Fast (not in real-time) LUFS Testing Plugin for Cubase?

Thanks. I think this answers my question or to keep in mind!

“For the best balance of high loudness and preserved dynamics, aim for an integrated loudness of -14 to -12 LUFS for streaming, or -10 to -8 LUFS for competitive genres like pop and EDM. This range prevents over-compression while ensuring tracks feel punchy and competitive on streaming platforms”

I would take advice like that with a grain of salt. If your track sounds its best @ -20 LUFS Integrated, then it’s probably a bad idea to target -14 or anything else. Just my $0.02.

Ok thank you. Judge each track as it is made :+1:

I’m with @mlib - generally speaking, whatever sounds good to you IS good.

Nonetheless, if you want to compete with other mixes in mainstream territory you would aim at a mix much hotter than -14 to -12 LUFS regardless of the streaming platform. More in the ballpark area of 7-9. It’s also good to know how streaming platforms measure LUFS in accordance with norm ITU 1770 and gates.

There’s a helpful summary on LUFS by HOFA college which explains how LUFS are measured by Spotify & co and also a couple of statistics on how hot mixes are when they are sent to streaming platforms. Unfortunately, it’s in German… However, online translators are your friend so it shouldn’t be too difficult :wink:

Thank you for the info this will also help a lot :smiling_face_with_sunglasses:

The truth is that what makes a track “feel punchy” has very little to do with its integrated loudness value and a lot more to do with arrangement and mix. If a song is poorly arranged and/or mixed, hitting a predefined LUFS value isn’t automatically going to make it sound competitive in comparison to other commercial releases.

If you’re really interested in topic of loudness, I would recommend you check out Ian Shepherd’s podcasts. I don’t think there’s anyone who understands and explains the topic better.

“I did it. I won. Good luck getting any louder than this. You can all stop this sillyness now. Loudness doesn’t matter, just make it sound good.”

I reckon Dan’s Youtube video on loudness has turned into a classic by now. In case someone hasn’t seen it, yet, here it is:

Dan Worell - I Won the Loudness War

I’m more concerned about keeping a respectable volume and retaining healthy dynamic range and detail. The amount of music I hear that has been smashed to hell is something I wish to avoid.

So thank you for the links and info guys. I shall have a good read/watch

Spotify recommends - 14 LUFS -1db TP max. Spotify Loud up to -10 LUFS and -2db TP to avoid distorsion during conversion which is a loudness normalization (-14 LUFS) to prevent abnormal volume differences between tracks. That said is better to preserve the sound even if louder than -14 LUFS up to -9 - 7 while keeping an eye on TP to avoid possibly distorsions due to their normalization.

Here just my personal consideration about this: why don’t make your master sound good with - 14 LUFS rather than -7LUFS which will be normalized to - 14LUFS?