I'm the author of Step By Step Mixing: How to Create Great Mixes Using Only 5 Plug-ins, and the founder of Audio Issues. I'm here to help you confidently finish your mixes so you can proudly release your songs.
Since 2009, I've taught thousands of musicians make a bigger impact with their music by teaching them how to produce themselves in their home studio.
I've written over 1,000 articles and tutorials on audio production, both on Audio Issues and for other audio publications such as MusicTech magazine, SAE Institute, Audiotuts+, The Pro Audio Files, and Recording Revolution to name a few.
I started Audio Issues back in 2009 as a way of remembering all of the audio engineering topics I was learning in school. I never realized that my training would go on to help thousands of home studio musicians all over the world.
Check out the screenshot below of where my subscribers are from! Talk about a diverse audience!
My materials have helped countless musicians, engineers and producers gain the confidence and skills to make professional music that stands up to the records you hear on the radio. But more importantly, they’ve used my techniques to actually finish their mixes and proudly release their songs so that other people can hear them.
Whether they’re working in rock, pop, folk, country, EDM or hip-hop, they’ve all gained the confidence to proudly to release their records.
If you’re anything like my students when they first started out, you’ve got a basic understanding of music production. You can find your way around your DAW and record your song ideas. You know the basics of putting your tracks together to make a mix.
But you don’t know whether your mixes are good enough.
You like how they sound, but when you play them side by side to your favorite records, your mixes don’t stand a chance.
Your mixes are quieter. The low-mids feel muddy. The vocals sound harsh. And you just know that your tracks can sound better. You know you’ve recorded your tracks well. Sometimes you’re even using the same samples as the songs you hear on Spotify or Soundcloud! But for some reason, your songs just don’t sound professional enough.
So you don't finish anything.
That's the sad part. Some people stop short of releasing their music because they get crushed by imposter syndrome.
Maybe you’re the same way?
One of my subscribers is a producer who’s been making beats and producing for other artists for 14 years but had never put out a record of his own because of crippling self-doubt.
He told me that the more he listened to his mix, the more he wanted to put it back in the “Hard Drive Graveyard” with all the others.
He finally realized that the only way to grow and develop as a musician was to step out of his comfort zone and let the song into the world.
He shared with me,
“Honestly when I saw my song on Spotify it was a HUGE weight lifted off my shoulders, it’s like I let the song go and now I really don’t have all those worries that I had before. I love the song and when I put it out I got some great feedback on it. I can now check that one off the list and move on to my next project. “
So many of my students have achieved this that I even created a Spotify playlist of all the people who said my tips had helped them release their music. It makes for quite the eclectic playlist, and that’s something that makes me even happier.
You know that when you’ve finished your songs you should release them.
Releasing your music should be motivating and exciting. Seeing your songs come out on streaming platforms should make you feel elated.
You know this to be true, but still, your song sits there unfinished.
It breaks my heart to know how some people stop short of releasing their music just because they get crushed by imposter syndrome.
I have a student who struggles with this so much it's stalled his career. He has songs in the final stages of being ready. They’re mixed, but he thinks there is more that can be done.
He’s even had legit producers check out his productions. The producer told him to release it because the mix sounded great but he still felt like there is more he could do.
He’s trapped in a downward spiral of self-criticism because he can’t call them finished, even though he’s noticed significant improvement from when he started!
I don’t know how often I’ve heard the same frustrations from my subscribers.
Whenever they pull up a new song to finish, they struggle to get a good balance between the instruments. They try to make everything fit together in the frequency spectrum but making everything cut through is like a juggling eighteen bowling balls, five knives, and your Grandma’s antique porcelain plates.
But what if you don't need to figure all this stuff out on your own?
You don't have to miss out on the feeling of achievement from seeing your song everywhere.
It’s a thrill to see your songs, album art, and credits online after all the work you’ve put into the production process.
