If there's any truth to this
http://www.forbes.com/profile/shelly-yakus/ olpal, it would make sense. I made more money in 2011 than he did and you probably did too. In 2012, he's probably in worse shape.
I'll tell you this though...and I mean this sincerely...there ain't no way you'll get a REAL master that will be done right with those prices. Seriously....I don't care who the dude is and who he's worked with...there's no way he would spend the time it should take to master something and do it for those prices unless GC is giving him some sort of kickback or whatever.
I know the dude knows his stuff and is a good ME. We worked with him a few times in the past. That said, me being involved in this field to the extent that I am, there's no way I could master something the right way at those prices. If you sent me 30 seconds worth of audio, it would take me nearly the same amount of time to master it as it would a 4 minute song.
For example, here is how I do things here and this is how long they take for one song.
Phase 1 Editing to pre-master: I check for all clicks, pops, oscillations, remove DC's and manually level the audio. This alone can take 30 minutes to an hour per song depending on what needs to be done. You want all this stuff to be taken care of first before you master the material so it's in its best form.
Phase 2 the actual mastering procedure: This will take anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour or more for the first song.
Phase 3 finalization: Sample rate conversion, bit rate dithering, limiting and final tweaks. This takes about 15 minutes give or take.
Phase 4 listening: I listen through 3 different systems and do a headphone check. This takes about a half hour.
There's no way I can be this thorough for $30 even if I'm Bob Ludwig. So you better believe you'd be getting a stripped down version of a mastering job. Granted, maybe I'm just overly anal in my procedures and work ethics....but to me, every client's song becomes one of mine when my name goes on it. I'd not release something of mine that I wasn't happy with so I'd not release something for someone else either.
Another thing I do that I didn't even include here....every person that comes to me gets a listening session from me that is included in my package. If the song needs work before I master it, I tell them what to fix and how to fix it. They don't have to listen to my advice, but it's there if they need it. Something like this could go on for 2 or 3 days before they get the mix right. I don't mind doing it and they learn in the process. You're only as good as the material you work on....it's best when that material is in the best shape it can be in before it gets mastered. This is why I have so many repeat customers.
Too many ME's rip them off with "quick mastering" where they treat it like a job instead of what is in the best interest of the client and the material. There's no way anyone is going to master something for $30 and be as accurate as they should be nor would they be getting the quality Tom Petty would be getting if HIS material was being mastered. It has to be a stripped down version. I'm interested in trying this myself just to see how good the job is. Rest assured though....unless he has tools that I don't, it ain't gonna be anything but a little eq and limiting.
-Danny