Platform Loudness Targets
Streaming, broadcast and club playback normalise or expect different levels, so a master's loudness should follow its release context.
Related
Platforms adjust playback level to their own target. A very loud master may simply be turned down, its dynamics gone.
The problem
The same song plays at different levels on different services, so listeners reach for the volume knob. Pushing a single to -8 LUFS only invites normalisation and flatter transients.
Goals and standards
Streaming normalisation commonly sits near -14 LUFS, Apple Music leans toward -16 LUFS, and broadcast under EBU R128 often uses -23 LUFS, with true peak near -1 dBTP. Use about -14 for streaming, more conservative settings for dynamic music, and a louder separate version for club or physical use.
Practice
Choose the release channel first, then set the target. Use one integrated target for every track on an EP. Before upload, check a platform preview or phone speaker and keep a more dynamic master for video or physical use.
What to listen for
Match a reference and your master to the same loudness, then hear whether low end and vocal survive. If only harsh highs remain, the master was overpressed.
Common misunderstandings
Normalisation does not mean any loudness will do, because tone and dynamics still come from the master. Nor is -14 LUFS universal; services differ. Normalisation is not quality control, since crushed transients do not return.
Listen in the library
All tracks from midicn-lib — inline badge is the license tier (C1 commercial / C2 non-commercial / C3 study only).
Sources
- Spotify、Apple Music 与 YouTube 的响度归一目标，依平台公开帮助文档核查，未抄文本
- 流媒体与广播响度目标的差异，依交付与母带通识核查，未抄文本
Used for fact-checking only; all prose is original.