LUFS Explained - Learn How Loud to Master Songs for Streaming Services

[@BlackGhostAudio]

I just wanted to add that streaming services take into account the integrated loudness level of entire songs-not just the drop/chorus. Make sure you analyze the loudness of your songs from start to finish using an LUFS meter, or check out "6 Benefits of Using a Mastering DAW" to learn how to instantly hit loudness targets using Wavelab's Loudness Meta Normalizer: bit.ly/3e3a6Lb

[@ibanezgomezangeldavid9649]

Hey, I got a big doubt, I’ve been paying attention and in tidal the tracks get really loud, even when I master my son hitting -0.5, I go to tidal and give a try on any MASTER song, and it sounds way more louder, are they adding loudness or something?, I’ve never released a track on any streaming platform, because I’m really confused why other tracks sound louder while I go to my file and it’s very less loud than those master tracks on tidal, even when I’m limiting at -0.5 o-6 LUFS which is a lot

[@BlackGhostAudio]

@@ibanezgomezangeldavid9649 How do you know your music is significantly quieter than songs on TIDAL if you haven’t released a song on TIDAL? The whole point of streaming service loudness normalization is that all songs should play back at relatively the same perceived loudness once they’ve been uploaded.

[@ibanezgomezangeldavid9649]

@@BlackGhostAudio sorry i forgot to explain that, I got the google drive app on my phone and upload the file on that “cloud service” so I can hear it on Bluetooth speakers or in the car, and when switch to those tidal tracks, I perceive a huge loudness change, I will try to upload my music on streaming platforms to understand what is going on

[@BlackGhostAudio]

Ya, upload your music to streaming services for a more accurate comparison. Ultimately, your music shouldn’t sound much quieter or louder than other songs once it’s been uploaded and normalized, regardless of how quiet/loud you mastered it.

[@ibanezgomezangeldavid9649]

@@BlackGhostAudio by the way, it’s possible to use a distributor like diestro kid or ditto, and after if I manage to get signed to a record label for example “spinnin records”, there might be a problem in there with the artist thing?

[@pt1467]

This dude has one of the hands down best channels out

[@shawnkeys4712]

An excellent tutorial with precise, concise relevant information. No flannelling for the 10 minute algorithm. It's a crime this doesn't have more views. Many thanks for this

[@coverlinetv]

I wonder why this video is not getting high views. Your explaination limiting is one of the best so far I've watched. Thanks man.

[@Obesti]

this was very helpful and straight to the point

[@swapnilmore3944]

15 min ago , I didn't know What the **ck is LUFS, now I am mastering it...Thumbs up

[@68Snaps]

Finally a crystal clear explanation! Many thanks!

[@grunions9648]

This is excellent, really clearly explained.

[@Alan.Musical.Freak.Show.]

❤️ This is golden!

[@chrisclique4678]

Thanks! I recently started to check the LUFS in all of my songs a I was wondering about this👍🏻

[@armin8538]

Great tips! thank you 😊😊 improves my technical music knowledge :)

[@Mr_A_Mia]

this is great man! thank you!

[@BlackGhostAudio]

I hope it helps!

[@rodshepard4392]

Really helpful information

[@damianjohnsondjbabykid]

Thank you my brother,that was a lot of knowledge also by any means are you in the Indiana state or Florida

[@nuclearvzns1]

So helpful, thank you so much dude

[@witnessthelightmusic]

Thanks Charles! Great video! Just a question though. Version B (from your examples) would be what you would send to Distrokid, but at -13 LUFS which would mean that you turned down the output gain on Pro-L down a tad?

[@BlackGhostAudio]

For that audio example, I was just aiming for -14 to demonstrate a concept, which is that two versions of the same song with the same LUFS value can contain different density characteristics, as a result of limiting. For specifically Spotify, mastering to -14 LUFS is fine, but we need to take other streaming services into consideration too. Not many people upload their music solely to Spotify. To cater to all the popular streaming services I mentioned when mastering your music, aim for -13 LUFS or above and you’ll be good to go. Also, leave 2 dB of headroom to avoid distortion during the transcoding processes that songs undergo.

[@sanyavanya]

@@BlackGhostAudio “2 dB of headroom” means that my master track shouldn’t peak higher than -2?