Best of all, everybody can hear it, wherever they are in the world. Having your music on an international music app for everyone to listen to is simply amazing.
You realize how much fun it is and you get ambitious to do it again. Once you’ve released your records, you can proudly say, “yeah, I’m on Spotify. I’m on Apple Music. You can find me there.”
Audio Issues Insiders is an online community and ever-growing library of music production resource from industry experts that helps you gain the confidence to help you create professional music you can be proud to release into the world.
Don't get stuck with your productions when you need help. As an Insider, you have access to music production courses that help you produce, record, arrange and mix your music. No matter where you are in the production process, we have materials to help you break through your mental music block and get to the next level.
Learn mixing tricks from real-life mixing sessions to improve your records. Get access to a library of practice multi-tracks and mix walkthroughs of various genres to help you practice your skills and improve your own mixes so that you can finish, release and promote your next song, EP, or album.
Feedback Fridays are our regular live group calls that give you dedicated mix feedback to help you make your mixes translate to every speaker. Rub shoulders with like-minded musicians and engineers to learn new tricks and techniques to make your next song your best.
Promoting your music doesn't have to be agonizing. These Music Promotion Masterclasses will help you improve your online presence, even if you dislike social media and find it hard to get followers. Learn how to create quality content to share your music skills, effective email marketing to engage with your subscribers, and simple social media strategies to find your audience.
Join a supportive membership community of like-minded musicians and audio engineers who help each other succeed. Join us and ask questions, interact with your peers, get feedback on your recordings and collaborate with each other on your songs to help you keep your music momentum going. Get your specific questions answered so you can improve your sounds.
Interacting with a community that's going through the same process as you means that you always have a place to ask questions, get answers and interact with your peers in the community.
"Audio Issues Insiders helped me focus more on the things that matter, rather than relying on ears and trial and error-things alone. What I like most about it is the way the content is written and provided and the very open approach to others."
"Audio Insiders has fast-tracked my growth as a mixer and producer. I love the sense of community around Feedback Friday. It's inspiring to--metaphorically speaking--rub shoulders with like-minded people and learn from one another. I personally love Audio Issues Insiders."
"I joined to learn more about mixing and mastering. Feedback from other members has given me the confidence to share my music and the sense of community and the Feedback Friday sessions is what I love the most about Insiders"
Listen to Eric's story about his year of working with us in the Insiders community to hone his skills with music production and engineering. When he joined, he wasn't sure about his skills but he didn't want to keep paying for expensive studio time because he wanted total control over his music. Since joining he has become confident with his mixing and engineering skills and his music has allowed him to start charging for his work as a professional engineer.
"I've been very impressed by Bjorgvin's tutorials, and he's a great person. Bjorgvin's webinars are informative and engaging, and he's responsive to questions. The live and recorded sessions where Bjorgvin imparts mixing and promotion information is my favorite part of Insiders. I also like the Audio Issues Insiders community. A lot of talent in here. "
"I joined Insiders because I needed help. And I needed something to start with that wasn't too costly, your offer seemed exactly the appropriate setting for me and it proved to be a really good decision. Audio Issues Insiders has given me more confidence in mixing and encouragement to challenge marketing. Honestly for the price its awsome!! I guess I'd have to hug you first once I get to meet you in person;-)"
"Audio Issues Insiders gave me much greater confidence in my mixes leading me to several songs that are now release-ready (after several years of dithering and never finishing a mix). Björgvin's methods of teaching/sharing information but also the friendly community amongst other Audio Issue Insiders. Finding like-minded folk has been a great inspiration."
Check out this live interview we did on Facebook and Youtube about Insiders, what it means to me, what other Insiders are getting out of it, and what you can expect when you join.
Check out the Insiders Only area where you can watch the mix finishing course, learn mixing tips from the mix walkthroughs, join coaching calls for mix feedback and expert advice, learn production from the Bedroom Producer program, and get your singles released for free!
