After receiving negative feedback regarding her release, a talented artist I'd worked with dropped me a line. Apparently a random critic of her album had declared that "the song was satisfactory and the singing beautiful, but the sound of the final product was not up to industry standard." Being conscientious, and hoping to present the best work she could, the artist asked me why the product was not up to "industry standard," and what she should do to make it so. Oh, boy...
First off, it is important to remember that some marketing terms are created concepts, designed to imply product desirability in the minds of consumers. For example, in the food industry, packaging terms like "natural," "artisan," "whole grains," and "sustainable," are often misused, unregulated, and many times rendered completely meaningless. Meanwhile, over in the recording field, artists are pummeled with similarly useless terms such as "radio ready," "mastering grade," "standard 2 second song spacing," "warm," "vintage-style," "punchy," and, of course, "industry standard." I mean, what does a "world-class" studio [End Rant, Tape Op#24] offer that sets it apart from other facilities? On the surface, these terms can sound authentic. However, they generally have absolutely zero meaning among audio professionals.