Terms, policies & privacy.

1. Terms of Service

These terms apply to all mixing, mastering and related services ("the Services") provided online by Dan Donica ("the Engineer") to you ("the Client"). By submitting a project request or making a payment, you accept these terms.

1.1 Quotes & booking

Every project starts with a request through the project form or by email. The Engineer reviews your material and replies within 24–48 hours with feedback, a fixed quote and an estimated delivery date. Quotes are valid for 14 days. A booking is confirmed, and your slot in the schedule reserved, only once the required payment has been received.

1.2 Payment

There is no online checkout on this website: payment instructions are provided privately by email once you confirm your quote, together with a written summary of the agreed scope. Prices are quoted in EUR unless agreed otherwise; any transaction fees or taxes applicable in the Client's country are the Client's responsibility.

• Mixing and Mix + Master: a 50% deposit confirms the booking; the remaining balance is due upon the Client's approval of the mix, before final files are delivered.
• Mastering-only orders: paid in full to confirm the booking.
• Final files are delivered only once the full amount has been received.

1.3 Turnaround

Typical turnaround is 5–7 business days for a first mix and 48–72 hours for a master; the exact date is confirmed with your quote and may vary with the season's workload. The turnaround clock starts only when both (a) the deposit or payment and (b) complete, correctly prepared files (see File Preparation) have been received. Incomplete or incorrectly exported files pause the schedule until resolved.

1.4 Revisions

Mixing includes three (3) revision rounds and mastering includes two (2). Mix + Master includes three (3) revision rounds counted across the whole project, not per stage. A revision round is one consolidated list of change requests on the delivered version. Additional rounds are available at the current add-on rates: €59 per round on Mixing or Mix + Master projects, €39 per round on mastering.

Standard vocal cleanup and treatment is included in mixing packages. Extensive tuning, timing correction or heavy vocal editing is a separate scope and will be quoted before any work continues. Likewise, changes that alter the scope of the project (new recordings, new arrangement, replaced instrumentation, added tracks) are not revisions and will be quoted separately.

Revision requests should be submitted within 14 days of the most recent delivery; after that, reopening a project may require a session-restore fee.

1.5 Cancellations & refunds

• Cancellation before work has begun: full refund of amounts paid, minus non-recoverable transaction fees.
• Cancellation after work has begun: the deposit is non-refundable, as it covers work already performed and the reserved schedule slot.
• After final delivery: payments are non-refundable.
• If the Engineer must cancel a confirmed booking for any reason, all unearned amounts are refunded in full.

Creative taste is subjective; the included revision rounds exist precisely so the result can be shaped to your vision, and the balance for mix projects is only due once you approve the mix.

1.6 Delivery

Final delivery is made via download link once full payment is received. Standard delivery includes a 24-bit WAV master (44.1 kHz, or the sample rate your release requires) and an MP3 reference. Mix + Master projects include alternate versions on request: instrumental, acapella and performance (TV) track. Multitrack stems of the mix and DAW project files are not included in any package; grouped stems of the final master can be arranged as a separately quoted add-on. The Client is responsible for downloading and backing up all delivered files within 30 days; project sessions are archived for 6 months after final delivery, after which they may be permanently deleted.

1.7 Client responsibilities

• You confirm that you own, or are authorized to use, all material you submit, including recordings, samples, beats and any third-party content, and that engaging the Services does not infringe anyone else's rights.
• You keep complete backups of everything you send; files are transferred at your own risk.
• You prepare and export files according to the File Preparation guidelines.
• You provide feedback and approvals within a reasonable time so the schedule can hold.
• You indemnify the Engineer against claims arising from material you supplied.

1.8 Rights & credits

You retain 100% of the rights to your music, compositions and recordings; nothing in these terms transfers any ownership to the Engineer. Upon receipt of full payment, all rights in the delivered mix and/or master belong to you. A credit reading "Mixed by Dan Donica" (and/or "Mastered by Dan Donica") where credits are customary is warmly appreciated. The Engineer will reference your project publicly (portfolio, website, social media) only with your prior written permission.

1.9 Liability

The Services are provided with professional skill and care. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Engineer's total liability for any claim connected to a project is limited to the fees paid for that project. The Engineer is not liable for indirect losses, missed release dates caused by late or incorrect Client materials, or loss of files after the 30-day delivery window.

1.10 General

These terms may be updated from time to time; the version published at the start of your project applies to it. If any clause is found unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect. These terms are governed by the laws of [YOUR JURISDICTION].

2. Studio Policy

2.1 How the work happens

All work is carried out remotely and unattended: you don't need to be present while the song is processed, and that focus is exactly what you're paying for. Every deliverable arrives as a streaming preview first, so you can listen on your own systems and in your own time before anything is finalized. A live listening/review call for the final details can be arranged on request for the approval stage.

