This is by far the simplest and most understandable tutorial on this topic on TH-cam. Every other one I've watched hasn't explained it simply enough, or glosses over key information. If anyone questions me about LUFs again I will point them towards your tutorial. Brilliant job man
@@EDMTips Honestly more vids about linking emotion to chords would be great? I feel like my music theory knowledge is good, but I want to learn how to turn the chords and notes into specific emotions. Instead of just playing around until I stumble across a mood/emotion if that makes sense?
Thank you for this. It actually makes sense! Also: To anyone reading: With my recent release, I realized just HOW EXTREME the normalization algorithms of platforms are. The MORE LOUD AND IN YOUR FACE I tried to make the gain, the quieter the song sounded on TH-cam and other platforms. It sounded EPIC AF when listening to my master WAV file, but of course because of the fact that I made it so loud, (average volume, high LUFS) streaming platforms (including TH-cam) made it sound quieter. And even squashed in terms of quality in my opinion. So it's a very counterintuitive process. The louder you try to make your average volume (especially with the gain on your master limiter, etc) the quieter it can sound on platforms. I don't mind the loudness wars. I HATE that audio gets normalized on platforms. BUT I should have conformed instead of rebelled. If I were playing the song at a club, I woulda been fine. But you can always rely on streaming platforms to screw you. THAT BEING SAID!!!!! If I were a jazz musician and WANTED dynamics and an overall quiet feel, I might also be pissed off that streaming platforms made it LOUDER. I already knew I was gonna be a victim to normalization, but I didn't know how extreme until I released my song, and then a remastered version. I regret nothing. But I hope that this prevents whoever is reading this from making the same mistake, or at LEAST be aware of the consequences of loudness rebellion when it comes to streaming platforms. Like I said, if you're trying to make a song super dynamic or quiet on purpose, it might affect you the opposite way and become louder instead. The loudness wars are over, but at what cost? Conformity? It is what it is. The most important thing, however, is for the music itself to sound good (: And a great mix is the best way to get to a great master. But my mastering process really caused me to shoot myself in the foot. God bless, and best wishes! Thanks again for the video!
Thank you. I recently uploaded a track to TH-cam which was an extremely loud master but it's completely quiet in TH-cam. I was wondering what the hell was going on.
@@Derpadeedooda sounds like a very normal problem to have! I don’t think normalization applied at all (or at least not as heavily) to older videos, but nowadays super loud masters get quieted down, and possibly also messing up the quality
As I am 55, I was part of those gruntling old musicians reluctant to accept digital because "is killing creativity". This video has explained to me, like nobody before, that you can still be creative with digital mastering. Only the method has changed. Thank you so very much!
pretty cool and simple. two thoughts: - intergrated loudness for spotify (and other streaming services) should be measured for the whole track, not just the loudest section - you are looping the loudest section and the meter comes up with -13LUFS, but the whole track does have lower intergrated LUFS and that will be used by the streaming service. - volume adjustment by streaming services is applied at playtime - they (usually) don't change (normalize) the uploaded track - check it out - there's difference when you play music on youtube or if you download the file back from it. the uploaded file is not changed.
exactly what i was thinking, i was under the impression that to check the integrated of the track it needs to play the entire track or at least almost the entire track
RMS is the average overtime LUFS is in reference to how loud it actually sounds. For instants a high pitch sound will come across as louder than a sub base even at the same DB
As a Roon user, I have normalization on, which means it standardizes the loudness for every track to be the same. So it’s far better to master your tracks with headroom, because it preserves the dynamics changes, in general.
You should use the Spotify Preset on Youlean, the True Peak Max is set to -1. You are not giving at least -1 one of space in any example. Decreasing the Output on FabFilte Pro-L 2 to -1 or a little bit more (-1.12) will solve the space issue.
Totally agree. Having peak at -1 gives some head room for the byproduct of added gain when converting to a lossy codec like mp3. Pretty sure Spotify will actually turn you down if it peaks above -1 dB. That said, this is how I would approach mastering for CD or direct download.
When I analyze different Tracks downloaded from Beatport. Then they are all mastered as loud as possible. with Peaks up to +1.6 dB als integreted LUFS -9 up to -6 dB. In my opinion, the louder the better is still true.
U r right. I dont see much youtubers mention this. All of them just go by the books and say lufs -14 and -1db TP. Doing that will make ur mix much quieter compared to the pro tracks on streaming services. I am yet to find a youtube video which addresses this and guide us on the proper limits of lufs that we can go for. Maybe someone who masters for proper mainstream commercial release should guide us on this.
As for streaming services who apply loudness normalization, it should probably be okay to master as loud as you want without destroying the dynamics. Meaning, if you are okay with how the dynamics sound in your track, then it's irrelevant if your track sits at -14 LUFS integrated or at -6 LUFS integrated. Of course all of this doesn't apply if there is no loudness normalization.
ALSO! im planning on starting to upload my releases privately on youtube before releasing a public version on youtube, and even before submitting my songs to my distributor from now on. to see how the typical algorithms normalize the sound. thought someone else might find this helpful by adding this to their standard practice from now on.
