LUFS target and Normalization

davecg321

New member
hi,

The recommended LUFS target for mastering is -18lufs (for spotify) as anything louder will just be turned down. So, in theory there is no point in heavily compressing/limiting our songs. To coincide with this, a quieter track (perhaps a reading of -21 LUFS) will get turned up.

However, from a little test I carried out an mp3 ripped from disc (a particularly loud track, registering at -11 lufs after playing the track in its entirety on NugenMastercheck) I compared this with the Spotify version and they sounded equally as loud. I was using VLC to playback the mp3. Any idea why this might be? I was fully expecting the Spotify version to sound somewhat quieter.


Having said all this, SOS recently done an article about LUFS. It said to listen to both the remastered version of 'Sharp dressed Man' and the original by ZZ Top. The remastered version - which was done at the time when CDs were the major listening format, and subject to the 'loudness wars' - sounded as loud as the original version, except all the dynamics were lost due to more compression being used. So unsurprisingly the original had more punch/dynamics.

What is everyone mastering to? every recent song (mp3/wav) by commercial artists (last 2-3years) that I've loaded into my daw for analyzing using master check, has given reading much louder than the now widely accepted -18 LUFS.
 
Well, it depends on the genre and target playback method, doesn't it?

I'm not sure about all of these numbers that are supposedly being used by streaming services, and maybe it depends on how you're streaming, i.e., are you streaming your content from a logged-in perspective, vs someone hear a random playlist?

I'm paying a litte more attention to dynamic range along with LUFS in my pseudo-mastering, but I do fairly purely acoustic stuff. For LUFS I'm in the -14 +/- .5 (-ish) area. More dense instrumentations usually closer to 13. I've tried the lower target but I am just not used to that yet. Maybe I'll drift lower as I get better at retaining some dynamic range but that low number just seems a lilttle out of reach right now.
 
The recommended LUFS target for mastering is -18lufs (for spotify)

No it's not. For some time now, the LUFS target for Spotify has been 14lufs. (Spotify just reduced its loudness playback level ! - Production Advice) You must have an older version on Mastercheck. I have 1.4 (I think) which has the new Spotify level in it's presets.

What is everyone mastering to? every recent song (mp3/wav) by commercial artists (last 2-3years) that I've loaded into my daw for analyzing using master check, has given reading much louder than the now widely accepted -18 LUFS.

Don't do that (18 lufs) . Youtube, Spotify and Tidal are all at 14 lufs
 
Well, it depends on the genre and target playback method, doesn't it?

I'm not sure about all of these numbers that are supposedly being used by streaming services, and maybe it depends on how you're streaming, i.e., are you streaming your content from a logged-in perspective, vs someone hear a random playlist?

I'm paying a litte more attention to dynamic range along with LUFS in my pseudo-mastering, but I do fairly purely acoustic stuff. For LUFS I'm in the -14 +/- .5 (-ish) area. More dense instrumentations usually closer to 13. I've tried the lower target but I am just not used to that yet. Maybe I'll drift lower as I get better at retaining some dynamic range but that low number just seems a lilttle out of reach right now.

why are you not used to that yet? although Coquet-Shack is correct in saying it is indeed -14LUFS for most streaming platforms. I remembered the article I read wrong haha

Why would you not be used to a lower figure anyway? One simply lowers the amount of gain on the limiter, of the tracks being fed to it (assuming you're mastering in the box)

I too make acoustic music and don't want to squish anything too much. Out of interest, on the extreme peaks of your track how much gain reduction are you seeing on the limiter?

tah
 
why are you not used to that yet? although Coquet-Shack is correct in saying it is indeed -14LUFS for most streaming platforms. I remembered the article I read wrong haha

Why would you not be used to a lower figure anyway? One simply lowers the amount of gain on the limiter, of the tracks being fed to it (assuming you're mastering in the box)

I too make acoustic music and don't want to squish anything too much. Out of interest, on the extreme peaks of your track how much gain reduction are you seeing on the limiter?

tah
Well, I just meant that I've been trying for the -14 number for a while (I think YouTube was the primary instigation for that), and for better or worse, I generally end up with mixes that don't seem to have a lot of gain reduction from limiting - maybe a couple dB on the peaks, since I'm trying to retain the dynamic range, i.e., I use the limiter more for gain than compression, as much as possible.

But, as I said, this whole thing was kind of a revelation to me not that long ago, and I'm just now getting a feel for finishing up my mixes by watching LUFS, true peaks and dynamic range, and not otherwise normalizing in the bounce. Consequently, I guess I'm referencing other tracks I've done when I'm stringing a few together, so the thought of another -3dB shift gives me a headache. And, this still seems to be a bit of a moving target, though I'm glad if it's really settling down. (I thought I read iTunes still has a lower number, but I'm not releasing anything there yet!)
 
I generally end up with mixes that don't seem to have a lot of gain reduction from limiting - maybe a couple dB on the peaks, since I'm trying to retain the dynamic range, i.e., I use the limiter more for gain than compression, as much as possible.

It has been a minefield. My releases (I'm very popular in Finland??????) are spotify or Youtube so I too stick to the 14 lufs. iTunes is now an outlier and they are welcome to it.
As to finding you have to do little with your mastering Limiter. GOOD.
Mastering should never be (or ever have been) a competition for loudness. It is the art of getting your mixes to stand alongside oither mixes and to sound the way you want it to.

I have to say that Nugen Mastercheck has been a revelation for me, doing away with needing to use several meters to get the info I need.
Good luck.
 
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