Last week, on the eve of the AES Convention in New York, mastering engineer Bob Katz made a startling announcement on his website - that the Loudness War had finally been won.
He didn't mean that he'd made the loudest album in history, though - he was talking about the fact that Apple seem to be using Sound Check, their replay volume control facility, on iTunes Radio - basically Apple's version of Spotify or Pandora.
Bob went further though, saying that:
“The debilitating loudness war has finally been won… The last battle will be over by mid-2014.”
Bob has been talking about this issue longer than perhaps anyone else I know, and is heavily involved with the Music Loudness Alliance. Certainly his statement needs to be taken seriously.
So, is he right ?
Many people have been contacting me asking for my reaction to his comments, and there has also been a lot of confusion about what it really means about the best way to master your music.
The video above demonstrates the real-world impact of "Sound Check" and also explains why, even though I'm pleased and excited by this news, I think there is still a long way to go before Bob's prediction can be proven right - and how you can help us get there.
For a demonstration of how to optimise your music for iTunes and iTunes Radio using free utilities from Apple, click here.
