendation
We recommend that you #
- Proceed to Mixing (Accepted)
- Update recording with feedback from us (Update)
Mix/Mastering Phase #
In the mixing phase we’ll finish the songs into mastered files ready for release. Here, we will choose songs for eventual single releases, set album names and the perfect time to start working on cover artworks. When masters and cover is done, we will have the release brief and discuss all the stuff regarding the release so that you in this phase only need to focus on the finishing of your music. Time Period: 1 month–3 months.
Common pitfalls #
- Expecting the mix phase to be done in a week or two.
- Expecting mix engineer to send revisions as soon as sending the feedback.
- Not keeping the Rexius team in the loop.
- Naming the files in a vague way such as crappy song mix.wav. Please set the correct song name + version + date. Such as Smoke On The Water – Mix 3 – 2019-03-14.wav
- Starting the artwork project too late/too early. The optimal starting time for cover arts is when singles are chosen/album name is set in stone.
- Not showing us anything until the song is completely mastered.
- “Trying” stuff in the mix, asking the producer to try just this sound when you are in revision 5. Start with setting the sound you want, then follow through.
- Discussing release dates when “just some small details remains”. The small details quite often end up in a month or two.
- Not uploading all versions that we request such as instrumental, a cappella etc.
- Not finishing all songs before releasing music. This will divide the focus and has the potential to be very stressful for a band.
First mix gate #
Process #
- Upload song to Mixes folder in Drive
- Artist / Mixer notifies via email with a link to the file in drive
- Mathias or genre-specific feedbacker will listen to the mix and gives feedback within 7 days.
- Feedback is sent out to the artist via Rexius Globi, along with our recommendation.
We recommend that you.. #
- Proceed with mixing with feedback from us (Accepted)
- Change mixing engineer (Update)
- Focus on other tracks, as we don’t see the potential of this specific track in comparison to the other music you make (Rejection)
Last mix gate #
Process #
- Artist / Producer notifies via email with an updated version of the mix without a limiter. Keep the same headroom you’d deliver to a mastering engineer with. (-6db)
- Mathias & Albert listen to the final mix
- Feedback is sent out to the artist via Rexius Globi, along with our recommendation, along with our recommendation
We recommend that you.. #
- Proceed to Mastering (Accepted)
- Update mix with feedback from us (Update)
- Focus on other tracks, as we don’t see the potential of this specific track in comparison to the other music you make (Rejection)
Master gate #
When #
- When you & the producer are happy with the Master
We give you feedback on #
- Master is optimized for best listening experience on Spotify, Apple music, YouTube and other relevant playback formats. Optimal loudness i -14LUFS. Stick to it.
Files #
- In Google Drive: 4. Final (Only songs approved by artists ready to be distributed)
Process #
- Artist/Mixer notifies via email with an updated version
- Mathias & Albert listen to the mastering technicalities
- The whole teams listens to the final song.
- If accepted, the track moves into the release queue and is sent to Albert for complete review (press photos, cover artwork, press releases etc). He’ll then notify you if there’s anything missing for a release date to be set.
We recommend that you.. #
- Proceed to Release (Accepted)
- Update master with feedback from us (Update)
- Focus on other tracks, as we don’t see the potential of this specific track in comparison to the other music you make. Since the track is mastered, we’ll keep it in stock for future releases — but right now this isn’t what we’re looking to release together. (Rejection)
Requirements finished songs #
Files should be in the right place in Project Google Drive:
- 0. Demos
- 1. Pre Production
- 2. Raw Recording (All finished recordings goes here)
- 3. Mixes (All mix versions goes here, along with older master versions)
- 4. Final (Only songs approved by Rexius Records & Artists ready to be distributed)
Filetypes: Of all final versions: WAV + MP3 320 kbps (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MP3#Bit_rate)
Versions: Original + Instrumental + Acapella
Tagging: Every song should be named with track order + song title + version. For example: 1. Sympathy for the devil – Original.
Distribution Standard WAV requirements #
- Supported format is WAV (PCM)
- Bitrate not lower than 1.4Mbps
- Sampling rate not lower than 44.1KHz
- Bits per sample must be 16 or 24
- Minimum 2 channels (stereo)
- Should originate from a high-quality source