The Billboard Top 50 global singles from the first half of 2024 have an average loudness of -8.3 LUFS
So that’s how loud we should be making our masters, right ?
Well…
It certainly might seem that way, but in reality it’s a bit more complicated than that. This is only one of the interesting results that Ian Stewart presented in his latest blog post for iZoTope, and in this episode I asked him back on to really dig into some of the details and nuance.
Plus I also wanted to talk to him about the amazing plug-in that got invented during the last episode he was on ! (Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it 
)
During the show we talk about:
- What that -8 LUFS average result REALLY means, and how much attention you should pay to it
- Who the most successful artist in the Top 50 is, and the loudness statistics of their music
- The problem with the title iZotope chose for the post
- All the other results, trends and biases in the data
- Basslane Pro, the plug-in Ian worked with Tone Projects to develop, why it’s unique - and how The Mastering Show helped it happen !
Links
Mastering trends in 2024: What you should be doing (Or not… ?!)
TMS #25 - Stereo: width, depth and image - how to measure, monitor and master them
TMS #76 - Is stereo bass a problem on vinyl ?
Ian Stewart - Flotown Mastering
Great podcast. "Master the music so that it sounds right." I assume you are listening at a standardized room db level (75-85)? Perhaps two separate db levels (soft and loud)?
How often do you check your hearing to ensure that you are hearing accurately. As you get older, how do you compensate for high frequency hearing loss?