Feb 24, 2010
Dynamic Range Day – SHOUT OUT against the Loudness Wars
Dynamic Range Day is March 20th, 2010
That’s TODAY !
Join us in a day of protest against the CD “Loudness Wars” – more info below
- Show your support – check out the Facebook Event
and RSVP to say you’ll “attend” - Use the Twitter hashtag #DYNAMICRANGEDAY tonight at 9pm GMT to try and get this issue “trending” on everyone’s Twitter page
- It’s easy to take part – just SHOUT (type in all caps)
ALL DAY, EVERYWHERE ! - And when people ask, tell them why you’re shouting
Read the full story here: Dynamic Range Day – The Idea
What are the Loudness Wars ? Watch this video:
Latest News
- 20/04/10 NEW Join us at 9pm GMT on Twitter to try and get this issue trending !
- 20/04/10 NEW Read my Dynamic Range Day post here
- 20/04/10 Dynamic Range Day gets off to a fantastic start, with a huge evening of activity on Twitter
- 19/03/10 Dynamic Range Day is global, and has just started in some time-zones !
- 18/03/10 How to take part in Dynamic Range Day
- 18/03/10 Over 2000 guests confirmed to the Facebook already – still climbing
- 18/03/10 Pleasurize Music Foundation support Dynamic Range Day
- 25/02/10 Dynamic Range Day Banners available for download
- 25/02/10 TurnMeUp.org adds a Dynamic Range Day banner to their front page
Check back soon for more updates
More Information about the “Loudness Wars”
Music is getting louder, and sounding worse.
Engineers and artists are using modern technology to push the average level of recorded music up and up and up against the “brick wall” maximum level of the CD format.
This results in distortion, lack of punch and a flat, two-dimensional, lifeless sound.
If you’ve ever wondered why you feel tired and get a headache listening to recent CDs, but not discs released back in the early nineties, the Loudness Wars are probably to blame. The most famous example in recent years is Metallica’s “Death Magnetic”, which made the headlines when over 20,000 fans signed a petition asking for the CD to be remixed or remastered.
CDs have a maximum dynamic range of over 96dB (decibels). Until recently, the loudest CDs had a dynamic range of 8dB or more, even at their very loudest points. Much of “Death Magnetic” has a dynamic range of only 2dB, and most people agree that it sounds terrible as result.
Dynamic Range is a measure of how much contrast there is in music, how much light and shade, how exciting it sounds. It’s a two-edged sword, though. Too much, and rock won’t rock, pop won’t pop, and you’ll have to keep adjusting the volume. Too little and you’ll get sick of listening to even your favourite music far quicker, and probably end up with a headache.
Sadly, by 2010 this trend has affected almost every genre of music.
You can hear it for yourself by listening to the audio examples in this short interview I did for BBC Radio 4 soon after “Death Magnetic” was released:
Please install Flash plugin
Or, check out this YouTube video comparision of the released CD version of Death Magnetic, and the much lower-level version used on the Guitar Hero game soundtrack
Metallica “Death Magnetic” CD vs. Guitar Hero Video
What Can We Do ?
Join in on March 20th 2010 - Dynamic Range Day ! Taking part is simple
Just SHOUT ALL DAY !
(For non-nerds, typing in ALL CAPITALs is know on the internet as “shouting”)
Why SHOUT all day ? Because over-compressed, distorted, unnecessarily high-level Loudness-War-Casualty music sounds as if it’s shouting at you, all the time. IT’S LOUD AND IT STAYS LOUD AND IT’s ONLY LOUD AND VERY SOON IT WEARS YOU OUT. AND GETS BORING !
So if we SHOUT all day on March 20th – on Twitter, on Facebook, in our emails – everywhere – if we shout and explain why we’re doing it when people ask, by linking to this post, or TurnMeUp.org, or the Dynamic Range Foundation, then hopefully we’ll spread the message far and wide:
NO MORE LOUDNESS WAR
So please, sign up for the Facebook Event to stay updated. If you have a blog, write a post explaining why you support Dynamic Range Day, and a Dynamic Range Day Banner.
Tell your friends – talk about #DYNAMICRANGEDAY on Twitter and see if we can get it trending. Simon Howes has set up a mySpace page – tell all your friends about it !
Lets get this issue everywhere.
Show your support – sign up now.
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Original logo idea by Matthew Vince
.gif "Dynamic Range Foundation - Active Member")
Hi Ian,
Just signed up at the Facebook event page and tweeted about it.
Blog post is on the way, but most likely will take a few more days due to my current production work.
Thanks Marko, that’s great !