[@BlackGhostAudio]

@@sanyavanya Yup, that's right!

[@Prodby_duke]

@@BlackGhostAudio so in regards to setting the max peak to -2db. Would I set this on my brick wall limiter? (As in adjusting its output to -2db)

[@BlackGhostAudio]

@@Prodby_duke yup, you got it!

[@tylhud92]

hey there! when you refer to “dropping the output level” of all the tracks on a collection of songs to a target level so they are the same perceived volume after you’ve done your limiting, how are you actually achieving this in PRO L 2? are you simply adjusting the output level in the bottom right? I normally keep this at -1db for singles, but is it fine for this number to fluctuate from song to song as you’re suggesting? thanks for the help

[@michaelhugh-bloch1356]

Hi, at the end of your tutorial you mention that you should preserve at least 2.0 dB of headroom. How do you ensure that?

[@BlackGhostAudio]

Drop the output level of your limiter by 2 dB.

[@maciejk.7776]

i love You for this film

[@kafkakos3618]

Hello, I cant see the LUFS setting/meter reading on my L2, do you have to enable it?

[@BlackGhostAudio]

Yes. Look at the bottom right corner of the graph and enable “Loudness” mode from the dropdown menu.

[@kafkakos3618]

Cheers mate 🙌

[@darrenhirst9900]

Wish the wife had a limiter. Thanks for the awesome video.

[@gugaluuk]

Qual a quantidade de lufs que eu aplique na minha master que minha música fique boa em todas as plataformas digitais Sem eu ta masterizando minha música para cada plataforma digital

[@BlackGhostAudio]

8:38 - I mention that you should reach for at least the highest LUFS recommendation of the streaming services you plan to upload your music to. Amongst the most popular streaming services, this appears to currently be -13 LUFS, but it's certainly subject to change at any time.

[@fliederblumen1843]

what is the difference of LUFS loudness and psychoacoustic loudness in sones (zwicker loudness)?

[@BlackGhostAudio]

Different loudness standards exists in different industries. LUFS is typically used to measure loudness while mastering music for streaming services since that’s what many streaming services normalize their music based upon. I’m not super familiar with Zwicker loudness because it’s not something you typically come across in the music production world. However, my understanding is that it’s generally used to measure the loudness of environmental noise in a physical space.

[@Daveglorious]

Appreciate you

[@Biffmalibunor]

But what if you turn «Normalisation» on Spotify off? Then your song will have a lower volume than the rest if it’s -14dB? I tried and many songs sounds louder than -14dB. Also, «Normalisation» does not apply when casting Spotify from phone to TV or Sonos.

[@thekarlbeatz]

I agree with this and nobody seems to know the answer or doesn't want to tell us about this.

[@nuclearvzns1]

subscribiendoed

[@djCopyfight]

You've been compressed tho. This video is 1.2db over the limit. If you got it right you wouldn't have been normalised, right?

[@djCopyfight]

I'm just trying to understand

[@BlackGhostAudio]

The whole point of this video is that it's okay to master your music loud. It will be brought down in level by streaming services using a clean static gain adjustment. For example, this video was normalized to 87% of its normal level by KZbin, but it wasn't brought down in level using a limiter; there was simply a static gain reduction applied. Issues arise when your music is too quiet and streaming services need to drive your music into a limiter to reduce the dynamic range to increase loudness. As a side note, I don't "master" the audio for my KZbin videos to any particular standard. I just slap a limiter on there, drive the audio a tad, leave a bit of headroom, and call it a day. Since the resulting audio is quite loud, I'm expecting KZbin to bring it down to a standardized level.

[@HornetBojan]

@@BlackGhostAudio That is what I was looking for... Does the youtube compress your music if it's too loud ... So, they just lower the "overall volume", without "destroying" my perfect mastering going into "red levels" and clipping ... Thanks. Like

[@BlackGhostAudio]

​@@HornetBojan Ya, KZbin just brings the whole track down in level using a static gain adjustment-no compression. Leave yourself some headroom for the transcoding process (2 dB if you want to play things safe) and you've got nothing to worry about.

[@HornetBojan]

@@BlackGhostAudio Aha, so when I master the track, I go -2db "normalize" (after mastering the track) so that I prevent possible clips ...