Don't master too quiet! Amazon music turns louder songs down, but doesn't currently turn the quiet tracks up. For more info on true-peaks check out my post on How To Master Music To Get An Exact True Peak and LUFS ReadingĤ. Spotify streams audio using Ogg Vorbis and AAC files which are almost guaranteed to increase the peak levels. They suggest -2dBTP of headroom for loud track, as loud tracks have a greater chance of clipping during transcoding. Spotify suggests leaving at least -1dBTP (decibels true peak) of headroom when submitting music so they are optimized for the lossy formats. I personally like to keep my clients music no louder than around -8 short-term LUFS during the loudest part of the song when I'm mastering for Spotify.ģ.

Going for a more dynamic and punchy mix will sound better than an over-compressed, distorted master. It will get turned up and potentially limited (to make it louder without surpassing 0.0dB) if it's quieter than -14 LUFS. Your music will get turned down if it's louder than -14 LUFS. Louder music can appear to sound 'better', so be sure to level-match your master when referencing your favorite mixes in the studio (we have an awesome plugin for that called REFERENCE, check it out!)Ģ. You should master your music so it sounds great to you! These figures aren't 'targets', but it's worth remembering that:ġ.

Itunes music to spotify