@@EDMTips A question, though! Now, digital distributors take only 1 mastered file that i upload. Why should i make different masters for different platforms?!? Where do i submit them?
Quick question, I reach the streaming platform lufs targets based on my loudness meter but my songs are still quieter than other professional songs. People told me i don’t use enough compression/saturation etc. But what tool could show me that i’m still below some levels since I can hear that I’m not loud enough ?
Go beyond the target because the target is for end users and not for mastering music. This video is propagating bad information. That's why your song is still quieter.
Thanks for the clear explanation! But i have a question cause i master my music with ozone9 and i set it to -14lufs and -1db peak level but the other songs out there sound alot louder... so should i boost the lufs level and the peaks or what should i do? Thanks in advance
Dude, I have the same problem! I master my tracks to the specs on soundcloud, -14 LUFS at -1 db true peak, but my tracks always sound quieter than everyone else's. I'm about to throw that -1db out the window and start limiting to 0db to see how that sounds. I was hoping he was going to explain that..
Yeah man doesn't make sense at all.... i started maximising the levels and see what it could reach and it worked! 0db true peak and LUFS can reach -8LuFS with no prob🙌 so just master like that🤙🤙
@@arkane5170 Yes, apparently -14 LUFS is kind of a safe area. You can push it upto -7 or -6 LUFS without any problem with 0+ Peak DB. The one thing to look out is just, Distortion.
Most EDM tracks are mastered on around -5 /-3 LUFS or even higher and that's probably why they seem louder to you. mastering that loud is useless, cos when you distribute it to spotify the volume is been taken down a lot, and it doesn't sound that good (remember you have to kill your dynamics to make the track louder, and a track with no dynamics will only sound good when it's loud)
This brings up a dilemma. I use a service that distributes to all platforms at once. But i can only upload one audio file.. so what is the best way to do that?
Now, digital distributors take only 1 mastered file i should upload. Why should i make different masters for different platforms?!? Where do i submit them?
super useful video, i do have a question though: Spotify says: "The web player and 3rd-party devices (e.g. speakers and TVs) don’t use loudness normalization." Does that mean that it can't be mastered perfectly for all listeners - web and app users?
👉🏼 If you want to get to the next level with your music but have no idea how to achieve it, click the link below to book a call with my team to get you where you want to be 👇 www.edmtips.com/accelerator
I got a question: Does a file 16 bit and 24 bit make any difference? I mean, if I do upload a track 16 bit does it have any difference with the 24 bit?
I know this is late but, No, It doesn't matter how much bit you give Spotify. Streaming services downgrade it According to their Subscription Plans. But, Obviously the Higher you give them the Better. Go for 24 Bits. That way if a user with a Subscription that supports 24 bits would play your music, They would benefit from it as they would get their 24 bits. Hope I made it clear. Cheers!
thank you for explaining all the terminology and different areas of this, I'm good at making music but have no clue how about mastering lol. Other videos would use all these terms to explain it but wouldnt explain what they mean so I was still lost
Hi, thanks for the video.. just a question..? I read that spotify is requiring a true peak -1db if the LUFS integrated is -14.. but if you go louder than -14LUFS integrated then you should have a true peak of -2db... do you consider these indications or you just keep the true peak at -1db however or less than that..? this is what I'm trying to solve.. thanks..
Hi, thanks for going over LUFs, peaks, dynamics, and all the good tidbits. I have a question. I use DP meter to analyze my LUFs and get my song to -14 but when I compare my song with a song of Drake’s, for example, his sounds significantly louder at least 3dB louder, I’ve downloaded his song off of iTunes put it into ProTools measured the LUFs and it was only -14.3. Why does a mainstream artist track sound so much louder?
Things are making more sense for me now. But what if you upload with a distributor like distrokid that sends it to multiple stores? Apple Music wants -16LUFS and Spotify wants -14LUFS, and TH-cam says -13LUFS.
These are just targets. You don't have to hit the mark perfectly. If your track is louder, two things will happen: Your dynamic range is reduced, because you made it that way. Second, your track will be played at less volume to be perceived as loud as any other track.
but one question: HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE LUFS? I MEAN ARE YOU SETTING YOUR MASTERVOLUME TO MAX TO MEASURE THE LUFS , OR ELSE IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE, OR DOES IT??
@@EDMTipsYes on STEREO imaging... Like i know everything about Phase and how to make sound *STEREO* But i don't how to use its in real life full Project......... *Like How to actually use Stereo imaging*
So if I have soundcloud account snd spofity and I wanted to upload a the same track or song to both of them. I would have to make two versions, one for soundcloud and one for Spotify so Spotify won't over compress my song.? Am I correct or near correct? Also thank you for the video Def helped out more with understanding mix and mastering. Thank u
Hey thanks for the info! I'm mastering a track for spotify right now and on my Waves WLM im hitting -18 LUFS overall and -17 max. If I use the built in limiter in the WLM plugin and boost about 4.0 db or so with the true peak limiter set to -1.0 to hit -14 LUFS consistently, will spotify then "ruin" my track dynamics when I upload it to them since I'd be going over -14 LUFS at some points in the song due to the 4.0 boost or would the limiter being set to -1.0 be enough to prevent spotify touching the track too much? I appreciate the advice!
