Everything you need to know about Loudness Units relative to Full Scale, loudness normalization and target levels for streaming platforms.
If you're releasing music today, you must understand LUFS. It is the global standard for measuring audio loudness. While streaming platforms like Spotify normalize playback to around -14 LUFS by default, normalization can be disabled by listeners in their settings. Understanding how to balance dynamic range at -14 LUFS with competitive commercial loudness around -8 LUFS is essential for modern music releases.
Mixify automatically targets optimal streaming LUFS for you.
Every major streaming platform uses a target for default loudness normalization. When normalization is active and a track exceeds this target, the platform turns it down. However, because listeners can disable normalization, professional commercial tracks often master between -10 and -8 LUFS to stay competitive everywhere.
| Platform | Target LUFS (Integrated) | Target True Peak |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | -14 (Default) or -8 (Pro Average) | -1 dBTP |
| Apple Music | -16 | -1 dBTP |
| YouTube | -14 | -1 dBTP |
| Tidal | -14 | -1 dBTP |
| Amazon Music | -14 | -1 dBTP |
| SoundCloud | Not Normalized (Aim for -11 to -14) | -1 dBTP |
| Club / Live DJ | -6 to -8 | -0.3 dBTP |
LUFS is not a single static number. It is measured over different time scales. Understanding the difference is essential for a dynamic master.
This is the average loudness of the **entire track** from start to finish. This is the metric that streaming platforms (like Spotify) use to determine how much to turn your track up or down.
This measures the loudness over a moving 3-second window. It is highly useful for checking the loudness of your chorus versus your verses. A great chorus might hit -10 LUFS Short-Term, even if the Integrated LUFS for the whole song is -14.
This measures loudness over a very fast 400-millisecond window. It reacts quickly to sudden peaks and drum hits.
LUFS measures perceived loudness, but True Peak measures the absolute maximum electrical level of the audio signal, predicting what will happen when the digital audio is converted back to analog.
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