Loudness in Mastering | Are You Listening? | S2 Ep5

#areyoulistening #izotope #audiomastering #loudnesswars

How loud should a song be? What even is loud? Follow along as iZotope Education Director and professional mastering engineer Jonathan Wyner discusses loudness. From how perception influences loudness when mastering audio, to best practices for loudness in a variety of formats—streaming, vinyl, CD, and beyond.

0:47 Understanding loudness
4:46 How loud should you make your music?

[iZotopeOfficial]

Have a question for Jonathan? Reply below and we’ll address it in a future episode of Are You Listening!

[BLBStudio]

Best free content in the area of music production. Just wow!

[kristianandreasen]

1:43 - concepts of loudness (average level and timbre/distribution of energy)
2:21 - contrast
3:11 - where should the level reside?
6:58 - loudness wars
8:20 - using meters for measuring loudness
10:14 - limiting to get loudness
11:19 - how loud should my master be?
12:23 - difference in peak and average level / flattening out dynamics
13:15 - squashed limiting A/B demonstration
14:30 - importance of loudness match or level matching
15:04 - pro tips for making your music loud (no exact recipe but advice on best practices)
17:27 - conclusion

[ilikeflxwers]

This is the most educating series I've ever seen on YouTube.

[willwaterfalls]

Normally it's hard for me to watch videos of someone just talking for extended periods of time with no music playing, but for some reason this guys voice and demeanor made me watch this whole thing as well as 3 other similar videos on this channel. It's ironic he's discussing loudness and being so calm and quiet. I just want to be friends with this guy lol

[georgemoore]

I absolutely love the product and all of the videos that are apart of their learning section. I think the most important or should I say valuable part of the izotope brand is the "Are you Listening " series. Priceless!!!

[joaospin]

I think Jonathan should talk about DIY mastering vs. hiring a professional vs. auto mastering sites.

[TheRiteHand]

Let me set aside the (excellent) informational value here and just say that it’s a pleasure just to hear this man speak

[TokyoSpeirs]

Even if you couldn't care less for Ozone or iZotope, this is by far the most informative and concise series on mastering (and mixing) on YouTube.

[Josh.Bartel]

It’s super difficult to give set in stone rules about loudness in mastering which makes it such a hard topic to explain. Nice work explaining it as well as you did!

[filmmaker]

As a former musician, sound is extremely important to me. This is a very good explanation.

[pietrogirardi]

Thank you for this video, I'm in the position of mixing and mastering my own stuff, and always heard just the downsides of this approach. This is the first time I hear about it with a positive attitude: I often find myself going back to the mix to carve out those peaks that hit limiter the most, so that I can push it a little harder (not just for the sake of "loudness" but to better distribute the energy throughout the whole spectrum). I'd really love to see an episode about clipping, I find the ozone limiter to have a great ability to do it and would like to see a pro like you share some knowledge about it. Keep up the good work!

[gusdee]

Learning more about that crest factor and realizing its the issue ive been dealing with. Everybody says keep ur kick at -6 but the limiter always crushes it and squares off the peaks. Ive been eqing low end out of it or lowering it by alot. Its always the kick and snare that are the samples squashed by the limiter.

[bhargavdobhal]

Thank You Jonathan Wyner and Izotope🙌🙌 for this really helpful video🔥🔥.

[samrhythm]

the song he's mastering makes this video so much more entertaining, it's fire

[lindasmusicandvideos]

Hi Jonathan, I love your "Are You Listening" episodes.
They are informative, and inspirational!


I have Ozone, and your advice and information has been a great help.


Thank you, Linda Ponte

[sq]

This guy is awesome. Thanks to you and Izotope I'm finally understanding mastering! Keep it going!

[alexdrouin]

Thank you so much for all this series Johnathan and Izotopes, you guys are the best.

[ErikMontenegro]

What a series! I learned so much thanks to you, this is invaluable! Thanks so much

[phyleneamuso]

I'm new to music prod and Izotope, it seems the most intuitive of many offerings.This is fantastic! Thank you so much, ive been a musician for decades but digital is new to me so .... I can learn the software and what to listen for as I train my ears. You are teaching at a perfect level for me as well, just complex enough that I'm learning but able to follow as well.