Spotify will first prioritize lowering the overall volume of your track so it never exceeds -1dB true peak levels. Meaning, your track wi probably sit at levels just a little lower than -14 LUFS. If normalization is turned on at normal settings, Spotify will never limit your track.
LUFS for spotify are so confusing! In using limiters, saturation, removing unnecessary low end, everything I can think of to get the most out of my volume and I have to reach about -8 or -9 LUFS in order to compete with other songs in the same genre on Spotify. What am I doing wrong? If I upload my loud file Spotify will just turn them down
Nothing you are doing everything right if it doesn't distort and it sounds good and loud to industry standards you are doing it right I would not listen to some of these youtubers they are incorrect on what they are talking about.
Thank you for this explanation. But please not everyone who writes or produces music likes "in yer face, Head Banging EDM". What if you have a solo singer songwriter with an acoustic guitar? Serious question. once you achieve -14 lufs with a maximizer/compressor, are you suggesting that you should export your track to within a fraction of 0db peak? I allow -6db headroom and that's about comfortable listening level for me,
are all my samples in splice overdistorted or something ? i realized i was having very quiet mixes when i bounced out my files so i decided to do some loudness metering , and come to find all my kick samples are eating up so much space in the mix . a kick playing by itself soleley at -3 db un eq'd is topping out at around -9 to -10 lufs . . thats already -4 to -5 lufs of negative gain that spotify is lowering my finished mix to JUST from kick alone . how can i fix this without butchering my kick samples or is it something i just have to deal w weaker kicks to have a good sounding mix overall . this topic is so confusing
I use Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones with spotify on my phone. What should i set 'volume level' at in the settings for quality? Default is normal. Would Low be a better quality but quieter? All the music is downloaded to best quality also. Thanks fo any help!
Hi! Thank you, very helpful! One thing I still don't understand, even when I'm keeping my lufs and dbtp under control, my music will eventually sound not as loud as literally every other song on for example Spotify. I just can't figure that out that mystery.
I'm having a really weird issue with music I put up using DistroKid. I checked a box on their service to apply a normalizer thinking my tracks weren't loud enough only to receive an email that they were and the normalizer wasn't applied. However, I noticed the opening crash cymbal on a couple songs gets cut down super drastically but all the other crashes (that are literally the same the songs are simple loops with a crash cymbal I copied and pasted to transition to different parts) are fine. Does this have to do with LUFS (Distrokid claims it does) or does this sound like they added the normalizer despite saying they wouldn't?
Hi Will, and thanks for explaining this so clearly! I've just finished to master my own album, it's just piano solo and piano + clarinet and strings (please take Olafur Arnalds as a reference), so it's quite low. I applied some compression and I reached -18/-17 LUFS (integrated, in each track) with a true peak at -1 dB. I don't feel like compressing it more because if I try it starts to sound unnatural to my ears. Would you say that this could be a problem on Spotify? Will it sound too quiet? Thanks in advance and greetings from Italy!
Hi Alessandro...I would say the first thing is always, always the quality of the sound. If your music doesn't sound good compressed more, then don't compress it more!
Really helpful video thank you. Quick question though... you measured LUFS when looping the loudest part of the track. Do Spotify measure the average LUFS value across the whole track or just the loudest part? Many thanks.
Hey bro, nice explanation, but can you tell please, why is your master at -6 dB? You are adding gain with utility, why not just add some on master fader? Thank you!
Great video and really helpful! So to understand we export two versions one for the preview of Spotify etc and another version with - 7db lufs for when People download ing the actuall file from Spotify or beatport?
This LUFS targeting with different masters for different platforms is, sorry to say, bull. If you send the loudest master everywhere, you're done. You don't send a different master to each service. I listen to TH-cam Music. I've heard plenty of fresh releases reading -7 to -5. You think they sent a quieter master to Spotify? Hell no. A single file went to the distribution services and any changes in volume were made on an automated, individual basis by those platforms. Please stop propagating this nonsense!
Hi there, If these values are average track volume why did you just loop the loudest part of the song? This will not return the same value as if you played through the whole song and surely would not be the songs correct LUFS-I value for the platforms you are uploaded to no? Please let us know. The diagram used in this video followed by looping an isolated section to get a reading are not consistent to my eyes. Thanks a bunch
Question from a completely different genera. I’m currently working on a recording project featuring a solo harp artist. Would the ‘rules of thumb’ regarding Db levels for Spotify apply in that instance too?
1- What's the difference between LUFS & RMS? 2- The Integrated LUFS in my EDM Tracks are around (-5.5 to -5) is that loud enough? or should i push it little more?
1) RMS is the average of the sound over the time, indeed lufs is how actually loud is the song 2) you have to push the loudness until it is clipping, because whrn it going to clipping you have to stop. I often push my song to - 3,3 lufs
@@marceldhaini3363 so you have to check again you mix, and try to re-do the leveling, and balance more the sound, then tell to me if it is clipping anymore! 😉
Something I can't get my head around - I asked my distributor if it is possible to submit different masters of one single track: one for Spotify/streaming services with a LUFS which flies below the gain compensation threshold, and one much louder, -7 dB LUFS competitive master for Beatoprt/Juno etc, for the DJ market - the answer is 'no' you can only submit one master. So it begs the question, if I am creating dance floor music for DJs but also want an ideal listening experience for the streaming services, how loud should my masters be? I have to choose a preference between download or streaming?
