Ian Stewart

Position
Assistant Professor

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Ian Stewart is a mastering engineer, author, and audio educator from the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, where he's operated Flotown Mastering since 2011. Stewart received his B.S. in music engineering technology from the University of Miami in 2007 and has been a passionate advocate for audio quality, and for fostering a better understanding of the topics surrounding it, ever since. He has worked with artists, including KRS-One and Mr. Lif, and codeveloped the Basslane Pro plugin released by Tone Projects in 2022.

Career Highlights
  • Owner/Operator at Flotown Mastering
  • Codeveloper of Basslane Pro plugin
  • Mixed projects featuring KRS-One and Mr. Lif
  • Proficient on trumpet, contributed to works by KRS-One and Jackson Whalan
  • Helped curate and run two online mastering academies for the AES
  • Thought leader and designer of hybrid learning technologies pioneered at Harvard Business School during the COVID-19 pandemic
Awards
  • 2021 Commercial Integrator's 40 Under 40
In Their Own Words
There's so much to love about the practice of audio mastering: constantly hearing new music, making it sound its best, being the first to hear it in its final state. If even a small percentage of my enthusiasm and love of the artand scienceof mastering rubs off on my students, I'll be very fulfilled. I believe if the drive and passion are there, and the resources are available, the rest will follow.

Having built a mastering service from the ground up, I've gone through times where I didn't have a perfect acoustic space, precision, or mastering-grade analog equipment. That meant I had to learn to achieve great results often using only plugins and headphones. I'm excited to bring that experiencemistakes, pitfalls, and allto my students so that they can learn not only how to master, but how to grow professionally even under challenging circumstances.