The Loudness War Will Never End!

The loudness war is not over and it’s not going to end. You might have heard from others about -14 LUFS. But when you release your music it doesn’t sound as good as these commercial tracks…

Today we’re gonna talk about the loudness war. Why it will never end and how to make sure your tracks sound loud and professional so you can compete with others.

#1 NOBODY CARES

Loudness tricks our ears. For the majority of people louder track will sound better. That’s how things work. You can be the guy who is neglecting it but no one will care. There’s a LOT of competition in the music industry. So if you want to get heard you need to be aware of the rules. You might not agree with them, but at least you should know what to do. If you make a quiet track (-14 LUFS) as some people tell you it may sound “worse” if you play it in a DJ set for example. The problem might not be in the track itself. It’s just the loudness.

#2 IT’S A PART OF THE GAME.

Imagine a forest with thousands of trees. Every tree has to compete with each other to get more sunlight. The one which gets the most sunlight will grow better. The same thing happens to music. Producers are competing for the listener’s attention. And that has been going on since the start of pop music culture when we switched to the digital world. Even distortion at some point has become a part of sound esthetics. Top DJs and producers do that. You have to accept it whether you want it or not. It’s not bad or good. It’s a part of the game

#3 YOU HAVE TO FIND YOUR OWN BALANCE

If you want your tracks to sound professional you have to be smart. If your tracks are too quiet you’re gonna lose. If you overcompress then it’s no good to. You need to find the balance between the loudness and the quality. To do that you will need a system. You need to know what to do, how to use your tools and when to use them. Otherwise you will be guessing and you won’t be able to achieve a good commercial mix.