It should be fine uploading loud masters, usually I master to around -9 lufs and the streaming services will automatically reduce the volume down to -14 the only thing is that the louder you go the less dynamic range you will have but usually I like to master as loud as possible without exceeding -3db or so of gain reduction on the limiter.
Well, although my max peak is lower than -5 dB, my LUFS always jump up into the positive area around 3 or 4. To get the LUFS down to -5 I have to lower the volume to a maximum peak of - 13 dB. How come?
Explained well. One thing I have noticed is that on Spotify, there some big swings in volume track to track.... so what figures? Anyone else noticed this?
You might have the loudness normalisation turned off. So does half of the people who are using Spotify. That's why - I believe - mastering for -14 dB LUFS is hurting yourself - big artists have their tracks mastered for -6/-5 dB LUFS on Spotify - if you have normalisation turned on - it will get turned down to -13/-14 dB LUFS. But if you turn the normalisation off - you will listen to the actual volume of the master - if it's -6 dB LUFS it will be that. If you upload your track at -14 dB LUFS and have normalisation turned off - your track will be at -14 dB and other will be at -6 dB. That's why some tracks are super loud comparing to others.
So how come there is still difference when volume normalization on Spotify is enabled? Justin Bieber is -12LUFS (Original master at -7 LUFS, not -14 so really loud), some other songs I checked -15 LUFS? This means the Bieber track will sound louder than if you master specifically for Spotify. I have to say it's a bit of a mystery. In theory I completely understand it, but in the real world it turns out there's still quite a difference.
Does this explains things clearly!? Let me know in the comments! 🤔
Yes, really clear! But did not come to mastering yet on my producing learning path so will revisit once I'm there!
The PRO L 2 has a luf meter why the need to use another plugin?
@@GreatestSportsHighLights Great question. Not everyone has the Pro L2, so it's good to show a free way of doing it
Simple and objective video. It's really easy to understand. Well done! :)
Thanks!
This is by far the simplest and most understandable tutorial on this topic on TH-cam. Every other one I've watched hasn't explained it simply enough, or glosses over key information. If anyone questions me about LUFs again I will point them towards your tutorial. Brilliant job man
Glad I could help, Chris, thank you for watching and supporting the channel :)
Anything else in particular you’re struggling with?
@@EDMTips Honestly more vids about linking emotion to chords would be great? I feel like my music theory knowledge is good, but I want to learn how to turn the chords and notes into specific emotions. Instead of just playing around until I stumble across a mood/emotion if that makes sense?
Thank you for this. It actually makes sense! Also: To anyone reading: With my recent release, I realized just HOW EXTREME the normalization algorithms of platforms are. The MORE LOUD AND IN YOUR FACE I tried to make the gain, the quieter the song sounded on TH-cam and other platforms. It sounded EPIC AF when listening to my master WAV file, but of course because of the fact that I made it so loud, (average volume, high LUFS) streaming platforms (including TH-cam) made it sound quieter. And even squashed in terms of quality in my opinion. So it's a very counterintuitive process. The louder you try to make your average volume (especially with the gain on your master limiter, etc) the quieter it can sound on platforms. I don't mind the loudness wars. I HATE that audio gets normalized on platforms. BUT I should have conformed instead of rebelled. If I were playing the song at a club, I woulda been fine. But you can always rely on streaming platforms to screw you. THAT BEING SAID!!!!! If I were a jazz musician and WANTED dynamics and an overall quiet feel, I might also be pissed off that streaming platforms made it LOUDER. I already knew I was gonna be a victim to normalization, but I didn't know how extreme until I released my song, and then a remastered version. I regret nothing. But I hope that this prevents whoever is reading this from making the same mistake, or at LEAST be aware of the consequences of loudness rebellion when it comes to streaming platforms. Like I said, if you're trying to make a song super dynamic or quiet on purpose, it might affect you the opposite way and become louder instead. The loudness wars are over, but at what cost? Conformity? It is what it is. The most important thing, however, is for the music itself to sound good (: And a great mix is the best way to get to a great master. But my mastering process really caused me to shoot myself in the foot. God bless, and best wishes! Thanks again for the video!
You're welcome, and thanks for sharing your experience, I am sure it will be useful to others!
Thank you. I recently uploaded a track to TH-cam which was an extremely loud master but it's completely quiet in TH-cam. I was wondering what the hell was going on.
@@Derpadeedooda sounds like a very normal problem to have! I don’t think normalization applied at all (or at least not as heavily) to older videos, but nowadays super loud masters get quieted down, and possibly also messing up the quality
@@Derpadeedooda You made the upload directly to youtube or by a distributor?
Thank you! This was helpful! So what LUFS did you send your music in as?
