Do Promo CD's Get Mastered?

[Remy_5150]

I don't know if anyone's noticed, but some of the album leaks that have come out in the past few months are noticably quieter than alot of the actual CD's I have....are bands starting to back down on the loudness of their albums, or do the CD's the leaks come from (presumably promo copies) not get mastered anymore? I'm sure Andy and others on here know whats up.

 

[Metal Overload]

Listen to the songs the companies put in Compilations or in promo cd´s from the magazines, and you´ll notice some diference, i think that the leaks are the same.

 

[chadsxe]

I imagine they are "mastered" by mix engineer or someone who is not going to be the final Mastering engineer. None the less this not always the case.