Every streaming platform's loudness target in one place. Bookmark this.
| Platform | Target LUFS | True Peak | What happens if louder |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Turned down + limiter applied |
| Apple Music | -16 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Turned down |
| YouTube | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Turned down |
| Tidal | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Turned down |
| Amazon Music | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Turned down |
| SoundCloud | -14 LUFS | -1 dBTP | Turned down (uploads) |
| Bandcamp | No normalization | — | Plays as uploaded |
| CD / Vinyl | No normalization | 0 dBTP max | Clipping if above 0 |
Target -18 to -14 LUFS integrated for your mix before sending to mastering. Leave at least 6 dB of headroom (true peaks below -3 dBTP). If your mix is already at -8 LUFS, you've essentially mastered it — and the mastering engineer can't add punch that isn't there.
| Crest Factor | Assessment | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| ≥12 dB | Excellent | Wide dynamic range, very punchy |
| 9-12 dB | Good | Healthy dynamics |
| 6-9 dB | Moderate | Starting to sound compressed |
| 4-6 dB | Poor | Squashed — over-compressed |
| <4 dB | Dead | Brickwalled — no dynamics left |
Check LUFS with ffmpeg: ffmpeg -i track.wav -af loudnorm=print_format=json -f null -
Or use MixDiagnose CLI: pip install mixdiagnose && mixdiagnose analyze track.wav
Upload your track and get LUFS, true peak, crest factor, and a full Mix Score — free.
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