2.2 Communication

Email is the studio's official channel: quotes, confirmations, payment instructions, revision notes and approvals all happen in writing so both sides always have a clear record. You can expect a reply within 24–48 hours on business days. The most useful revision notes are specific and time-stamped: "vocal up 1 dB in the second chorus (1:42)" beats "make it better" every time, and there's a short guide for this in your welcome email.

2.3 Scheduling

Slots are booked in order of confirmed deposit. If your files arrive late or incomplete, your slot may be moved to the next available opening. Rush delivery, when available, is confirmed before booking, never promised after.

2.4 Additional production

Sometimes a mix benefits from more than mixing: replacing or layering a weak kick, reinforcing a sub, tightening a sound choice. Small technical enhancements like these are often included at the Engineer's discretion. Substantial additional production or creative intervention (new parts, arrangement changes, sound design) is a separate scope: it will always be proposed and quoted before it happens, together with any credit or publishing arrangements where applicable, never done silently.

2.5 Loudness & honesty

Masters are delivered at competitive commercial loudness appropriate to your genre and platform targets. If a requested loudness level would audibly damage the mix, the Engineer will say so and propose alternatives; you always make the final call on your own record.

3. File Preparation

Well-prepared files protect your schedule and your mix. Five minutes here saves days later, and if anything below is unclear, ask before exporting. Questions are free.

3.1 For mixing: export your stems

• Format: WAV or AIFF, 24-bit, at your session's sample rate (44.1 kHz or higher).
• Alignment: export every track from the very start of the session (bar 1 / 0:00), even where it's silent, so all stems line up perfectly.
• One file per track: solo each channel and bounce it individually. Avoid blanket "export all tracks" shortcuts if they change levels or drop effects.
• Master bus off: remove any processing from your master/output bus (limiters, EQ, "mastering" chains). Keep the channel processing that is part of your sound.
• Creative effects: print the effects you're committed to (tuned vocals, telephone EQ, artistic distortion). When in doubt on a key element, especially lead vocals, send both a wet and a dry version.
• Levels: healthy but safe: peaks around −6 dB, no clipping anywhere. If tracks are quiet, raise them all equally to preserve your balance.
• Naming: clear and consistent ("Kick", "LeadVox", "LeadVox_dbl", "Synth_Pad_L"). Group files into folders such as Stems, Refs, Rough.

3.2 Always include

• Your current rough mix (it tells me your intended balance).
• 1–3 reference tracks, with a short note on what you love in each.
• Tempo (BPM) and key, if known; lyrics are welcome for vocal-forward songs.
• Any notes: moments you're proud of, moments that worry you, non-negotiables.

3.3 For mastering: export your mix

• One stereo WAV/AIFF, 24-bit (or 32-bit float), at the session's sample rate.
• Remove limiters and loudness maximizers from the master bus; leave gentle bus processing that is part of the mix's sound.
• Keep roughly 3–6 dB of headroom, with no clipping.

3.4 Sending

Share files via WeTransfer, Dropbox or Google Drive links, in the project form or by email. Do not send DAW project files unless specifically requested. Up to 40 stems per song are included in standard mixing packages; sessions of 41–60 stems add the large-session fee shown on the pricing page, and larger sessions are quoted individually before booking.

4. Privacy Policy

This site is designed to collect as little data as possible: only what's needed to evaluate and deliver your project.

4.1 Who is responsible

The data controller is Dan Donica. For anything privacy-related, write to hello@dandonica.com.

4.2 What is collected, and why

• Project form & email: name, email address and the project details you choose to share, used solely to respond, quote, schedule and deliver the Services, and for related invoicing.
• Audio files: the material you send is used exclusively to perform the agreed work. It is never shared, published or reused, and appears in the portfolio only with your written permission.
• Payments: arranged directly between you and the Engineer through the method confirmed with your quote. This website contains no checkout and never sees or stores payment details.

4.3 Cookies & tracking

This is a static website: it sets no tracking cookies and runs no advertising or profiling. Third-party services used to operate it (form processing, file transfer) apply their own privacy policies when you use them.

4.4 Who else processes data

Only service providers strictly needed to operate: the form-handling service that delivers your request by email, and the file-transfer service you choose (WeTransfer, Dropbox, Google Drive). Your data is never sold or used for marketing by third parties.

4.5 Retention

Project files and sessions are kept for up to 6 months after final delivery, then deleted. Business correspondence and invoicing records are retained as required for accounting and legal obligations.

4.6 Your rights

You can request access to, correction of, or deletion of your personal data at any time; one email is enough. Where data-protection law such as the GDPR applies to you, you also have the rights it provides, including the right to lodge a complaint with your supervisory authority.

4.7 Updates

Any change to this policy will be published on this page with an updated date at the top.