Sterling Sound
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1975
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Sterling Sound does
Sterling Sound is a privately held audio mastering studio with more than 50 years of operating history, headquartered in Edgewater, New Jersey, with a second studio in Nashville, Tennessee and engineer presence in Los Angeles. The firm provides three core mastering services — stereo mastering, Dolby Atmos immersive audio mastering, and vinyl pre-mastering — to recording artists, producers, and record labels across major genres including pop, rock, country, hip-hop, R&B, and K-Pop. Its roster of approximately 16 senior and mastering engineers has collectively accumulated 15 Grammy wins and 84 nominations, and the firm's public discography exceeds 12,000 mastered projects.
The business runs on a direct-to-artist/label model: clients book engineers online through the Sterling Sound website and submit source files via Sterling Transfers, a proprietary upload platform hosted at my.sterling-sound.com. Pricing is project-based, with payment due at time of booking, and quote handling is performed by a team of project managers rather than via disclosed public rate cards. Revenue mechanics are therefore one-time project fees rather than recurring subscriptions or licenses, with reputation and word-of-mouth serving as the primary demand-generation channel alongside a searchable public discography that functions as a top-of-funnel SEO asset.
The company is independently owned with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, subsidiaries, or M&A activity. Geographic reach is global in client base — with documented projects across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (Japan, Korea, China, Australia), and South America — but operational footprint remains US-centered across the Edgewater, Nashville, and LA engineer locations.
Sterling Sound firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Sterling Sound
- Legal name
- Sterling Sound
- Website
- https://sterling-sound.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1975
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Sterling Sound industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Audio Mastering Services
- NAICS
- Other Sound Recording Industries (51229)
- SIC
- Musical Instruments (3931)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Audio Engineering Services (Tracking, Mixing, Mastering) (MPAIAHAD)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Audio Mastering & Deliverables (Loudness/Compliance, Printmasters, Stems) (MPAHAEAL)
Keywords
Where Sterling Sound is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Sterling Sound business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Mastering Services: Project-based mastering services for individual tracks, albums, and EPs. Pricing based on track count and format requirements (stereo, Atmos, vinyl).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Standard mastering project pricing |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Sterling Sound product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Sterling Sound is a professional audio mastering studio offering stereo mastering, Dolby Atmos immersive audio mastering, and vinyl pre-mastering for music releases. Services are delivered by Grammy-winning engineers from studios in Edgewater, NJ and Nashville, TN, serving recording artists, producers, and record labels worldwide. The studio accepts bookings directly through its website and uses a proprietary file transfer platform (Sterling Transfers) for secure submission of source audio.
Product overview
Sterling Sound is an audio mastering studio offering professional mastering services across three core offerings: stereo mastering, Dolby Atmos immersive audio mastering, and vinyl mastering. The company operates two studio locations in Edgewater, NJ and Nashville, TN, staffed by 15 engineers including senior mastering engineers and mastering engineers. The studio provides an online booking system and Sterling Transfers, a proprietary file upload platform for clients to submit source files securely. Services target recording artists, producers, and labels seeking professional audio post-production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Sterling Transfers: Online transfer booking service for the company's mastering services
Products and services
- Stereo Mastering Professional stereo audio mastering services for music recordings, ensuring optimal sound quality and consistency across playback systems for albums, EPs, and singles.
- Dolby Atmos Mastering Immersive audio mastering for Dolby Atmos spatial audio format, enabling three-dimensional sound experiences for supported streaming and playback platforms.
- Vinyl Mastering Specialized audio mastering optimized for vinyl record production, including RIAA equalization and format-specific processing for physical media releases.
- Sterling Transfers Online file upload and transfer platform (my.sterling-sound.com) that allows clients to securely submit source audio files for mastering projects.
Quantifiable outcome
- Turnaround time of 3-5 business days for most masters
Companies that use Sterling Sound
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Sterling Sound technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
Sterling Sound partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Sterling Sound competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Abbey Road Studios: Iconic London-based studio offering mastering alongside recording, mixing, and post-production. Competes for high-end international releases but offers a much broader service portfolio.
- Capitol Studios: Major-label-owned (Universal) full-service studio in Hollywood offering mastering alongside recording and mixing. Competes for major label mastering work without focusing solely on mastering.
Emerging players
- EngineEars: Online marketplace and mastering platform connecting artists with engineers, including premium options. An emerging digital-first competitor that competes for the indie artist segment of Sterling's client base.
- LANDR: AI-driven automated mastering platform targeting independent artists with low-cost, fast-turnaround delivery. Disrupts the lower end of the mastering market that Sterling's independent artist segment competes in.
- iZotope (Ozone Mastering Suite): Provides AI-assisted mastering tools (Ozone, Mastering Assistant) used by mixing engineers and producers in-house. Threatens the in-studio mastering step for projects where the mix engineer self-masters.
Direct peers
- The Lodge Mastering: NYC-area mastering studio operated by Emily Lazar and Rich Hilton. Direct peer targeting premium label mastering with overlapping engineer-driven branding model.
- Masterdisk Mastering Studios: Long-established NYC-area mastering studio (founded 1973) serving record labels and artists with a similar roaster-of-engineers model. Direct head-to-head on East Coast premium mastering work.
- Gateway Mastering Studios: Independent mastering studio based in Portland, Maine, founded by Bob Ludwig. Competes for the same premium label/artist mastering projects, particularly in rock and classical genres.
- Bernie Grundman Mastering: Hollywood-based mastering studio with a similar star-engineer led approach (named founder Bernie Grundman). Direct competitor for major-label pop, hip-hop, and soundtrack mastering.
Regional players
- Marcussen Mastering: Long-standing mastering studio in Los Angeles serving film, classical, and indie projects. US-based regional peer with overlapping genre breadth but different geographic focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Sterling Sound social profiles
Digital presenceSterling Sound financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Sterling Sound leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles15 records
Sterling Sound funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Sterling Sound M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Sterling Sound
What does Sterling Sound do?
Sterling Sound is a professional audio mastering studio offering stereo mastering, Dolby Atmos immersive audio mastering, and vinyl pre-mastering for music releases. Services are delivered by Grammy-winning engineers from studios in Edgewater, NJ and Nashville, TN, serving recording artists, producers, and record labels worldwide. The studio accepts bookings directly through its website and uses a proprietary file transfer platform (Sterling Transfers) for secure submission of source audio.
Is Sterling Sound a public or private company?
Sterling Sound is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Sterling Sound founded?
Sterling Sound was founded in 1975. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Sterling Sound based?
Sterling Sound is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Sterling Sound make money?
One revenue line is on record: mastering Services.
Who are Sterling Sound's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Abbey Road Studios and Capitol Studios. Emerging players are EngineEars, LANDR and iZotope (Ozone Mastering Suite). Direct peers are The Lodge Mastering, Masterdisk Mastering Studios, Gateway Mastering Studios and Bernie Grundman Mastering. Marcussen Mastering is listed as a regional player.
Does Sterling Sound have an API?
No public API is recorded for Sterling Sound.
What industry is Sterling Sound in?
Sterling Sound's product category is Audio Mastering Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIAHAD, Audio Engineering Services (Tracking, Mixing, Mastering), with a secondary code of MPAHAEAL, Audio Mastering & Deliverables (Loudness/Compliance, Printmasters, Stems). Its NAICS code is 51229 and its SIC code is 3931.