How to get your song to ACTUALLY sound loud on Spotify.
Video Overview & Insights
In this video I breakdown how to make your tracks sound competitive, and appear 'loud' compared to other tracks at the same volume on streaming services (such as Spotify and Apple Music).
I could be mistaken but⊠from my understanding youâre disregarding the true peak values in the A/B. The platform youâre uploading to (Spotify in this case) is going to see the -7db true peak value of the heavily limited mix and then raise that up to a value of-1db true peak which will essentially mean that you are essentially comparing them at a 6db difference.
If anyone can confirm this that would be fantastic.
This starts by understanding the difference between 'actual' loudness and 'perceived' loudness, and how you can use tools (such as limiters) to enhance your perceived loudness. I use my own track (as an example) to help explain this further.
But remember, it's often about finding the balance between 'loudness' and 'dynamic range' (in most genres) - not just limiting your track to the max.
Hi I am not a pro, but a couple of things, 1. there is PSR measurement. which is basically describes, or measures the dynamic ratio, the ratio between the "body" of the track and the peak loudness, kind of what you mentioned but actually there is a number for it to monitor! 2. You should emphasis more that using a limiter is not always an easy thing. It can creates a lot artifact, distortion etc, so it is not just a matter of preference if you want your sound be perceived loder, does it fit to your music style genre etc., but also can you, or how can you actually do that? It is a tricky thing and usually needs much more than one limiter. Great video btw.
If you have any questions or anything you want me to talk about in future videos, let me know in the comments below âŹïž.
Would love to hear your thoughts!
Not gonna lie, if you have any ounce of love or proud in your work, Spotify is not the move, especially if you want to protect it
If you want to learn more about mixing and mastering, check out my free music production academy below:
https://whop.com/music-production-academy-free/
For 'old time' classic indie rock I find around 14.5 works great with dynamics.The harder edged dance tunes need more compression and loudness etc.But that's You Tube.
Thanks
Would love to see you in there. Even just if you want a space to communicate and share knowledge with other producers - this is the place to be!
Timestamps:
this whole thing feels like its limiting my artistic freedom, that i have to rearrange my song a specific way or that i have no choice with choosing for example how loud my kick or bass is if i want my song to sound loud in spotify
0:00 - Introduction
0:18 - What is 'loudness'?
Mastering to a standard set by service like Spotify or YouTube means that your mix may not make as much sense years from now when the standards and technology change again. Itâs important to keep in mind but, unfortunately, itâs like aiming at a moving target :(
3:43 - Limiters
6:03 - Example track
That people are actually advocating to put your songs on Spotify. It shouldn't be louder it should be silenced forever.
14:16 - Outro
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ok but this is not showing us really how to do it, like using clipping, comp or other techniques to use in the mix to get that sweet spot that we want referring to the peaks and valleys. good explanation of the general concept on how it works but it doesn't solve much of the mystery
Instagram: @jordanmccraemusic
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Is that low end stereo or how come it's a bit muddy?
Something feels off even though I'm not familiar with that genre.
You could also send me the stems, I'm really interested to find out what makes me uncomfy there.
My Website/Contact/Hire me: https://jordanmccrae.com
#mixingandmastering #musicproduction #mixing
Sorry, I don't want my music to sound bitter ;)
More User Perspectives
You don't have to spend much money, time, or effort to do this. You can handle the perfect LUFS for Spotify or any other streaming platform by urself. Use Remasterify's online AI tool for that. that comes with more actional features like adding stereo or removing bg noise or controling EQ
@NixJanin general, the bass sounds really good
@danilzaoI don't equate perceived loudness to LUFS at all. LUFS is yet another measurement standard, while certainly better than RMS it's very similar and has little to do with how us humans actually perceive loudness. "Perceived loudness" in reality comes from micro , mid and macro dynamics.
Also a limiter isn't necessary in some genres. I release dance music tracks completely unmastered without limiting, have done professionally for over 10 years. I make music at 'full level', at the same perceived level as a mastered reference to start with so there's no extra stage needed.
Because the transients are let through (I design them to be invisibly clipped ) the tracks are usually perceived louder than limited material because If my drums are punching through then that is perceived as louder than a limited signal that is being held back even if the rest of the instruments are held at the same level, because the limiter will also pull back all sound when the drums over shoot, so all instruments suffer, whereas the unlimited is left to breathe.that sounds louder because the interdynamic differences are greater.
Why do loudness videos alwAys only focus on just using a limiter or just using a clipper.
You need to combine compression clipping, limiting, and saturation in a specific order to actually get clarity and loudness
Best solution: get off Spotify
@AvvieLancheCould always arrange your song with quiet sections and intro outro etc to reduce the integrated loudness overall and then Spotify will allow it to be louder in the louder sections if there is room in the peaks to do so.
@RobHarrisonquick question to 4:03 ... that they (limiters) instantly compress those sounds ..... limiters do not compress, right? they cut off everything above the threshold, right? .. which is a big difference .... soundwise. Or am I wrong? regards
@DeeJotJOAWhy would you want to make your track louder? That's how you lose the important "dynamics" of the track you dumbass. No wonder all mixes sound like shit these days. It's because of idiots trying to make tracks as loud as possible. That's what created the "loudness wars" đ€Ź
@LeepshinGood video. In addition to limiting, Compression (to increase density), Saturation, Clipping, Upward Expansion & increasing the presence region with EQ also contribute to increased loudness & perceived loudness.
@JrelI disagree with Spotify normalization. A lot of hip hop albums from the 90s are very quiet on the platform; Digable Planets & ATCQ Low End Theory, ironically, for example. Soul/Funk albums from the 70s too. Parliament Funkadelic does not bump on Spotify.
@leslyremy6002Good comparison. To my ears the blue A version definitely sounded much more natural. The heavily limited version is hard on my ears, mostly due to two things: all the reverb and echo are exaggerated, and all the high end sounds exaggerated. I guess this is expected from a full frequency range limiter. The trick I like to use is to manually simulate this "side effect" of limiting, and just pulling up the wet signal of the reverb and boost a bit the high end. More high end means more clarity which is preceived as "better" to a lot of people, and I guess more pronounced reverb gives the feel of "louder", but with this technique I can control better to keep it sounding natural and not overly dreamy/spacy.
@zsbanI recently stopped looking at the LUFS and using my ears and... ironically they end up usually hitting -14 to -6 LUFS naturally
@setscetGreat Vid. So what's the answer -do we go to -7 lufs and get spotify to bring it down to -14 lufs or do we upload at -14 lufs and miss out if normalise is turned off on the app.
@nelsongrae3007You are awesome
@Oedwai_GangGood video. I mix and master professionally as well as release my own music, and this topic is often a very poorly understood one. I donât master to a given LUFS level for singles although itâs often between-8 to -7 LUFS for the kind of music I make myself. When youâre mastering an album you often have to work with a LUFS level in mind.. but I very much agree that you need to think of the genre and listen to the music to find that sweet spot where your master has the right level of perceived loudness, detail, depth and transient punch. Mastering like mixing like music is an art form and not a scienceâŠ
@Aisle9MusicAmazing video, was really needing this one! đđŒđ
@isisdresch7369