The Mastering Gauntlet is a brand new, radical approach to an age old industry practice.  Two mastering engineers will  go head-to-head, competing for the most approvals of their masters during the month of August.  The artists get FREE mastering and a chance at winning some amazing production prizes to take their sounds and workflow to the next level.  The losing engineer donates $250 to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.

When I pitched this concept to Christian, engineer, and owner of Envious Audio, he was immediately behind it.  Together, this project has absolutely taken off.  We want to make this thing amazing for everyone involved.

My vision for this endeavor is to supercharge your potential for generating your own success, because this is one of the hardest industries to build a sustainable career in. I speak from both personal and professional experience when I say that.

The Mastering Gauntlet’s backstory

A little over a year ago, I was diagnosed with moderate depression.  This was only after suffering silently for years in stagnation.  I know what it’s like to face the feeling of being a failure because I wasn’t where I imagined I would be, and felt like I was letting my family down.  I had been grinding for years and felt like I was going nowhere.  The harder I worked at what I wanted, the further out in the distance it began to feel. 

I still feel the slight tinge of guilt for admitting this, but there was indeed times where I had suicidal thoughts.  That’s when I realized it was time to get some help.  I saw doctors, therapists, community centers, and started working on it.

I started making some drastic life-style changes all around.  I’ve seen positive results since then and I can attest not just from experience, but from the reinforced consensus from numerous personal development and business advice podcasts: any vision or dream requires immediate, massive action in order for it to become a reality.

What’s staggering to me is the high figures of those affected by some sort of mental illness in the creative arts communities!

What’s so important about this challenge?

This challenge is about growth, opportunity, and massive, immediate action.  If I can only convey one message, it’s that nothing worth doing in life is without risk.  As creatives, we’re all self-aware enough to question whether this will all work out, but the differentiating factor is what you do with your time.  I want to prove that it’s possible to reach your success, but also be self-aware enough to not break your own mental health.  I’ll be developing free video content on my mastering process for each song I master during the challenge, as well as discussing some strategies to prevent things like burnout, and other mental health checks that can plague us creatives if they’re not kept in check.

As this program expands, I plan to work with future sponsors to really put some rocket fuel into every contestant’s momentum!  From production assets, tools, to mixing and mastering, distribution, advertising and marketing services, and even growth and coaching seminars, retreats, and programs.

The benefits get even greater!.  We have some free resources, and special thank-you content in store for those who sign up.  We’re both excited to be taking this challenge and making it something really special for the music communities.  Let me know what you think about this opportunity in the comments below.  Until next time, happy productions!