So, most streaming services normalize their audio to around -14 LUFS.
iTunes is a couple of dB quieter, you can tweak the settings in Spotify, but overall -14 is the loudness you should aim for, right ?
WRONG
Haven’t I been posting relentlessly about this issue for months (and years), providing relentless blow-by-blow updates on the latest developments and banging on and on about how important it is ?
Well, yes. But that still doesn't mean the playback levels we're measuring should be targets. And certainly not specific LUFS values.
Because we have to measure things somehow, and LUFS is the internationally recognised method of measuring loudness - plus it's the best, in our experience.
And the numbers are accurate - YouTube, Spotify and TIDAL all now use -14 LUFS by default. Apple now also use LUFS, with a slightly lower Distribution Loudness of -16 LUFS. There are differences in the way they all use the results, though - for example TIDAL use 'album normalization' even in playlists and shuffle mode, and some services increase the level of quieter songs whereas others don't, so using LUFS as a target just won't work 100% reliably - as well as being a bad idea.
Because we don't need to.
Streaming services measure the loudness and make it more consistent for us - so we don't have to. Loudness normalization is an opportunity to do what's best for the music, without having to worry about the need to "fit in" with loudness.
Having said that, there can be an advantage to keeping the streaming services' playback levels in mind while you're optimizing the loudness of your music - which is why we created the Loudness Penalty website. Let me explain.
Imagine you master a song, and test it using the Loudness Penalty site, which tells you it'll be turned down by 6 dB or more on all the streaming services.
That means you could potentially apply 6 dB less dynamic processing and still have it play back just as loud.
I don't know about you, but that feels like an opportunity to me ! At the very least I'd want to experiment as see how a less heavily processed version sounded, using the Loudness Penalty Preview function to hear how it will sound online.
In the most aggressive genres, it might be that you decide to stick with the original version, but in my experience this rarely gives the best results. For me, there's no benefit in pushing even the loudest material past LP -3 - but you may feel differently.
Either way, don't we owe it to the music to at least try the experiment ?
So, what am I actually saying ? On the one hand, there's no point in trying to optimise loudness for streaming services, but on the other there might be an opportunity. I'm contradicting myself, surely ?
No.
It's true that there's no real benefit to supplying separate loudness-optimized masters for each streaming service - partly for the reasons explained above. But also in a practical sense, because most aggregators will only accept one file per song anyway, so there's no easy way to get individual masters uploaded to each service.
But there is a benefit to optimising your music for online streaming in general.
Measure your files using the Loudness Penalty site, and find out how much they're going to be turned down. Experiment with less aggressive loudness processing, and Preview the different versions against each other - and your favourite reference material - using the LP values to adjust the playback level and see how they'll sound online.
Knowledge is power - and making real-world comparisons like this will let you find the "sweet spot" - the perfect balance of loudness and dynamics, that best serves the music.
Not the streaming normalisation algorithms, or the wild 'Loudness War' goose - the music.
And in the process, even if you think your genre needs that loudness war sound, you might find yourself surprised.
If J Cole can break streaming records and debut at Number 1 in the Billboard chart with a more dynamic master - maybe you can, too.
I've been getting quite a few frustrated comments about this, saying "well how loud should we master things, then ?!". If that includes you, click here for my best advice.
