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February 20, 2024 20 mins

You can't go a day without someone telling you how loud your music should be, these days.

"Everything has to be -8 LUFS"

"EDM has to be -6 LUFS or louder"

"-11 is the perfect balance"

"Just master everything to -14"

...but they can't all be right !


In fact, none of them are, and even more importantly, they may not even be talking about the same thing. And the differences are really important. So in this episode I try explain really clearly and concisely:


The 3 different types of LUFS

The difference between them

Why it’s crucial to know which type you’re talking about

Why mastering to integrated targets makes no sense

When -14 LUFS isn’t loud enough – and why ?

Why it’s not about ‘how loud’, it’s about how you make it loud

Why integrated LUFS values are the result, not the goal of mastering



Full show notes on our website

https://themasteringshow.com/episode-92

Mentioned in this episode:

Learn to master !

Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources

Mastering

Click HERE to work with Ian

Tools

For Ian's mastering plugins, click HERE

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