“◦It’s easy to take part – just SHOUT (type in all caps)
ALL DAY, EVERYWHERE”
Surely, this is part of the problem. We shouldn’t be encouraging Maxed Out EQ Typing.
Malc
I’m all for this – just listen to Rush’s VAPOR TRAILS.
@ Malc Lol
You’d better organise #TastefulTypingDay PDQ !
I’m there Ian. There’s no LOUD without soft.
http://soundzoo.squarespace.com/features/2009/12/15/war-of-the-levels.html
[...] Dynamic Range Day – SHOUT OUT against the Loudness Wars [...]
[...] zdecydowanie zbyt głośnym płytom CD i tzw. wojnie głośności postanowił zorganizować Dynamic Range Day (Dzień Dynamiki). Dniem tym ma być 20 marca. Aktualnie jest na etapie gromadzenia wokół tematu [...]
I’M IN!!!! It’s quite annoying, i’m doing a music production course at the moment and the lecturers keep banging on about making music loud and using crippling compression levels until it’s squashed all the dynamics out of the song and it’s near bleeding ears time. And they are getting paid a good wage to impart this wisdom! hmmm
BE SURE TO HAVE A URL SET UP FOR THIS EVENT THAT RESOLVES WHEN SHOUTED!!!!!! OTHERWISE IT MIGHT BE HARD TO RELAY THE INFO ON THE DAY IN QUESTION!!!!!!
[...] Loudness War needs to stop, which is why I love the idea of Dynamic Range Day, put forward by Ian Shepherd @ Production [...]
Hi Forrest,
If you’re talking about the issues this site has had in the last few days, you’re absolutely right – however I’ve moved the database to another server and it seems to be OK, now. I think I will also clone the site to a different host as a backup if we get lots of traffic on the day.
Ian
[...] light and shade, how exciting it sounds. It’s best explained on Ian Shepherd’s blog, Production Advice, here you can also read more about Dynamic Range Day and the Loudness Wars. Ian Shepherd is also [...]
Great idea Ian ! Here’s my contribution:
http://sensoria.ws/2010/03/dynamic-range-day-%E2%80%93-shout-out-against-the-loudness-wars/
Great stuff Valentin, thanks ! Everyone should also check out the article Adam posted a link to above:
http://soundzoo.squarespace.com/features/2009/12/15/war-of-the-levels.html
“Loudness is relative” – exactly !
Hi, I think a last.fm group might be a good idea
Hi Kev,
Thanks for the suggestion ! Fancy setting one up ?! You could just copy and paste the text from the Facebook page (http://tinyurl.com/dynamic-range-day-event) if that helps ?
Ian
[...] up on what the loudness war is and join the Dynamic Range day [...]
[...] Range Day: March 20, 2010 Dynamic Range Day – Loudness War Protest Anyone heard about this? I'm not plugging the website, but the concept is certainly worthwhile. (I [...]
“Hi, I think a last.fm group might be a good idea”
One group against loudness war exists already (and DR day is noted there as well):
http://www.last.fm/group/The+Death+of+Dynamic+Range+-++people+against+Loudness+War
[...] this topic.Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress PluginFollowing the steps of Dynamicrange.de, guys at Production Advice in the UK have started a great initiative to have March 20 as Dynamic Range day. “What would that [...]
[...] Audionamix, Abbey Road, Dynamic Range Day, learning from Alan Parsons, Popular Mechanics on home studios, and talent being [...]
[...] out more info at the blog, or a great explanation of the Loudness Wars in the YouTube video [...]
[...] a Dynamic Range Day Banner to your website or [...]
[...] FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT productionadvice.co.uk/dynamic-range-day [...]
[...] it, it’s totally about something else…. And so it started off inspired by the idea of DYNAMIC RANGE DAY the incredibly admirable idea of encouraging increased dynamic range. Easy to state, far more [...]
[...] March 20th, has been declared “Dynamic Range Day” by Ian Shepherd, the guy who broke the Death Magnetic / Loudness War story. His proposal? [...]
PLEASE DIGG if you have an account!
http://digg.com/music/If_Smells_Like_Teen_Spirit_was_released_today
http://digg.com/music/Dynamic_Range_Day_SHOUT_OUT_against_the_Loudness_Wars
[...] Well, I’ve been inspired by today’s Twitter hashtag #dynamicrangeday. It flags up an event designed to highlight the unpleasant but undeniable fact that commercially available music has (for [...]
[...] CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT HOW AND WHY TO PARTICIPATE IN DYNAMIC RANGE DAY!!! [...]
[...] March 20th, has been declared “Dynamic Range Day” by Ian Shepherd, the guy who broke the Death Magnetic / Loudness War story. His proposal? [...]