Patch it in.
Sunset takes what your DAW bounces, matches it to a reference, and hands back masters your distributor accepts. Everything below is what the Mac app does today. Your other apps connect through the Black Label platform, one account for 1,600+ of them.
IN
OUT
Any DAW that can bounce a file.
Sunset does not need a plug-in or a sync protocol. Bounce from FL Studio, Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, Reaper or anything else, then drag the file onto Sunset or click Mastering to pick it.
A finished stereo mix
WAV, AIFF, MP3 or FLAC. Leave the limiter off your master bus and some headroom; the premaster guide has the checklist.
Stems, each on its own chain
Load stems and every one gets its own channel strip, routed through drum, instrument and vocal buses, then the session is mastered once. See Mixing.
Settings you can keep
Save a session's settings as a JSON file and load it on the next record. Session files hold settings only, never audio.
Match a record you love.
Give Sunset a reference two ways. An audio file gives an exact tonal and loudness fingerprint. A track link from SoundCloud, YouTube or Spotify gives Sunset the track's public title and artist, which it uses to pick a matching style target.
More on choosing a reference in Reference Track Mastering.
Masters that land where they're going.
Export the container your distributor asks for, with title, artist, album and ISRC tags embedded where the format supports them. Then upload it to DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby or whichever service you release through.
MP3 export is not offered: macOS has no licensed MP3 encoder, so Sunset will not pretend to make one.
Delivery pack targets
One click renders the master once per platform target below, each as its own labeled file.
| Platform | Loudness | True-peak ceiling | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Normalizes to −14 LUFS; −1 dBTP survives the Ogg/AAC transcode. |
| Apple Music | −16 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Sound Check targets −16 LUFS. |
| YouTube | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Playback normalizes to about −14 LUFS. |
| Tidal | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Normalizes to −14 LUFS. |
| Amazon Music | −14 LUFS | −2 dBTP | Targets −14 LUFS with a slightly lower ceiling. |
| SoundCloud | −9 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Minimal, inconsistent normalization; many electronic masters run hot. |
| Club / DJ | −6 LUFS | −1 dBTP | No normalization; a hot master for DJ playout. |
Why these numbers: How loud should my master be? and True peak explained.
Ask Claude or ChatGPT about Sunset.
This site runs a public MCP server at https://sunsetmixing.com/mcp. Add it to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or any MCP client and your assistant can read Sunset's guides and docs, list what's for sale with live prices, and start a checkout that you pay for yourself on Stripe. No key needed.
Connect the rest of your apps.
Sunset keeps your audio on your Mac and never needs your other accounts. For the rest of your work, Black Label runs Ace, a platform that connects 1,600+ apps to one account: Google Drive, YouTube, Discord, Slack, Notion, Gmail, Airtable and more. Connect an app once and use it from Ace, your AI chat, or your own code.
Connections live on your Black Label account, not inside the Sunset app.