How loud should you master?

What is the difference between volume and loudness?

More info:

• What is LUFS?
• What is dB?

Loudness Target Finder: How loud should your master's degree be?

With our free Loudness Target Finder, you get a concrete LUFS recommendation for your master in three clicks – calculated from our own loudness measurements of real chart songs, not from the general platform standard values.

Loudness Target Finder LUFS recommendation based on actual chart measurements — not platform default values. Genre What are you mastering for? Sound character Metal Techno Pop EDM Hip-Hop & Rap Singer/songwriter & acoustic Streaming in general Spotify Apple Music YouTube Club / DJ set Vinyl CD Spotify/YouTube/TIDAL/Amazon (−14 LUFS) Deezer (−15 LUFS) Apple Music (−16 LUFS) Spotify Normal mode (−14 LUFS; Loud mode −11) Apple Music Sound Check (−16 LUFS) YouTube (−14 LUFS) no loudness normalization No normalization — own cutting limits Loud & powerful Balanced Dynamic & open Still to choose: Objective character. -1 dBTP (better -2) %s to %s Chart average %s: measured: %s to %s True Peak: Security headroom for codecs, regardless of genre The volume is reduced by approximately %s dB during playback. no reduction Normal playback adjustment, affects every chart song Vinyl has its own cutting limits — details: Vinyl Mastering References from the measurement: Copy export settings Copied Copying failed For %s measurement Measure track now (LUFS analyzer) Unsure if your mastering will hit the mark? Online mastering from Peak-Studios Mastering target (%s, %s): Integrated Loudness: %s to %s LUFS (Chart Ø %s) True Peak Limiter Ceiling: %s Export: WAV, 24-bit, sample rate as project (44,1/48 kHz) No additional normalization during export Source: Peak-Studios chart measurements — %s

Instructions: How to use the Loudness Target Finder

1. Choose genre:Click on the genre that's closest to your song. We've analyzed real chart hits for each genre – so your recommendation is based on what's actually being released in your genre. Is your genre not listed? Choose the closest in sound (e.g., Rock → Pop or Metal, Schlager → Pop, Ambient → Singer/Songwriter & Acoustic).
2. Select destination:Specify what you're mastering for – streaming (Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube), club/DJ set, vinyl, or CD. This doesn't change your target loudness, but it shows you how each platform will handle your track during playback.
3. Choose sound character:"Loud & powerful" aims for the upper end of what the charts are doing in your genre. "Balanced" is at the chart average. "Dynamic & open" gives your track more breath and dynamism – at the expense of some loudness.
4. Use the result:You'll receive your LUFS target range, the true peak limit, and the corresponding export settings. Clicking "Copy export settings" copies everything to your clipboard – ready to be checked off when exporting in your DAW.

Here's how to read your result

• LUFS target area(e.g., -9,9 to -8,9 LUFS): This is the integrated loudness that your finished master should have over its entire length – measured asLUFS(Integrated). This range is derived from our measurements of actual chart releases in your genre.
• True Peak(e.g., max. -2 dBTP): This is the upper limit for yourtrue peak level– Set it as the ceiling in your limiter. We deliberately recommend 1–2 dB of safety headroom: When converting to streaming codecs (AAC, Ogg, MP3), inter-sample peaks occur which distort audibly without headroom. For masters louder than −14 LUFS, always use −2 dBTP.
• Platform row("is adjusted to be ~5 dB quieter"): Streaming services equalize the playback volume of all songs (Loudness normalizationThe fact that your track will be turned down in the process isNo fault and no disadvantageThis happens with every chart song. Therefore, it would be wrong to simply master to the platform value (e.g., -14 LUFS): your track wouldn't sound louder, but would lose punch and character compared to the chart references.

Here's how to implement the values ​​in your DAW

1. Place thatCeiling of your limiterto the recommended True Peak value (activate True Peak mode or ISP limiting).
2. Drive at the limiter until your track is inLUFS target arealies – you can measure this for free with ourLoudness Meter (LUFS Analyzer), directly in the browser and without uploading.
3. Listen critically: If the track sounds compressed or pumped, reduce the loudness by 1-2 dB – a good master track thrives on the balance between loudness and dynamics, not on the last decimal place.
4. Export as24-bit WAVat the sample rate of your project (44,1 or 48 kHz), without additional normalization.

How the Loudness Target Finder calculates

The recommendations are based on our own loudness measurements of real chart songs (original audio files, integrated loudness according to ITU-R BS.1770): Metal Ø -6,5 LUFS, Techno Ø -7,5, Pop Ø -7,5, EDM Ø -8,6, Hip-Hop & Rap Ø -9,4, Singer/Songwriter Ø -9,6 LUFS. You can find detailed measurements with all reference songs on our genre pages, for example...Hip-Hop & Rap, EDM, Techno, Metal, PopandSinger / songwriterPlatform values ​​such as -14 LUFS (Spotify) or -16 LUFS (Apple Music) are purely playback normalization and are not included in the recommendation. For the true peak, we recommend -1 to -2 dBTP headroom regardless of genre; for masters louder than -14 LUFS, we generally recommend -2 dBTP. Measurements taken in 2023. Technically responsible: Christopher Subat, Peak-Studios.