Loudness for every platform

Good to know

• Louder doesn't win

  Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, Amazon Music, TIDAL, Deezer and SoundCloud level the volume on playback. If your song measures −8 LUFS, Spotify will turn it down about 6 dB: it will sound as loud as the rest, but without the dynamics you lost squashing it.

• You can hear dynamics

  When everything plays at the same volume, the song that breathes (punchy hits, choruses that lift) sounds bigger than the squashed one. Pushing the limiter to the max gives no advantage: it takes one away.

• Leave headroom for the encoder

  Platforms convert your WAV to AAC, Ogg or Opus, and peaks grow in the process. Keeping the true peak below −1 dBTP (−2 if it's very loud) avoids distortion.

• −14 LUFS isn't a rule

  It's the most common reference, not an exam. Master it to sound good: if it's quieter, Spotify and Apple Music will turn it up if the peaks allow, and YouTube, Amazon Music, TIDAL and Deezer will leave it quieter.

• Albums go as a whole

  Spotify and TIDAL adjust the album as a block when it's played in full: the ballad can stay softer than the single. There's no need to level every song.

• Compare at matched volume

  Between two versions, the louder one almost always seems better, even when it isn't. Match the volume before deciding, as «Match the volume» does on this page.