Share
Billboard's Keith Caulfield (Managing Director, Charts and Data Operations) and Katie Atkinson (Executive Digital Director, West Coast) offer weekly Billboard chart breakdowns, discuss the hottest music news and cover the year’s biggest musical events. Casual pop fans, chart junkies and everyone in between are invited to this weekly half-hour discussion.
…
continue reading
#186: Why LUFS Don't Matter As Much As You Think with Ian Shepherd
Music Production and Mixing Tips for Beginner Producers and Artists | Inside The Mix
Manage episode 471997512 series 2867915
Content provided by Music Production and Mixing Tips for Beginner Producers and Artists, Music Production, and Mixing Tips for Beginner Producers. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Music Production and Mixing Tips for Beginner Producers and Artists, Music Production, and Mixing Tips for Beginner Producers or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://staging.podcastplayer.com/legal.
In this episode of Inside The Mix, mastering engineer Ian Shepherd demystifies loudness metrics and debunks common mastering misconceptions while offering practical advice for producers looking to improve their masters without chasing arbitrary targets.
Ian explains the role of LUFS in mastering, why normalization matters, and how focusing on musicality and dynamics leads to better results than simply hitting a loudness target.
What You'll Learn:
• LUFS measurements explained – momentary, short-term, and integrated loudness
• How many LUFS should my master be? Understanding the balance between dynamics and loudness
• The truth about LUFS for Spotify – why 83% of users never change loudness normalization settings
• What does LUFS stand for? And why it's just one piece of the mastering puzzle
• How normalization impacts your music across different streaming platforms
• The role of audio normalization in creating a consistent listening experience
• Why AI mastering struggles to match the emotional intent of human engineers
• Spotify’s approach to loudness and what it means for your masters
• Internal dynamics – how balancing different sections of your song enhances clarity and impact
• The mastering feedback loop – why collaboration between engineers and artists is key
If you want your music to stand out in today’s Spotify-dominated landscape, don’t obsess over loudness numbers. Instead, focus on musicality, dynamics, and emotional impact. Test how your tracks sound at normalized streaming levels, and let the music, not the meters, drive your mastering decisions.
Links mentioned in this episode:
- Listen to the Mastering Show Podcast
- Mastering Engineer Reacts to 8 Pro Mixes of the Same Song
- Higher LUFS - do they REALLY always sound louder?
- YouTube ruined all my videos - UNLESS you disable this setting...
- Loudness Penalty: Analyze
- Perception AB
Ways to connect with Marc:
Listener Feedback Survey - tell me what YOU want in 2026
Radio-ready mixes start here - get the FREE weekly tips
Book your FREE Music Breakthrough Strategy Call
Follow Marc's Socials:
Instagram | YouTube | Synth Music Mastering
Thanks for listening!!
Try Riverside for FREE
Chapters
1. #186: Why LUFS Don't Matter As Much As You Think with Ian Shepherd (00:00:00)
2. How loudness perception really works (00:01:04)
3. Introduction to LUFS and loudness measurements (00:04:26)
4. Metering methods and mastering techniques (00:11:24)
5. Loudness normalization in streaming services (00:21:42)
6. The mastering feedback loop (00:36:10)
7. AI mastering limitations (00:45:34)
8. YouTube's stable audio feature explained (00:57:41)
222 episodes
))