As I am 55, I was part of those gruntling old musicians reluctant to accept digital because "is killing creativity". This video has explained to me, like nobody before, that you can still be creative with digital mastering. Only the method has changed. Thank you so very much!
You're welcome! 🙂
As I am here 59 yr old thinking the same as u learning this not so new technology that we never had.
Beat the lot of you. I'm 67
pretty cool and simple. two thoughts:
- intergrated loudness for spotify (and other streaming services) should be measured for the whole track, not just the loudest section - you are looping the loudest section and the meter comes up with -13LUFS, but the whole track does have lower intergrated LUFS and that will be used by the streaming service.
- volume adjustment by streaming services is applied at playtime - they (usually) don't change (normalize) the uploaded track - check it out - there's difference when you play music on youtube or if you download the file back from it. the uploaded file is not changed.
exactly what i was thinking, i was under the impression that to check the integrated of the track it needs to play the entire track or at least almost the entire track
nice so how would we do it correctly then?
as was already said: analyse the whole track
RMS is the average overtime LUFS is in reference to how loud it actually sounds. For instants a high pitch sound will come across as louder than a sub base even at the same DB
This the best most straightforward video tutorial on this topic yet on TH-cam. Great job and thanks again. 👍 😎
Awesome! You’re very welcome :)
As a Roon user, I have normalization on, which means it standardizes the loudness for every track to be the same. So it’s far better to master your tracks with headroom, because it preserves the dynamics changes, in general.
The best tutorial. Thanks for this 🖤🖤🖤
after bambillion times I found a video that finally explain this perfectly
You should use the Spotify Preset on Youlean, the True Peak Max is set to -1. You are not giving at least -1 one of space in any example. Decreasing the Output on FabFilte Pro-L 2 to -1 or a little bit more (-1.12) will solve the space issue.
yes! Spotify states this in their FAQ
Totally agree. Having peak at -1 gives some head room for the byproduct of added gain when converting to a lossy codec like mp3. Pretty sure Spotify will actually turn you down if it peaks above -1 dB. That said, this is how I would approach mastering for CD or direct download.
You Sir, is one of the greatest youtuber out there. So clear and also phenomenal visuals.
Wow, thank you!
I'm not an EDM producer but this is incredibly clear and useful, thanks!
You're very welcome!
When I analyze different Tracks downloaded from Beatport. Then they are all mastered as loud as possible. with Peaks up to +1.6 dB als integreted LUFS -9 up to -6 dB. In my opinion, the louder the better is still true.
U r right. I dont see much youtubers mention this. All of them just go by the books and say lufs -14 and -1db TP. Doing that will make ur mix much quieter compared to the pro tracks on streaming services. I am yet to find a youtube video which addresses this and guide us on the proper limits of lufs that we can go for. Maybe someone who masters for proper mainstream commercial release should guide us on this.
Nice explanation of the concept. I particularly liked the tie-in to the volume of TV commercials. That explains a lot!
Glad you found it helpful, John! Thanks for watching 🙂
ALWAYS BEEN A FAN #1000
Appreciate your support man!
As for streaming services who apply loudness normalization, it should probably be okay to master as loud as you want without destroying the dynamics. Meaning, if you are okay with how the dynamics sound in your track, then it's irrelevant if your track sits at -14 LUFS integrated or at -6 LUFS integrated. Of course all of this doesn't apply if there is no loudness normalization.
blizzy1978 -6 is super old school , very 2010’s ! Fortunately obsolete
@@chrisrevel2801 I was just picking numbers from thin air.
from what I hear, it's a beautiful tune!
ALSO! im planning on starting to upload my releases privately on youtube before releasing a public version on youtube, and even before submitting my songs to my distributor from now on. to see how the typical algorithms normalize the sound. thought someone else might find this helpful by adding this to their standard practice from now on.
It could be a great experiment. Let us know if this strategy helps :)
Thank you!! This is the first time this process makes sense to me !
You're welcome! 🙂
Thnx a million 4 d clear explanation!
You're welcome! 🙂
@@EDMTips A question, though! Now, digital distributors take only 1 mastered file that i upload. Why should i make different masters for different platforms?!? Where do i submit them?
Best video on the subject found so far, clear and concise. Love the visual explanations. Subbed.
Appreciate it sir😌🙏
You’re welcome! Glad you enjoyed :)
Quick question, I reach the streaming platform lufs targets based on my loudness meter but my songs are still quieter than other professional songs. People told me i don’t use enough compression/saturation etc. But what tool could show me that i’m still below some levels since I can hear that I’m not loud enough ?
Go beyond the target because the target is for end users and not for mastering music. This video is propagating bad information. That's why your song is still quieter.
This makes sense im about to go to the studio to master right now ive been confused about it but i think im getting it now
how do you send different versions to different stores when they send only one copy to every store?
Great Video! Understood perfectly
Thanks for the clear explanation! But i have a question cause i master my music with ozone9 and i set it to -14lufs and -1db peak level but the other songs out there sound alot louder... so should i boost the lufs level and the peaks or what should i do? Thanks in advance
Dude, I have the same problem! I master my tracks to the specs on soundcloud, -14 LUFS at -1 db true peak, but my tracks always sound quieter than everyone else's. I'm about to throw that -1db out the window and start limiting to 0db to see how that sounds.
