How Loud Should My Master Be for Streaming?

Short answer: master to around −14 LUFS integrated with a −1.0 dBTP true-peak ceiling. Here is why that number wins on every platform.

The loudness war is over, and normalization won. Every major streaming service now adjusts playback so all songs sit at a similar loudness. That changes the goal of mastering: you are no longer chasing maximum loudness, you are mastering to a target.

The target: −14 LUFS, −1.0 dBTP

Master your integrated loudness to about −14 LUFS and cap your true peak at −1.0 dBTP. At this level your song arrives at full intended impact on Spotify, YouTube and TIDAL without being turned down, and the true-peak ceiling prevents the inter-sample distortion that ruins a master on lossy playback.

Why louder is not better anymore

If you master to −9 LUFS to sound "loud," Spotify simply attenuates your track back down to its reference — but you have already crushed your dynamics to get there. The result is a song that is the same volume as everyone else but flatter and more fatiguing. Mastering to −14 keeps your punch and your loudness.

Platform-by-platform

• Spotify — ~−14 LUFS (Loud setting higher, but −14 is the safe master target)
• Apple Music — ~−16 LUFS via Sound Check
• YouTube / YouTube Music — ~−14 LUFS
• TIDAL — ~−14 LUFS
• Amazon Music — ~−14 LUFS

Mastering one file to −14 LUFS / −1 dBTP is the sweet spot that satisfies all of them. For the underlying measurement, read what is LUFS.

How to hit it without guesswork

A proper mastering chain measures loudness with a BS.1770 meter, then a true-peak limiter brings the level up to target while holding the ceiling. HALOSOUNDS does this automatically and shows you the verified numbers before you download. See how to master a song online.