With this much content inside the Insiders community, it's not surprising that you may feel overwhelmed. However, there's no need to worry because you'll get custom guidance as soon as you join. The first thing you do when you become an Insider is to book an Action call with me. In these 20 minute calls you'll tell me exactly what you're struggling with and what you're looking to learn and I'll give you a personal path to follow through the Insiders community so that you can get results fast.
Yes! I'm Ready to Become an InsiderWhen you join Insiders, you'll get instant access to the Mix Finishing Fundamentals course to help you finally finish that mix you're working on.
Access to the exclusive, 1-hour Insiders-Only course on mastering your mixes.
Here's what you'll learn:
Get access to 9 different mix sessions of different genres where you learn exactly how to get to a finished mix, with new mix walkthroughs added all the time.
Here's what you'll learn, among other things:
Promoting your music doesn't have to be agonizing. You don't have to be put off by the whole "business" side of things. You've spent all this time on your music, you should give some thought into how to market it to reach an audience.
These Music Promotion Masterclasses will help you improve your online presence, even if you dislike social media, find it hard to get followers and hate the word "marketing."
How To Promote Your Music With Content on Social Media: If you're struggling to create web and social media content to promote your music, whether you're releasing your own songs or trying to get clients to hire you as an engineer/producer, this Content Marketing Masterclass will help you learn quick, easy, and practical methods of content creation that won't leave you feeling overwhelmed.
Email Marketing for Home Studio Musicians and Engineers: If you want to create and grow your email list to build a dedicated list of fans and followers but don't know where to start, this masterclass will help. Learn to put together entertaining email funnels designed to promote your music without spamming your audience or feeling sleazy. With these automatic sequences in place, they'll run in the background on autopilot while you focus on making more music.
How To Run Facebook and Instagram Ads to Grow Your Audience: If you're ready to start running paid ads to promote yourself as a musician, producer, or engineer, let me walk you through my Facebook and Instagram advertising system I've used for the last five years. I've spent over $100,000 on Facebook ads and learned a lot of lessons in the last five years that I can teach you so you don't waste any money running yours. You'll learn how to use lookalike audiences to narrow down your target market, how to use interest targeting to find the right people who are interested in what you have to say, how to create ads that people click on and how to A/B split test your ads to save money
After going through the Music Marketing Masterclasses you'll have all the knowledge you need to skyrocket your online presence.
"Setting up long-term goals and splitting them up in short and easy to cover bites (5 day rhythm) makes quite a bit of sense. I guess focussing on finishing the small steps on the way to releasing a track should be our major task. Thank you Björgvin for another motivating session. Thumbs up for delivering all the necessary info within 53 minutes (and answering questions ...). I'm looking forward to the next session." -Michael Schuster
"I did the release [Of Parts and Labor] through CDBaby. I've released albums with them before. Having a simple, all-in-one service that handled the UPC codes, distribution, royalty collection plus a nice storefront was invaluable. The payoff is hitting the “approve” button in CDBaby and watching your music roll out on Spotify, Amazon, ITunes, YouTube, etc. a few days later...There is very little in this world more soul satisfying then completing this long process with something you can feel proud of – something that is in the world forever."
The importance of the condenser microphone
How it differs from the dynamic microphone
Why condensers are great to use for capturing vocals, acoustic guitars and other acoustic instruments in your home studio.
How to use different polar patterns
How to use the bi-directional polar pattern to create a stronger dual vocal recording
How to use the polar pattern to minimize bleed from other instruments
How to set up your acoustic guitar to get the best sound at the source
How to find the sweet spot of the acoustic guitar to capture the most balanced sound of your instrument
How to avoid the horror story of an out-of-tune guitar
Where to place a microphone on the guitar to get the most optimum sound
How to find the right guitar for your productions
How to find the right spot for your acoustic guitar in the room
How to experiment with on and off-axis mic placement
How to get a wide stereo image using the M/S stereo technique to record the acoustic guitar
How to prepare your vocalist for a great recording session
How to make sure your vocalist is comfortable during the session
How to position the microphone in front of the vocalist
How to communicate effectively with the singer
How to find a good starting point for your vocal mic
Microphone placement ideas to get the best sound out of your vocalist
How to use acoustic treatment to get a better source sound
How to understand and reduce the acoustic reflections in your room from going into your vocal mic
How to use a pop filter to reduce the plosives while using it as a target for your singer -How to use the proximity effect to your advantage
If you're ever in a situation where you're recording a singer/songwriter that's more comfortable playing the guitar and singing at the same time, you might run into some unfortunate problems.
