Mastering Your Music For Spotify and Streaming

Are you confused about how to master your music for streaming, or how to master your music for Spotify? In this video i'll show you exactly what Spotify means by -14dB LUFS, how to master your own music to stay within the standard, and some mastering tools such as Loudness Penalty and iZotope Ozone you can use to achieve this goal.

Spotify uses a -14dB Integrated LUFS value as a standard. The mastering LUFS standard is just a way to measure the loudness of a track on its own, with no external reference. Prior to this standard the loudness wars were running rampant, but they've kind of been ended due to the widespread adoption of integrated LUFS. Loudness penalty is a web tool that allows you analyze how streaming services will scale the loudness of your song.

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Video Gear I Use:
Adobe Premiere Pro
Adobe After Effects

Music Gear I Use:
Computer: iMac late 2013
DAW: Logic Pro X & Ableton Live 10 Suite
Monitors: Mackie

[AndrewSouthworth]

How many of you already knew this? From the poll I ran on my Community tab, about 24% of audio nerds knew the Spotify mastering standard!

[matrixate]

If you turn down the ceiling, your LUFS level also go down. So, being at -14 LUFS, and turning the ceiling down by -2db, brings the LUFS down to about -16 LUFS. So, what you should say, is set your ceiling to 0db, then measure the integrated LUFS, in this case, let's say-14LUFS. After that, then turn that down by 2db, which brings your LUFS TO -16. You're DR says the same. Now, I believe what you want to do, is set your ceiling then get the LUFS where they want, but this reduces DR.

[archiecigirs]

Thanks man, finally found the video which answered all my questions! Very descriptive and helpful. Although I have one more question left, which confuses me when I am mastering my tracks. When I analyze the whole track with my Loudness meter (YOULEAN LOUDNESS METER 2) shows me one integrated value (-14 LUFS) and the izotpe 9 meters tells me (-13.7 LUFS) and I am not sure which I have to believe to? I test my file on the Loudness penalty after that anyway, of course. But still, it confuses me a lot... Do you know what the reason there might be? (Both plugins are set to spotify -14 LUFS target).

[jonathanbarber]

Thank you your awesome. I am trying to make experimental Noise music be correct for streaming.

[OmiLove]

Thanks!!! I am so excited to find Your Channel!!
🙏🏼💚🌟

[stubbzzz]

Does -14 integrated, mean at the absolute loudest part of the song? Because my integrated lufs are not static, they change a luf or 3 with the dynamics of the song.

And is the -1 true peak meaning you get 1 full luf or dB of headroom, in case it goes up to -14.7 or something?

Is it okay if it goes a up to like -14.5 or is -14.0 where you want it to peak?

One last question, since iTunes is set for -16 and Spotify is for -14, is it better to master to -16 and let Spotify bring it up to -14, or the other way around? Or would you just make separate masters for each platform?

[mpekim]

Remember kids, it’s always better to be too loud than too quiet. Spotify can turn you down but they won’t raise the roof up in this hizzy

[AleLoy]

I'm curious, is this still your approach or did you change your workflow overtime?

[Prodbymynameistv]

why would Spotify lower it -3.5 when it has to be -14

[killmylo]

is -1.9 a good number? The site gives me a good sound on spotify, but the same audio that I uploaded (not the -1.9) to the site is the one I uploaded to spotify and it sounds horrific

[WrvrUgoThrUR]

This was really helpful. I’m struggling with this and I may have have submitted a track that wasn’t the best it could have been, but I’ll chalk it up to experience and maybe take it down and resubmit as a “remaster” at some point.

[domesticatedriot]

Helpful as always! Thank you, Andrew.

[nicholaslove]

Found you recently from your older vocal video really like them

[MissVonDunajew]

You make everything sound so easy! I am going mad...When you got no money you must be smart and I guess I'm not smart enough...I tried the loudness penalty now, and it says that spotify would diminish the sound, yet, when I heard it on spotify it's so low! I gotta pull up the volume to actually hear it! what the hell is going on? do you think it may be a mixing problem rather than a mastering screw up?