LUFS Question

  • Thread starter Thread starter Nola
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Nola

Nola

Well-known member
Hey guys. I see the music sites want -14 LUFS. What if the ending of a song is naturally louder and goes to -12 LUFS? Will it be compressed by the music site?
Are you better off setting the earlier, quieter section at -16 LUFS to compensate?

Thanks!
 
AFAIK these sights are going to average everything so I don't think it will make any difference.
 
I think they mostly go by the integrated LUFS value, so a louder section would be allowed as long as the integrated value was within spec.
 
If you upload a song at -12lufs, this is not a problem, if you upload a song at -16lufs, then this can be minor issue. Basing the target at -14lufs

I'm compressing around 3-6dbs on most tracks to make balancing easier and my LUFS normally hits -8 (loud) to -9(competetive), which sounds great to me, there is room for percussive transients to hit more than hard enough.

The site doesn't compress to get you back to -14lufs, if you upload at -12lufs, it just turns it down, you would never know unless your song got played back to back to a song that was a consistent -14.

I don't have much knowledge if sites would compress an overly dynamic song to bring it up to -14 though, i doubt it.
 
Their squashing I think is context sensitive. My go to sleep classical-synth stuff rarely gets tinkered with. I suspect those who try to squeeze volume for some kind of 'edge' find their material attracts more treatment.
 
We usually produce masters that range from -14 to -10 LUFS and never really had any problems. Best is to just test on the streaming services and see if you have to lower it.
 
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