I was hoping he was going to explain that..
Yeah man doesn't make sense at all.... i started maximising the levels and see what it could reach and it worked! 0db true peak and LUFS can reach -8LuFS with no prob🙌 so just master like that🤙🤙
@@arkane5170 Yes, apparently -14 LUFS is kind of a safe area. You can push it upto -7 or -6 LUFS without any problem with 0+ Peak DB. The one thing to look out is just, Distortion.
Most EDM tracks are mastered on around -5 /-3 LUFS or even higher and that's probably why they seem louder to you. mastering that loud is useless, cos when you distribute it to spotify the volume is been taken down a lot, and it doesn't sound that good (remember you have to kill your dynamics to make the track louder, and a track with no dynamics will only sound good when it's loud)
Great video, concise and informative and no nonsense. Many Thanks
Glad it was helpful!
Best explanation I've heard so far. Ready to work :)
So incredibly helpful and easy to follow. Thank you so much!
Definitely the most straightforward tutorial. Thank you very much. God bless
Glad you liked it!
Great video bro
Liked and suscribed .
Well, looks like I've done my job then! 😉 Thanks for subscribing and I hope you continue to enjoy the content! 🙌🏻
where can I find this song by your student, do you have a link?
Sure! open.spotify.com/track/7L6huAnPILv5iLZMA03Nmu?si=H00V6CyKSU-tKHjOdss2iw
This brings up a dilemma. I use a service that distributes to all platforms at once. But i can only upload one audio file.. so what is the best way to do that?
That was REALLY REALLY helpful! Thank you soooo much!! 😍😍😍
You're so welcome!
EDM Tips 🙏🏼❤️
I really like Wave Hammer in Sound Forge software.
Thanks for sharing!
Great tip thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
Great Tips - this is definitely valuable to know for my uploads!
Really nicely explained, thanks for that!
You’re welcome!
Now, digital distributors take only 1 mastered file i should upload. Why should i make different masters for different platforms?!? Where do i submit them?
super useful video, i do have a question though:
Spotify says: "The web player and 3rd-party devices (e.g. speakers and TVs) don’t use loudness normalization."
Does that mean that it can't be mastered perfectly for all listeners - web and app users?
👉🏼 If you want to get to the next level with your music but have no idea how to achieve it, click the link below to book a call with my team to get you where you want to be 👇
www.edmtips.com/accelerator
I got a question:
Does a file 16 bit and 24 bit make any difference? I mean, if I do upload a track 16 bit does it have any difference with the 24 bit?
I know this is late but, No, It doesn't matter how much bit you give Spotify. Streaming services downgrade it According to their Subscription Plans. But, Obviously the Higher you give them the Better. Go for 24 Bits. That way if a user with a Subscription that supports 24 bits would play your music, They would benefit from it as they would get their 24 bits. Hope I made it clear. Cheers!
Spotify usually asks for 16 bit 44.1 kHz
Thank's for that simple explanation!!
You’re welcome! Glad it was helpful!🙂
thank you for explaining all the terminology and different areas of this, I'm good at making music but have no clue how about mastering lol. Other videos would use all these terms to explain it but wouldnt explain what they mean so I was still lost
Hi, thanks for the video.. just a question..?
I read that spotify is requiring a true peak -1db if the LUFS integrated is -14.. but if you go louder than -14LUFS integrated then you should have a true peak of -2db... do you consider these indications or you just keep the true peak at -1db however or less than that..? this is what I'm trying to solve.. thanks..
You should not consider any request of Spotify. You should master for it to sound good to you and not a meter.
@@jakphoto thanks
Hi, thanks for going over LUFs, peaks, dynamics, and all the good tidbits. I have a question. I use DP meter to analyze my LUFs and get my song to -14 but when I compare my song with a song of Drake’s, for example, his sounds significantly louder at least 3dB louder, I’ve downloaded his song off of iTunes put it into ProTools measured the LUFs and it was only -14.3. Why does a mainstream artist track sound so much louder?
Hey. Thank you. Everything is so clear now🙏🏻
You’re welcome 😊
Things are making more sense for me now. But what if you upload with a distributor like distrokid that sends it to multiple stores? Apple Music wants -16LUFS and Spotify wants -14LUFS, and TH-cam says -13LUFS.
Aim for -14 with a True Peak of -1dB and you'll be absolutely fine.
These are just targets. You don't have to hit the mark perfectly. If your track is louder, two things will happen: Your dynamic range is reduced, because you made it that way. Second, your track will be played at less volume to be perceived as loud as any other track.
@@blizzy78 Absolutely for the first point, but the second looks cut off?
Thanks for the info.. lovely.
Brilliant video!
hey. what is the deal w/ loudness range?
Thanks for the information! Time to go level my tracks :)
You're welcome! 🙂
but one question: HOW DO YOU MEASURE THE LUFS? I MEAN ARE YOU SETTING YOUR MASTERVOLUME TO MAX TO MEASURE THE LUFS , OR ELSE IT DOESNT MAKE SENSE, OR DOES IT??
