Hey guys, I've noticed alot of differing answers on this forum and others reguarding the true LUFS standards on streaming sites and various other social media platforms...

Is there anyone who can provide an accurate list of the exact requirements (if any) for these platforms:

iTunes/Apple Music
Spotify
Tidal
Soundcloud
Youtube
Vimeo

If there is any info for other platforms please don't hesitate to comment!

Important note: As I stated above some answers I have read are differing so if you are not exactly sure then please do not worry about commenting...The intention of this post is to give people a clear accurate reference for the future...Thank you!

Another important note: I will make edits to this original post with the accurate reliable references so people do not have to dig too deep for answers...Happy mixing


UPDATES WITH CONFIRMED LUFS STANDARDS:

Soundcloud: No LUFS Standard - Mix as loud as you like!
Spotify: -14LUFS
iTunes/Apple Music: -16LUFS

 

Last edited: Apr 17, 2019

I agree in a universal sense there is no exact standard. They do vary depending on the platform. However I think this will still be useful for many on here. Naturally, if a platform were to change their standard by +/- 1 or 2 LUFS I'd gladly update it for people...Just trying to help people (including myself) make sense of things. Thanks for your input

 

ASFAIK Soundcloud has no loudness standard. It leaves that up tp you.

• Mathis
  
• Moderator
• 13431 replies
• 
  3 years ago

Hi there,

There is no max loudness on SoundCloud, no. We don't normalize the tracks that our users upload. The uploads are encoded into 128kbps mp3 audio files for the purpose of streaming. If you do enable downloads for your tracks, though, the file that others will download will be the exact same file as you originally uploaded.

Hope this helps.

Cheers
Mathis ​

https://community.soundcloud.com/up...uld-i-master-my-tracks-for-soundcloud-6757176

 

Thanks for the info, will update the OP

 

Try this: https://www.loudnesspenalty.com/

 

The really important thing to remember is that you don't get rejected, you get your volume turned down.

According to this web site ...

https://www.masteringthemix.com/blo...dio-for-soundcloud-itunes-spotify-and-youtube

Streaming Service Playback Level
Apple Music *Soundcheck On* ~ 16 LUFS
YouTube ~ 13 LUFS
Spotify ~ 14 LUFS
Tidal ~ 14 LUFS

You should master your music so it sounds great to you! These figures aren't 'targets', but it's worth remembering that:

1. Louder music can appear to sound 'better', so be sure to level-match your master when referencing your favourite mixes in the studio (we have an awesome plugin for that called REFERENCE, check it out!)

2. Your music will get turned down if it's louder than -14 LUFS. Going for a more dynamic and punchy mix will sound better than an over-compressed, distorted master. I personally like to keep my clients music no louder than around -8 short-term LUFS during the loudest part of the song when I'm mastering for Spotify.

3. Spotify suggests leaving at least -1dBTP (decibels true peak) of headroom when submitting music so they're optimised for the lossy formats. They suggest -2dBTP of headroom for loud track, as loud tracks have a greater chance of clipping during transcoding. Spotify streams audio using Ogg/Vorbis and AAC files which are almost guaranteed to increase the peak levels. For more info on true-peaks check out my post on How To Master Music To Get An Exact True Peak and LUFS Reading​