What volume should I master at?

You may or may not like to hear this since it's pretty subjective, but you should master your music so that it sounds great to you! But if you want a good level to aim for... -14 LUFS is the best mastering level for streaming, as it will fit the loudness targets for the majority of streaming sources.
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What should my master volume be?

The best mastering settings are -14 LUFS integrated loudness, with -0.2dBFS True Peak, and a minimum 6dB of dynamic range. This can vary between streaming services, but -14LUFS will have you covered for the most popular services like, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer etc.
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What volume level should I mix at?

Conclusion. Mixing at the right volume level is important for getting a professional mix. If you're making any EQ changes or listening critically to the relationships between all of our sounds, then be sure to Mix at 85-90db. For everything else, mix at a lower volume level, such as around 50-60db.
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What dB should my master peak at?

I recommend 1dB of headroom, so your master should peak at -1dBFS before you convert it to an mp3 or AAC file. The simplest way to ensure 1dB of peak headroom is to use a maximizer or mastering limiter in which you can set your output ceiling to -1dB. All good maximizers and limiters provide this function.
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Should I master to 14 LUFS?

The best mastering level for streaming is an integrated -14 LUFS, as it best fits the loudness normalization settings of the majority of streaming services. Although other measurements like the true peak value and other metrics need to be considered, -14 LUFS is the best mastering level when considering loudness.
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How Loud Should You Master Your Music?



Why are my masters so quiet?

Re: Master is quiet compared to commercial release.

It's normal that your master sounds lower when you master to -16LUFS, because it *is* lower. That may or may not be a problem depending on where it will be played. Depending on the situation, you may need more than one master.
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Do I need headroom for mastering?

Headroom for Mastering is the amount of space (in dB) a mixing engineer will leave for a mastering engineer to properly process and alter an audio signal. Typically, leaving 3 – 6dB of headroom will be enough room for a mastering engineer to master a track.
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How loud should I master for Spotify?

Target the loudness level of your master at -14dB integrated LUFS and keep it below -1dB TP (True Peak) max. This is best for lossy formats (Ogg/Vorbis and AAC) and makes sure no extra distortion's introduced in the transcoding process.
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Is 0dB too loud?

0dB is the highest any peaks can go, before it clips. I recommend mixing your music to about --10dB average and 0dB peak. Anything quieter will annoy anyone who's using a laptop - they'll feel like they can "just barely hear it". actually, 0dB is relative to the scale in use (electrical reference).
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How loud should my melody be?

The ideal listening range for most home studios is around 73-76dB SPL. But mixers have no control over how loud people listen to music. Only how loud each element is in the track. That's why it's crucial to make sure that your mix is balanced and each instrument is at the proper level relative to the other channels.
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How do you tell if your song is mastered properly?

How Do I Know if I Mastered a Track Correctly?
  1. Avoid Clipping. It may sound like a basic step but take steps to avoid clipping during the mix stage. ...
  2. Master at the Highest Resolution. ...
  3. Don't Over-Process the Mix. ...
  4. Don't use Multiband Compression in Mix. ...
  5. Make Use of Headroom. ...
  6. Get an Outside Opinion.
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Is LUFS too loud for Spotify?

They also shouldn't be much quieter than −14 LUFS. You should leave at least 1 dB of headroom. Though Spotify recommends mastering louder tracks to −2 dB true peak.
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What LUFS to aim for?

A common question is this: what LUFS should I master to? At present, there is a lot of advice online stating that you should master your songs to -14 LUFS integrated. The rationale behind this is that -14 LUFS integrated is the target value of most streaming sites.
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How many LUFS is too loud?

Their target for LUFS is -14. That doesn't mean your master has to be that level of loudness. Most established producers will still make tracks louder than -14 LUFTS. The general guide is to not go any louder than -9 LUFTS.
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Can you leave too much headroom for mastering?

Just leave some headroom without having to use a limiter and you'll be fine. If you're working at 24 bits or higher it really doesn't matter that much. If your peaks are at -20 dBFS that still leaves you 124dB to work with.
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How many dB is LUFS?

Decibels and LUFS both measure sound, so how do you know which measurement to use? On paper, LUFS and decibels seem to be the same phenomenon. After all, both decibels and LUFS are more or less equal as 1 LUF is roughly 1 DB. Both are used to characterize volume.
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How do I become the loudest master?

How to Make a LOUD Master
  1. Use 2 Limiters.
  2. Use a Shorter Release Time for All Compression.
  3. Sandwich an Expander Between 2 Limiters.
  4. Always Use Upward Maximization or Low-Level Compression.
  5. Compress Your Mids and Use Automatic Make-Up Gain.
  6. Use a Dynamic Limiter.
  7. Don't be Afraid to Over-Process.
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Why is my mix so weak?

Typically, if our mixes sound thin, often times it means, that there's a lack of frequency content in this area of the spectrum. So maybe we thinned things out a little bit too much with EQ on the individual tracks, or maybe there's something missing in the arrangement to kind of fill in that space.
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Why is mix so quiet?

The Quick Answer. Assuming your main output meters are showing levels close to peaking without actually peaking (if they're not close, simply turn up your output level!), your track sounds quiet because there is too much of a difference between the volume of the loudest parts and the average volume of the whole song.
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Should you normalize mastering?

Normalizing audio should be avoided on the master track or during the pre-master or master bounce down to avoid intersample peaking.
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How many LUFS is hip hop?

We measure dynamic range in music by Loudness Unit Full-Scale, also known as LUFS. In hip-hop and pop music, average LUFS can range anywhere between -11 to -7.
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What LUFS does Spotify use?

Spotify and Youtube stream audio at around -14 LUFS. If a track has a loudness level of -9.5 LUFS (like AC DC Back In Black) both streaming platforms will decrease the volume of that track to around -14 LUFS.
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Is lower LUFS better?

While this is a fairly accurate way of measuring loudness, utilizing LUFS as standard loudness units is usually superior since LUFS takes into account music's perceived loudness along with the average audio reading.
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