How Loud Should Your Master Be? LUFS for Spotify, Apple & YouTube
Published · updated · by Loopin
Streaming platforms turn everyone down to the same loudness, so crushing your master louder doesn't win — it just costs you dynamics. Here's the loudness that actually translates, and how to hit it.
Loudness is measured in LUFS
LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) measure perceived loudness over time — much closer to how loud a track actually sounds than a peak meter. Streaming services normalise playback to a target loudness, so a track mastered far above it gets turned down on playback, while a quiet one gets turned up.
Practically, that means there’s a sweet spot. Master around −14 LUFS integrated and your song sits at a competitive level on most platforms without sacrificing punch. Learn the full picture in what is LUFS.
The targets by platform
Spotify, YouTube and Amazon normalise to roughly −14 LUFS; Apple Music targets about −16 LUFS; TikTok and some others sit nearer −14 to −13. The good news: you don’t master a different file for each. Aim for around −14 LUFS integrated with clean peaks and your master translates well everywhere.
Pushing to −8 or −9 LUFS ‘for loudness’ backfires — the platform attenuates it back to −14 anyway, and you’ve already squashed the dynamics to get there. Loud masters end up quieter and flatter after normalisation.
Leave headroom: true peak matters more than you think
Keep a true-peak ceiling of about −1 dBTP. Inter-sample peaks — the ones a normal peak meter misses — can clip when your audio is converted to MP3 or AAC or played through a phone DAC. A −1 dBTP ceiling prevents that distortion, which is far more audible than a fraction of a dB of loudness.
So the recipe is simple: around −14 LUFS integrated, true peak at −1 dBTP. Get those two numbers right and the master will sound clean and consistent across earbuds, car speakers and laptops.
Hitting the target without guessing
You don’t need a metering plugin to get there. Loopin’s free online mastering measures your track, targets streaming loudness automatically and limits true peak to −1 dBTP — then lets you A/B the master against the original, loudness-matched, so you judge the tone honestly instead of falling for ‘louder sounds better’.
Master, listen on a couple of systems, and trust the targets over the meter-pinning instinct. Quieter-but-cleaner wins after normalisation every time.
Frequently asked questions
What LUFS should I master to?
Around −14 LUFS integrated is a safe, competitive target for most streaming platforms, with a true-peak ceiling of −1 dBTP. Apple Music normalises a little lower (about −16 LUFS), but a single −14 LUFS master translates well across all of them.
Is a louder master always better?
No. Streaming platforms normalise loudness on playback, so a master pushed well above the target just gets turned back down — after you've already sacrificed dynamics to get loud. Aim for the target loudness and keep the punch.
How do I check my master's LUFS for free?
Loopin's free online mastering measures your track's loudness and true peak and targets streaming levels automatically, so you don't need a separate metering plugin.