$100 flat, on top of the per-track mastering rate. If you’re pressing physical CDs, the plant needs a proper master — either a Master CDR or a DDP image — not a folder of WAVs.
Do you need this?
- Pressing CDs at a replication plant — yes.
- Short-run duplication (burned CDRs) — usually yes; ask your duplicator what they accept.
- Digital-only release — no. Skip this and keep the $100 for another day.
What a CD master contains that WAV files don’t
A Red Book audio CD is more than the audio. The master carries:
- PQ codes — the exact start, end and index points for every track, plus the gaps between them. This is what makes track 4 start where you want it and lets a cross-faded album play continuously.
- ISRC codes — the per-track identifiers that royalty collection and streaming services use. If you have them, they go in; if you don’t, I’ll point you at where to register them.
- UPC/EAN — the release barcode, embedded in the disc’s table of contents. Same deal: I don’t obtain these for you, but I’ll show you where to get one.
- CD-Text — artist and title info that shows up on car stereos and compatible players. (Note: this is not what makes titles appear in Apple Music or on your computer — see below.)
- A full error check — the master is played back in real time and verified for C1/C2 errors before it leaves the studio. A bad master gets replicated a thousand times.
DDP vs. Master CDR
DDP (Disc Description Protocol) is a set of files that describes the finished disc exactly — audio, PQ, codes, text. It’s what replication plants actually want: no disc to get scratched in the mail, no read errors, and it comes with a checksum so the plant can prove they got exactly what I sent. You upload it or I send it directly. This is what I always recommend.
Master CDR is the same content burned to a physical disc on a dedicated burner and verified. It’s rare these days, but some plants and short-run duplicators still need one; if yours does, I can provide it.
More likely than not, your plant accepts DDP. If you’re not sure, send me their spec sheet and I’ll tell you.
CD-Text vs. Gracenote / CDDB
This is the one that confuses everyone. CD-Text lives on the disc and shows up on compatible CD players and car stereos. Track names in Apple Music, Windows Media Player, or a computer come from an online database (Gracenote CDDB), which reads the disc’s fingerprint and looks it up. The disc can’t put itself in that database — you have to submit it, which is free:
- Gracenote via the Apple Music app (formerly iTunes): insert the finished disc, enter the track names, then choose Submit CD Track Names.
- AllMusic: use the AllMusic submission page for the credits database.
Do this with a finished, replicated disc, not the master.
What to send
Nothing extra beyond the mixes: the CD master is built from the finished masters. What I need from you is the running order, the gap lengths, ISRC and UPC codes if you have them, and the exact artist/title spelling for CD-Text.