How to make sure you have the right guitar and amp for your productions
How to find the sweet spot on the electric guitar amp
How to find the right placement for your microphone in front of the guitar, depending on what kind of sound you're looking for
This course was co-created by Björgvin Benediktsson and Ed "Charles" Elefterion, one of Audio Issues Insiders' most talented multi-instrumentalist and arranger.
Here's What's Included in the Bedroom Producer Program:
If you're looking for a good workflow to quickly arrange and flesh out your songs from scratch, even if you're playing all the instruments yourself, the Bedroom Producer Program is for you.
"“Great series! I have learned SO much from you. This is very helpful. I also find it a little bit validating since this is pretty much the approach I adopted without the expert guidance. I am looking forward to the next one. One current song I'm working on has an intro that I just sort of threw in and have since decided doesn't work. So I wrote one I like better in a different key. It's been a bit of a struggle finding a good way to transition between the keys. Along the way I decided it would be helpful just to pay attention to how other songs start whether there is a separate intro or not. You get so used to hearing songs you like that you often don't pay much attention to that. Anyway -- great series! I have learned SO much from you. Thanks.”"
You're a home studio musician looking for guidance to finally release the songs you've been writing.
You're a bedroom producer looking to improve the quality of your tracks so that they compete with the professional records you compare your songs to.
You're an engineer looking to improve your skills and meet musicians to help you get to the next level.
You’re ready to take the final step in the production process and finally release your songs to be heard by the world.
You want to stop tweaking and over-analyzing every single mix move that paralyzes you and holds you back from finishing your work.
You want to join an awesome group of home studio musicians and project studio engineers who get to say, “Yeah you can hear my work online. It’s available anywhere you listen to music.”
You’re focused on the long-term success of your music - and you want to encourage and support like-minded musicians to succeed in the same way.
You’ve tried to go it alone but your self-doubt keeps you from overcoming your fears about whether your mixes are any good. You’re ready to get feedback to finally finish your songs.
You believe in helping other people share their music by collaborating, contributing and sharing your successes with your music.
As with all of the Audio Issues products, Audio Issues Insiders comes with a 100% risk-free money-back guarantee.
I want to give you 60 days to check out the community, browse the resources, join our calls and get a full sense of what you can gain from being an Insider before you make up your mind. Come hang out with us and if you don’t LOVE it, I’ll refund every penny.
I promise that the Insiders community will help you finally finish your mixes and release your songs so that you can feel proud to play them for your friends and promote them to your fans.
By taking the mixing course, watching the mix walkthroughs, getting feedback on your mixes, and following the online promotion advice inside, you'll know exactly what to do to transform your amateur demos into powerful and professional mixes that you can be proud to release.
There is a reason my students have told me that my training has "instantly improved their mixes." Your fans will love the new professional sounds you're releasing, and you'll impress every new client that comes to your studio because you'll easily show them how good you can make them sound.
I take my guarantee very seriously. I am not interested in keeping your money if you don’t learn anything from what I’m creating for you.
So if you’re not happy, I’m not happy. Simple as that.
The Audio Issues Insiders gives you instant access to all of the members-only content, like the Mix Finishing Formula video course, a library of multi-tracks and mix walkthroughs to learn new tips and tricks, advanced music promotion masterclasses to improve your online presence, the Bedroom Producer Program, exclusive Q&A call with industry professionals, and last but not least a supportive and encouraging community to help you feel confident about your music.
