Enrichment · Arts and Creativity

Finish the track,
not just the loop.

Most songs stall between a great eight bars and a finished master. Keep each track’s tempo, key, stage and target date, every part with its status, your master’s loudness and true peak, sample and split status, and eight mix checks in one record. The organizer shows how the master will sit on streaming services and what still blocks release.

Add a trackWhat you get
$5one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $5

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Arts & Creativity collection, $69 for 38 items.

Tracks

The worked example is made up: a lo-fi beat in mixing, a pop remix in mastering and a band demo. Saved on this device only.

Loading the track form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Enrichment · Arts & Creativity$5

What you finish with
A record per track: title, genre, tempo, key, stage and target date, parts with source and status, integrated loudness and true peak, sample and split status, and eight mix and release checks. Counts parts done and how far streaming normalization will move the master; shows tracks by stage and next targets; flags uncleared samples, an over-loud master, a true peak above -1 dBTP, an unsigned split sheet, open parts near the date and a late target.
Who it is for
Student and hobby producers, songwriters and bands, and music technology teachers running production projects.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per track. Prints one track sheet, all tracks in a table or a blank sheet for the studio wall; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$5 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Arts & Creativity collection ($69) and the Enrichment Suite pass ($119), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Arts & Creativity space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Add the track as soon as the idea has a tempo and key.
  2. List the parts and mark each one as you go.
  3. Set a target date for the current stage.
  4. Before mastering, run the mix checks; after, enter the loudness and true peak.
  5. Clear samples and sign splits before release.

Add a track

Stages and standards

From idea to release1Idea and demoCapture the hook, the tempoand the key before it slips2TrackingRecord or program every part;name and save each take.3EditingTiming, tuning and choosingtakes, before any mixing.4MixingBalance, space and tone; checkin mono and on small speakers.5MasteringFinal level and tone; aim near-14 LUFS, peaks at -1 dBTP.6ReleaseSamples cleared, splitssigned, credits and filesFrom idea to release1Idea and demoCapture the hook, the tempo and the keybefore it slips away.2TrackingRecord or program every part; name andsave each take.3EditingTiming, tuning and choosing takes,before any mixing.4MixingBalance, space and tone; check in monoand on small speakers.5MasteringFinal level and tone; aim near -14 LUFS,peaks at -1 dBTP.6ReleaseSamples cleared, splits signed, creditsand files ready.
The last stage is paperwork, and it is the one that stops releases. Clearing samples and signing splits early saves the track.

Loudness normalization

Most streaming services play tracks at a set loudness: Spotify and YouTube at about -14 LUFS integrated by default, Apple Music at about -16. A master pushed to -7 LUFS is simply turned down, and the squashed dynamics stay.

Two copyrights in every sample

A sampled recording carries two rights: the sound recording (usually the label) and the composition (the songwriters and publisher). Clearing a sample means permission for both, or replaying the part and clearing only the composition.

Split sheets

A split sheet records who wrote the song and in what shares. It is easiest to sign the day the song is written, and it is what publishers and collecting societies ask for when royalties are paid.

Sources

  1. ITU-R Recommendation BS.1770-4 (2015). Algorithms to measure audio programme loudness and true-peak audio level.
  2. Spotify for Artists, Loudness normalization: how it works and mastering guidance (artists.spotify.com).
  3. AES TD1008 (2021). Recommendations for loudness of internet audio streaming and on-demand distribution. Audio Engineering Society.
  4. U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 56: Copyright Registration for Sound Recordings; and Circular 56A on musical works and sound recordings (copyright.gov).

The worked example is made up. Loudness figures are service defaults as generally published and can change; this organizer is not legal advice about samples or royalties. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.