Mastering
-14 LUFS for Spotify without killing dynamics
Streaming normalisation ended the loudness war. The winner now is the master that still punches after it has been turned down.
DarkPlugins2 min read
In this guide 5
What Spotify does
Spotify measures integrated loudness and plays tracks at −14 LUFS by default. A −8 LUFS master gets turned down 6 dB; quieter tracks are only turned up as far as their peaks allow. YouTube normalises to about −14 LUFS, Apple Music to −16. A crushed −7 LUFS master ends up at the same level as a dynamic −12 LUFS one — just with flatter drums.
Three numbers
- Integrated LUFS — average loudness of the whole song.
- True peak — keep it at −1 dBTP, or −2 dBTP for very loud masters; lossy encoding raises peaks.
- PSR — peak to short-term loudness. Below about 6 dB in the chorus, your drums are flattened.
Meter shows all three plus a loudness history of the whole track.
Loudness starts in the mix
- Leave headroom: mix peaks around −6 dBFS, nothing on the master.
- Clip drums and 808 by 2–3 dB at the source.
- Control 40–60 Hz — too much low end makes the limiter pump.
- Glue gently: 1.5–2:1, 20–30 ms attack, 1–2 dB of reduction.
Limiter: less is louder
Ceiling at −1 dBTP, oversampling at 4× or more, gain until you reach the target, 2–4 dB of reduction on the loudest hits. If you need 5–6 dB, the problem is earlier in the chain. For trap and drill, −10 to −12 LUFS integrated is a sensible target. Ceiling shows LUFS and platform targets right in the limiter, and Unity Listen compares at equal loudness.
Listen like the listener
Louder always sounds better, so compare at matched loudness and against references set to −14 LUFS. If yours sounds flatter, take 2 dB off the limiter.
For a one-window chain, MasterPolish runs Low End, Glue, Tone, Width and a true-peak limiter in signal-flow order.