During Feedback Fridays you'll get in-depth feedback on your mixes. You submit your mix and I will listen to it through various speakers in my studio to check for any frequency or balance inconsistencies so that your mix is as good as it can be before you release it.
The coaching calls are different than anywhere else because you get direct access and interaction with me during your calls. They are NOT one-way webinar-style where you can only ask questions in a chat box. Instead, you get to ask questions and chat during your coaching time almost as if you were getting custom in-person coaching.
Great! A hobby is something you’re passionate about. An "amateur" musician is a lover of making music. If you want to be proud of the mixes you make in your free time as a hobby, you should know how to do it properly. And more importantly, you should treat is just as seriously as any job and release your work to the world. If that gives you anxiety, join Insiders and we'll help you get through it.
My students have released every style of music, from rock, country and folk to EDM, hip-hop, acid-jazz and pop. Insiders is designed to give you the knowledge, support, and encouragement to make you confident to release your songs, whatever genre you're working in.
Not at all. You can learn from the materials using whatever DAW you're most comfortable with. I use Logic Pro but all of the mixing techniques I show you through the membership materials can be done with any DAW.
This is where Audio Issues Insiders is different. You can certainly search for videos teaching you about mixing, but no Youtube video will give you the support and encouragement you need to proudly release your songs. Instead, you'll end up wading through poorly explained techniques, watching a bunch of ads and getting trolled in the comment section.
That's understandable. You've got a lot going on. A recurring membership is a lot because you don’t know how much time you have to go through the materials.
However, it’s riskier to produce music in a vacuum. If you make music by yourself you don’t get any feedback on your mixes so you don’t know how good they are.
When you join a group like Insiders, you’re more likely to be productive with the limited time you have. If you have a tendency of getting lost when you’re mixing, the accountability of the group can be a great asset to have. The group helps you keep the momentum going so that you finish more mixes and release more songs. Simple as that. And if you still don’t think you’re using Insiders enough, you can easily cancel at any time. Don’t chase your tail down a rabbit hole every time you work on your music. Join Insiders and start making an impact with your music today.
You'll have much more access to ongoing coaching and personal interaction than in any other VIP community. Many communities only have pre-loaded videos and one-way webinars where the teachers never bothers to get to know their students in person.
At Audio Issues Insiders you not only get group mix feedback and personal coaching when you need it, but you also get to actively participate in Q&A calls with industry experts, as if they were in the room with you.
You can easily cancel your account from inside your members dashboard.
1. Login to your account --> Go to your avatar at the top of the page
2. Select settings
3. Cancel account
You've worked hard on your songs.
You’ve written and recorded all the parts. You’ve mixed the song to the best of your abilities.
You’re ready to release them to the world because you hear the music on the radio and you know that your music is just as good - if not better.
I get it. Your time is limited, and joining groups can be risky because you don’t know how much you’ll use them.
However, it’s riskier to produce music in a vacuum. If you make music by yourself you don’t get any feedback so you don’t know how good it is.. When you join a group like Insiders, you’re more likely to be more productive with the limited time you have.
If you have a tendency of getting lost when you’re mixing, the accountability of the group can be a great asset to have. The group helps you keep the momentum going so that you finish more mixes and release more songs. Simple as that.
And if you still don’t think you’re using Insiders enough, you can easily cancel at any time. Don’t chase your tail down a rabbit hole every time you work on your music. Join Insiders and start making an impact with your music today.
If you want that immense feeling of satisfaction knowing that people have an easy way to listen to the music you release...If you want to see your music online and feel proud of a job well done...join Audio Issues Insiders today.
Looking forward to helping you make a bigger impact with your music.
Björgvin Benediktsson
Insiders is closed at the moment. Opens three times a year, make sure you sign up to the waiting list to get notified.
50% Complete
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.