Spotify lowered their playback loudness

This has been coming for awhile now...and it will become the standard probably across all streaming/internet music distribution companies.

It will take some people by surprise, if they insist on nuking their mixes to achieve extreme loudness, because this new standard will override that and knock it down in level...but the real concern for those people is that in doing so, mixes that are exceed the new standard level substantially...their mixes will then sound like shit when the streaming loudness algorithms crushes down those levels.
On the other end...if you're mixes are below the standard loudness, they will be increased, but the important thing is that you will not pay the same sonic penalty, and your mixes will sound just fine.

I know there are people out there who have laughed at the whole "loudness wars" thing, and ignored common sense, by nuking their mixes...which they can still do and get away with it if they will never use any online streaming service...but considering that most people that post music eventually do use some kind of streaming service...it's definitely time to reevaluate the practice of nuking mixes for obscene loudness.

A couple of months ago I picked up the Waves Loudness Meter plug when it was on sale for a really low price...in anticipation of this new standard, so I can check my mixes and stay withing the approved range. I mean, there's just no point in pushing beyond it if they are going to crush it back down anyway.
 
Yeah I hope this trend means new music will be easing off the loudness too. I'm having trouble enjoying rock nowadays, it seems like it's affected more than other genres.
 
Yeah...I hear it too. A lot of the guys making current Rock music, go too far trying to hit the highest loudness levels.

I like things pumping at solid levels...but like spicy foods, there's a point where the underlying flavor is lost in an attempt to make it crazy spicy, to where your taste buds can't really taste any flavors....likewise, extreme loudness does the same to our hearing, and things just "flatten out" into blistering loudness without any sonic flavor...and even if you lower the volume on your player...it's still just a drone.
 
This has been coming for awhile now...and it will become the standard probably across all streaming/internet music distribution companies.

It will take some people by surprise, if they insist on nuking their mixes to achieve extreme loudness....

Nice breakdown. It sounds like a really positive step.
Do you think we could genuinely see a new standard set over time? I mean, could it work and really take across the most popular platforms?

I love tracking, recording, even editing, but my heart always sinks at the end when the singer/band says 'can you make it as loud as X/Y/Z'? :listeningmusic:
 
Will it matter? Or will mastering engineers just squeeze every bit of volume into their mixes, right up to the new, lower limit? The problem is not too much volume, but the absence of dynamics.
 
Bit the absence of dynamics is an attempt to get louder than loud. Once you take away the supposed advantage of being louder, then no one will work that hard to beat their mixes into submission.
 
Will it matter? Or will mastering engineers just squeeze every bit of volume into their mixes, right up to the new, lower limit? The problem is not too much volume, but the absence of dynamics.

Bit the absence of dynamics is an attempt to get louder than loud. Once you take away the supposed advantage of being louder, then no one will work that hard to beat their mixes into submission.

Didn't think of it that way.
I guess, if there's effectively a lower ceiling put in place, nothing changes. The smallest dynamic range still sounds the loudest.
Does that basically mean some big player like iTunes or Spotify would have to introduce a dynamic range lower-limit and just reject anything with less than X?
Not sure I can see that happening.
 
I don't think they will ever reject music...instead just squash it down to their level standard and let it play as ugly as it ends up being. :D
 
Ok wait a minute! All that is happening here is that Spotify is going to turn things down if the integrated level is too high. It's not actually going to change the crest factor of files that are crushed to death. It's just turning them down. They won't be any more or less crushed than they were. Their loudest peaks will be noticeably lower than those of more dynamic material, but the average should be about the same. They will probably sound smaller.

The important question that isn't exactly answered in the article is: What about music that IS more dynamic? What if my file integrates to -18, and actually has peaks near 0? If they intend to turn this up to "meet the standard" that's when Spotify themselves are going to have to crush things, and I think I'd rather do that myself...or, you know, the mastering engineer... I don't think that's how YouTube works -they don't seem to turn things up - but idk about Spotify.
 
I was under the impression that they are standardizing the rms level, not the peak level.

If the standard is an rms level, everything will appear to be the same volume no matter what the dynamic content.

If the standard is a peak level, then yes, the songs with the least dynamics will still be louder.
 
I'm not aware of LUFS but without being too picky (unless necessary) is this some kind of average or effectively the same?

I.E. Does that mean it's likely to have an impact on the crush-your-mixes trend in commercial music?
 
Ok wait a minute! All that is happening here is that Spotify is going to turn things down if the integrated level is too high. It's not actually going to change the crest factor of files that are crushed to death. It's just turning them down. They won't be any more or less crushed than they were.


Mmmm...I don't know about that.

Sure, they won't compress them more...but from what I've read elsewhere, the algorithm is less kind to overly loud mixes when it turns them down...than it is to quieter ones it raises.
It may only be a lowering of their level...but I think what happens then is their previously very loud mix sounds unusually "small" when it has to get significantly reduced in volume...which ends up being 180 degrees the opposite result of what the artist wanted with their mix.

IOW...the softer mixes that get turned up...end up sounding louder/punchier than those originally LOUD mixes.
 
Here's how I understood the situation. The absence of dynamics was a consequence of trying to be as loud as/louder than every other song. I've heard it phrased as trying achieve a "competitive" level. If you lower that level across the board, nothing changes. You'll still have engineers trying to boost the perceived loudness right up to that limit, by squashing dynamics.

I wonder if a generation raised on this squashed, ear-tiring, and ultimately boring loudness wars crap even cares about dynamics?
 
But there is no reason the smash something to achieve a -14lufs level. You still have 14db of headroom for all the dynamics you want.

The smashed mix will still be the same volume, but won't use the headroom afforded by the standard.

You only have to smash mixes to get the average level closer to the peak level. If the standard becomes an average level, there is no reason the bring the peak level any closer to the average than the 14db you are given.
 
Lufs is "loudness units full scale" I think. It's meant to measure average perceived loudness. I believe(?) it's used by tv now to ensure even volume levels between programs and commercials.
 
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