Spotify LUFS and loudness normalization.

What LUFS does Spotify normalise to?

−14 LUFS, in Spotify’s words: “We adjust tracks to -14 dB LUFS, according to the ITU 1770 standard” (Spotify for Artists). It is a playback level, not a rule about how you master: “Loudness normalization is applied during playback. We measure loudness levels during the upload process, but we don’t process or change your audio tracks before playback.” It applies to lossless too: “This normalization is applied to both compressed and lossless FLAC playback to ensure consistency.”

What happens to a master louder than −14 LUFS?

It plays back quieter, and Spotify says the file is not degraded by it: “Negative gain is applied to louder masters so the loudness level is -14 dB LUFS. This lowers the volume in comparison to the master - no additional distortion occurs.” The difference between your reading and −14 is the number our loudness penalty calculator prints.

What the gain change does not undo is the limiting that made the master loud. A −8 LUFS master turned down to −14 is not a −14 LUFS master: the density and the reduced range are in the file at any playback level. That is the real trade, and it is yours to make.

Does Spotify turn quiet tracks up?

Yes, but only as far as the peaks allow: “Positive gain is applied to softer masters so the loudness level is -14 dB LUFS. We consider the headroom of the track, and leave 1 dB headroom for lossy encodings to preserve audio quality. Example: If a track loudness level is -20 dB LUFS, and its True Peak maximum is -5 dB FS, we only lift the track up to -16 dB LUFS.”

Can listeners change it?

Premium listeners can: “Premium listeners can adjust playback levels in the app settings to compensate for a noisy or quiet environment: Loud: -11dB LUFS … Normal: -14dB LUFS … Quiet: -19dB LUFS”. On Loud, Spotify adds its own limiter: “We set this level regardless of maximum True Peak. We apply a limiter to prevent distortion and clipping in soft dynamic tracks. The limiter’s set to engage at -1 dB (sample values), with a 5 ms attack time and a 100 ms decay time.”

And normalisation is not everywhere: “The web player and 3rd-party devices (like TVs or speakers) don’t use loudness normalization.”

Does Spotify normalise albums or tracks?

Both, depending on how the music is played: “We normalize an entire album at the same time, so gain compensation doesn’t change between tracks. This means the softer tracks are as soft as you intend them to be”, and “We adjust individual tracks when shuffling an album or listening to tracks from multiple albums (e.g. listening to a playlist).”

What true peak should a Spotify master have?

Spotify’s mastering tips ask you to “Target the loudness level of your master at -14dB integrated LUFS” and “Keep it below -1dB TP (True Peak) max. This is best for lossy formats (Ogg/Vorbis and AAC) and makes sure no extra distortion’s introduced in the transcoding process.” Above the target it wants more room: “If your master is louder than -14dB integrated LUFS, keep True Peak below -2dB to avoid extra distortion.”

Every loudness choice here is held at −1.0 dBTP by default, which meets the first half of that advice. Above −14 it is a decibel short of Spotify’s −2, a trade for peak room, and the MP3 is checked after encoding so it does not clip. A −0.1 dBTP option keeps every last dB for a WAV nobody re-encodes. If you want Spotify’s full margin, that is an argument for the quieter choices — see what each platform publishes.

Why does my track sound quieter than others on Spotify?

Spotify names two causes: “Inaudible high-frequencies in your mix can cause loudness algorithm to overestimate the perceived loudness, because ITU 1770 doesn’t apply a lowpass filter”, and “Very loud masters with true peaks above -2 dB can introduce distortion during encoding, which can increase perceived loudness — but not necessarily improve quality” (Spotify for Artists).

What file should I deliver?

Music reaches Spotify through a distributor — “Work with a distributor to get your music on Spotify” (Spotify for Artists) — so follow your distributor’s upload spec first. Spotify’s own delivery rules: “We strongly prefer the Free Lossless Audio Codec (FLAC) for audio delivery. WAV is also accepted if it meets the same technical requirements”, at “Sample rate: 44.1 kHz or higher” and “24-bit if this is the native master”. A WAV must “Use format code 0x0001 (WAVE_FORMAT_PCM)” and “Not use 0xFFFE (WAVE_FORMAT_EXTENSIBLE)” (Spotify for Artists).

Spotify also asks you not to convert anything yourself: “Don’t downsample, reduce bit depth, or apply any processing that changes quality before delivery. We handle all format conversions”, and “Don’t create a 16-bit version from a 24-bit master for delivery”. Of the three files a master here returns, the 24-bit WAV at your source rate is the one that matches that advice.