Mar 22, 2011
This post is NOT about you
Buy any sound engineer a bottle of beer and ask him what he thinks of the Loudness War, and you’re pretty much guaranteed a half-hour rant about how much he hates it, how terrible it makes everything sound, and how his pristine recordings are constantly being destroyed by limiter-happy mastering engineers.
But when you say “Great ! I’m doing this thing called Dynamic Range Day, would you like to be listed as a supporter ?” – suddenly all you get is wide eyes, muttered excuses and un-returned emails.
People don’t want to stick their necks out on this issue
Not even the people whose reputations are so secure, so legendary that they could probably decide to mix their next record on wax-cylinder gramophone and everybody would think it was a really cool idea !
Why is that ?
- Do they think they’ll lose business for saying dynamic music sounds great?
- Do they actually secretly like hyper-compressed, DR4 distorted sound ?
- Or are they just too scared or apathetic to stand up for what they believe in?
Actually, I think the answer is none of the above. I think the real reason is:
They believe the hype
After all, the idea is everywhere – louder is better, right ?
WRONG
On the radio – loudness doesn’t count
On the internet – loudness is irrelevant
In a CD player – we use the volume control
Research shows – listeners don’t care about loudness
This is the new information that Dynamic Range Day needs to spread.
Dynamic music sounds better
There are exceptions
Some engineers are prepared to try and help us start a movement – for example, the engineers helping me choose who should win the Dynamic Range Day Award.
Engineers like Grammy-nominated Charles Dye or BBC legend Simon Askew, like Greg Reirson from Rare Form Mastering or Jake Jackson from Air Studios, like Friedemann Tischmeyer from the PMF and Big Al Wagner from Turn Me Up.
Hats off to them – and to all the people who have already accepted the Dynamic Range Day Challenge – to see the list so far, click here and join us !
You have a choice
Just to be clear – none of these people are saying “loud” isn’t an artistic choice – none of them are saying “we won’t do loud” – but we all agree that dynamic music sounds better, and people shouldn’t feel they need to mix or master with a super-hot level to “compete”.
People should feel free to choose, and realise that in 2011, dynamic music has a competitive edge. To learn more, click here.
Maybe if we succeed in spreading this message, next year some of those other “Big Names” – who I know all agree with us – will also be prepared to stand up and be counted with us.
Image by João Almeida
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In my experience, the most common denominator I have found is not that they believe the hype, but rather that they view anything more than grumbling out of school about the loudness wars as bad business.
And, frankly, who can blame them? In these days of DIY music production with commercial-space studios shuttering up left and right, the ability to crush music better than the average shmuck with a Firebox and a crack of Waves is both a reason for them to stay in business and to make money. One does not stay in business by turning it down.
They may not all *advocate* the loudness wars, but when a majority of clients want to pay you to make their mixes “competively loud” – as mistaken an idea as that may be – you can’t just tun down the offer when there is a nest full of other MEs out there with their beaks open ready and willing to take that gig. Otherwise both you and your family go hungry.
What I have tried – rather unsuccessfully so far – to suggest to those MEs that I know that preach to the choir about the Loudness Wars is that what they should try is taking a more active role in production – namely that if they feel so strongly about it (which they honestly do), they should start producing some of their own acts instead of just taking the direction from other producers.
If you really feel that that last artist that passed your console sounded much better before you were directed by whoever was calling the shots to crush the mix harder than you really wanted to, then tell the artist that you’d love a chance to produce their next project yourself.
If you want the loudness wars to end without losing work opportunities, there’s an answer: take the bull by the horns and get into production. If you really believe you know what sounds better – and which ME out there doesn’t? – then DO IT. There’s just as much, if not more, money to be made wearing the producer’s cap as there is wearing just the ME’s cap.
Yeah, it a little more work, but it’s far more fulfilling than grumbling about your job, and will produce better tangable results.
Hi Glen,
Interesting ! As a mastering engineer who also records and produces, I think I agree with you. However many MEs specialise and feel they don’t want to get into recording and production – they are quite different disciplines – so this won’t work for everyone.
As far as turning down business instead of making it loud – you may want to watch the webcast on Friday night, when I will be making my own personal Dynamic Range Day Commitment…
Ian