*This TH-cam channel is blessings of God to Music Produces*
*Thanks for tutorial*
You're very welcome indeed! Anything in particular you want help with?
@@EDMTipsYes on STEREO imaging...
Like i know everything about Phase and how to make sound *STEREO*
But i don't how to use its in real life full Project.........
*Like How to actually use Stereo imaging*
Great video, thanks for straight forward explanation!
Thanks, and you're welcome!
So if I have soundcloud account snd spofity and I wanted to upload a the same track or song to both of them. I would have to make two versions, one for soundcloud and one for Spotify so Spotify won't over compress my song.? Am I correct or near correct? Also thank you for the video Def helped out more with understanding mix and mastering. Thank u
Hey thanks for the info! I'm mastering a track for spotify right now and on my Waves WLM im hitting -18 LUFS overall and -17 max.
If I use the built in limiter in the WLM plugin and boost about 4.0 db or so with the true peak limiter set to -1.0 to hit -14 LUFS consistently, will spotify then "ruin" my track dynamics when I upload it to them since I'd be going over -14 LUFS at some points in the song due to the 4.0 boost or would the limiter being set to -1.0 be enough to prevent spotify touching the track too much?
I appreciate the advice!
Spotify will first prioritize lowering the overall volume of your track so it never exceeds -1dB true peak levels. Meaning, your track wi probably sit at levels just a little lower than -14 LUFS. If normalization is turned on at normal settings, Spotify will never limit your track.
I thought you want it to peak at -1db?
Which distributor allows you to upload different versions to either Spotify and Beatport ? Thanks :)
NONE. And if there is one, you don't need it because this idea of different masters to different platforms is entirely incorrect.
@@jakphoto can you elaborate on this ?
Very helpful. Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Amazing 🔥
LUFS for spotify are so confusing! In using limiters, saturation, removing unnecessary low end, everything I can think of to get the most out of my volume and I have to reach about -8 or -9 LUFS in order to compete with other songs in the same genre on Spotify. What am I doing wrong? If I upload my loud file Spotify will just turn them down
Nothing you are doing everything right if it doesn't distort and it sounds good and loud to industry standards you are doing it right I would not listen to some of these youtubers they are incorrect on what they are talking about.
Thank you for this explanation. But please not everyone who writes or produces music likes "in yer face, Head Banging EDM".
What if you have a solo singer songwriter with an acoustic guitar?
Serious question. once you achieve -14 lufs with a maximizer/compressor, are you suggesting that you should export your track to within a fraction of 0db peak?
I allow -6db headroom and that's about comfortable listening level for me,
Any idea why the LUFS doesn't get louder when I'm using the gain? Thanks for the vid!
are all my samples in splice overdistorted or something ? i realized i was having very quiet mixes when i bounced out my files so i decided to do some loudness metering , and come to find all my kick samples are eating up so much space in the mix . a kick playing by itself soleley at -3 db un eq'd is topping out at around -9 to -10 lufs . . thats already -4 to -5 lufs of negative gain that spotify is lowering my finished mix to JUST from kick alone . how can i fix this without butchering my kick samples or is it something i just have to deal w weaker kicks to have a good sounding mix overall . this topic is so confusing
Is that track from your student on Spotify? Sounded great!
Thanks for explaining this!
You're welcome!
Thank you man, super tips
I use Sony WH-1000XM3 headphones with spotify on my phone. What should i set 'volume level' at in the settings for quality? Default is normal. Would Low be a better quality but quieter? All the music is downloaded to best quality also. Thanks fo any help!
Hey sir say if my track is hitting around 17 how to bring it down to at least -6-10 lufs
what can I do to lower my true peak if it's high in the mastering stage. have a track a 3db over. do i have to go back in the mix?
Hi! Thank you, very helpful! One thing I still don't understand, even when I'm keeping my lufs and dbtp under control, my music will eventually sound not as loud as literally every other song on for example Spotify. I just can't figure that out that mystery.
thanks for this
the sound at 0:07 made me jump over to my fiverr lmao
Thank You
You're welcome! Thanks for watching :)
I'm having a really weird issue with music I put up using DistroKid. I checked a box on their service to apply a normalizer thinking my tracks weren't loud enough only to receive an email that they were and the normalizer wasn't applied.
However, I noticed the opening crash cymbal on a couple songs gets cut down super drastically but all the other crashes (that are literally the same the songs are simple loops with a crash cymbal I copied and pasted to transition to different parts) are fine.
Does this have to do with LUFS (Distrokid claims it does) or does this sound like they added the normalizer despite saying they wouldn't?
is that plugin compatible with fruity loops?
Does spotify worry about peak levels?
Is the 8-week edm production masterclass DAW specific?
Hi Will, and thanks for explaining this so clearly! I've just finished to master my own album, it's just piano solo and piano + clarinet and strings (please take Olafur Arnalds as a reference), so it's quite low. I applied some compression and I reached -18/-17 LUFS (integrated, in each track) with a true peak at -1 dB. I don't feel like compressing it more because if I try it starts to sound unnatural to my ears. Would you say that this could be a problem on Spotify? Will it sound too quiet?
