Estimate your mix bus level from track count, set gain staging targets, and check loudness standards for all major streaming platforms.
Normalises to -14 LUFS. Louder tracks turned down; quieter tracks turned up.
Normalises to -16 LUFS. Slightly quieter target than Spotify.
Only turns content down (not up). Aim for -14 LUFS to avoid reduction.
Same target as Spotify. Supports Hi-Res lossless.
Stricter true peak limit (-2 dBTP).
No normalisation — louder masters sound louder. The "loudness wars" battleground.
TV and radio broadcast standard. Much quieter than streaming.
Very quiet to leave headroom for explosions and dramatic dynamics.
| Stage | Target Level (RMS) | Target Level (Peak) | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual tracks (recording) | -18 to -12 dBFS | -6 dBFS | Leave headroom for dynamics and processing |
| Individual tracks (mixing) | -18 to -14 dBFS | -6 to -3 dBFS | Consistent input levels for compressors and EQ |
| Stem/Group buses | -12 to -6 dBFS | -6 to -3 dBFS | Summed groups stay controlled |
| Mix bus pre-master | -6 to -3 dBFS | -3 to -1 dBFS | Leaves room for mastering engineer |
| Mastered for streaming | -14 to -16 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Matches streaming platform normalisation targets |
Decibels relative to Full Scale. Measures instantaneous or peak levels. 0 dBFS is digital clipping. Used for tracking recording levels and true peak limiting.
Loudness Units relative to Full Scale. Psychoacoustic loudness measurement (ITU-R BS.1770). LUFS integrated = average loudness over entire track. The standard for streaming normalisation.
Root Mean Square. Average signal power over a window. Similar to LUFS but less perceptually accurate (no frequency weighting). Used in DAW meters for a rough loudness estimate.
The actual peak level after digital-to-analogue conversion, including inter-sample peaks that can exceed 0 dBFS digitally. Always limit true peak to -1 dBTP or below for streaming.