The [COMPRESSED] history of mastering

You might remember our podcast episode where David MacDonald and Philip Rothman discussed the terms “sample rate”, “bit depth”, and “bit rate”, and what to make of them when you see them appear in your favorite music notation program.
In this episode, we explore those concepts even further thanks to our friends at Twenty Thousand Hertz, a podcast that tells the stories behind the world’s most recognizable and interesting sounds.
Join us on a musical journey from the Golden Age of analog mastering to the digital methods of today. We’ll find out why the music industry became obsessed with loudness, and learn how the digital era transformed the way that music sounds. Along the way, you’ll hear from experts in the subtle but critical art of mastering, and you’ll hear examples of these technical concepts as they make their way into the music you already know, and might create yourself in the future.
Part 2 from Twenty Thousand Hertz: The Loudness Wars
More from Scoring Notes: Sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, and you(r ears)
Video: “Sample rate, bit depth, bit rate, and you(r ears)” video by David MacDonald
The Twenty Thousand Hertz portion of this episode was written and produced by Casey Emmerling.
Artwork provided by Michael Zhang.
Music featured in this episode

Isn’t it Strange by Spirit City
Stand Up by Soldier Story
Lonely Light Instrumental by Andrew Judah
Who We Are by Chad Lawson
No Limits Instrumental by Royal Deluxe
Crush by Makeup and Vanity Set
Rocket Instrumental by Royal Deluxe
Light Blue by UTAH
Love is Ours Instrumental by Dansu
Shake This Feeling Instrumental by Kaptan
Wrongthink by Watermark High
Rocket Instrumental by Johnny Stimson
Lola Instrumental by Riley and the Roxies
Quail and Robot Convo by Sound of Picture
Twenty Thousand Hertz is produced out of the studios of Defacto Sound, and hosted by Dallas Taylor.
Check out Ian Shepherd’s podcast The Mastering Show.
Check out Greg Milner’s book, Perfecting Sound Forever.