# The Mastering Show #102 - What IS 'translation' in mastering ?

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mastering-show-1105611/the-mastering-show-102-what-is-translation-in-mastering
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mastering-show-1105611/the-mastering-show-102-what-is-translation-in-mastering.md
Podcast: [The Mastering Show](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-mastering-show-1105611)
Published: 2025-10-23T02:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.themasteringshow.com
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6547f71b-fc12-4ae7-93de-03f5fc96b21a.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-mastering-show-1105611/episodes/the-mastering-show-102-what-is-translation-in-mastering
Duration seconds: 1829

## Resource

Translation is one of the main goals of mastering - make the music sound great on any platform, and any delivery format. But how is that possible ? How can we optimise the audio to sound great on both a huge PA and crappy earbuds, or via any data-encoded stream, when we don't have any control over those playback systems or streaming platforms ? The answer to this paradox is deceptively simple - and powerful. In this episode I explain the common misconception of what 'translation' is; what the term really means to me, and share three simple suggestions to help you get your music to translate - on any playback system. Full links on our website: www. themasteringshow.com/episode-102 Mentioned in this episode: Leapwing Find out more about Leapwing's plugins Learn to master ! Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources Mastering Click HERE to work with Ian

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## Transcript

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