Thanks in advance and greetings from Italy!
Hi Alessandro...I would say the first thing is always, always the quality of the sound. If your music doesn't sound good compressed more, then don't compress it more!
Yes, why this obsession that music has to be loud?
Really helpful video thank you. Quick question though... you measured LUFS when looping the loudest part of the track. Do Spotify measure the average LUFS value across the whole track or just the loudest part? Many thanks.
Hey bro, nice explanation, but can you tell please, why is your master at -6 dB? You are adding gain with utility, why not just add some on master fader? Thank you!
Thanks a lot for this clear explanation. The loudness war is quite a mess ! ;)
You're welcome!
Great video and really helpful! So to understand we export two versions one for the preview of Spotify etc and another version with - 7db lufs for when People download ing the actuall file from Spotify or beatport?
No. You upload the same version and the platforms take care of things where relevant. This videos information is incorrect.
@@jakphoto yep; it seems you master loud - for Beatport/clubs, and you never have to even think about LUFS as the platforms do it themselves 🤷♀️
so, I don't quite get this vid in that case. Am I missing something?
This LUFS targeting with different masters for different platforms is, sorry to say, bull. If you send the loudest master everywhere, you're done. You don't send a different master to each service. I listen to TH-cam Music. I've heard plenty of fresh releases reading -7 to -5. You think they sent a quieter master to Spotify? Hell no. A single file went to the distribution services and any changes in volume were made on an automated, individual basis by those platforms. Please stop propagating this nonsense!
thank you! I suspected the -14 thing was bullshit.
Hi there, If these values are average track volume why did you just loop the loudest part of the song? This will not return the same value as if you played through the whole song and surely would not be the songs correct LUFS-I value for the platforms you are uploaded to no? Please let us know. The diagram used in this video followed by looping an isolated section to get a reading are not consistent to my eyes. Thanks a bunch
Question from a completely different genera. I’m currently working on a recording project featuring a solo harp artist. Would the ‘rules of thumb’ regarding Db levels for Spotify apply in that instance too?
yes
1- What's the difference between LUFS & RMS?
2- The Integrated LUFS in my EDM Tracks are around (-5.5 to -5)
is that loud enough? or should i push it little more?
1) RMS is the average of the sound over the time, indeed lufs is how actually loud is the song
2) you have to push the loudness until it is clipping, because whrn it going to clipping you have to stop.
I often push my song to - 3,3 lufs
@@axxel9626 its already clipping at -5 lufs
@@marceldhaini3363 so you have to check again you mix, and try to re-do the leveling, and balance more the sound, then tell to me if it is clipping anymore! 😉
how did you set the pick limit , not clear
What about a track with 40 LUFS integrated? How coul;d be drop down to 14?
what if ur trying to blend genres together. like metal and hip hop where the calmer parts are the verses and then the chorus is louder
I would set my mastering loudness to the loudest part of the track
@@EDMTips that’s what i normally do but it still just makes the chorus way louder then the rest of the track
Something I can't get my head around - I asked my distributor if it is possible to submit different masters of one single track: one for Spotify/streaming services with a LUFS which flies below the gain compensation threshold, and one much louder, -7 dB LUFS competitive master for Beatoprt/Juno etc, for the DJ market - the answer is 'no' you can only submit one master. So it begs the question, if I am creating dance floor music for DJs but also want an ideal listening experience for the streaming services, how loud should my masters be? I have to choose a preference between download or streaming?
It should be fine uploading loud masters, usually I master to around -9 lufs and the streaming services will automatically reduce the volume down to -14 the only thing is that the louder you go the less dynamic range you will have but usually I like to master as loud as possible without exceeding -3db or so of gain reduction on the limiter.
Thank you!
Well, although my max peak is lower than -5 dB, my LUFS always jump up into the positive area around 3 or 4. To get the LUFS down to -5 I have to lower the volume to a maximum peak of - 13 dB. How come?
how about lufs-I and lufs-S in logic pro analyzer
Explained well. One thing I have noticed is that on Spotify, there some big swings in volume track to track.... so what figures? Anyone else noticed this?
You might have the loudness normalisation turned off. So does half of the people who are using Spotify. That's why - I believe - mastering for -14 dB LUFS is hurting yourself - big artists have their tracks mastered for -6/-5 dB LUFS on Spotify - if you have normalisation turned on - it will get turned down to -13/-14 dB LUFS. But if you turn the normalisation off - you will listen to the actual volume of the master - if it's -6 dB LUFS it will be that. If you upload your track at -14 dB LUFS and have normalisation turned off - your track will be at -14 dB and other will be at -6 dB. That's why some tracks are super loud comparing to others.
So how come there is still difference when volume normalization on Spotify is enabled? Justin Bieber is -12LUFS (Original master at -7 LUFS, not -14 so really loud), some other songs I checked -15 LUFS? This means the Bieber track will sound louder than if you master specifically for Spotify. I have to say it's a bit of a mystery. In theory I completely understand it, but in the real world it turns out there's still quite a difference.
"So how come...?" Because this video is wrong.
cheers
You're welcome! 🙂