About the Streaming Loudness Normalization Calculator
Streaming services play every track at roughly the same loudness, so a master that is louder than the platform’s target is simply turned down, and a quieter one may be turned up. This loudness normalization calculator takes your track’s integrated loudness (in LUFS, measured to ITU-R BS.1770) and its true-peak level, and shows the gain the player will apply, the loudness it ends up at, and where the peaks land.
The Spotify presets follow Spotify’s published rules for Premium listeners: Normal targets −14 LUFS, Loud −11 LUFS and Quiet −19 LUFS. In Normal and Quiet, positive gain is only applied while the true peak stays at or below −1 dBTP; in Loud, Spotify applies the full boost and engages a limiter at −1 dB. Spotify normalizes whole albums with one gain value, so use the album’s loudness when the record is played in order.
For other services choose Custom and enter the target and boost behaviour you want to test. Apple Music (Sound Check), YouTube, Tidal and others do not publish the same level of detail, so check their current documentation for figures — the math is identical once you know the target.
With the default inputs, the gain applied by the player is -6 dB. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the streaming loudness normalization calculator
- 1Measure your master’s integrated loudness and true peak with a BS.1770 loudness meter.
- 2Enter both values (use album loudness if the record is played in sequence).
- 3Choose a Spotify volume setting, or Custom to test another service’s target.
- 4Read the gain applied, the final playback loudness and where the peaks land.
- 5If the track is turned down a lot, consider a more dynamic master; if a boost is capped, lower the peaks.
Formula and method
Loudness normalization is a single static gain change for the whole track or album. The player compares the measured integrated loudness with its target: a louder track gets negative gain equal to the difference. A quieter track gets positive gain only as allowed — Spotify’s Normal and Quiet modes stop once the true peak would exceed −1 dBTP, while its Loud mode applies the full boost and lets a limiter set at −1 dB catch the peaks.
Because LUFS and dB are both logarithmic, the arithmetic is simple subtraction. The calculator ignores the small loudness change caused by lossy encoding and by the limiter itself, and assumes your LUFS and true-peak readings come from a meter that follows ITU-R BS.1770.
- LUFS
- Integrated loudness of the track or album (loudness units relative to full scale)
- TP
- Maximum true-peak level in dBTP
- target
- Platform playback loudness (Spotify: −11, −14 or −19 LUFS)
- gain
- Level change applied by the player in dB
Worked examples
Loud modern master on Spotify Normal
A master at −8 LUFS is 6 LU louder than Spotify’s −14 LUFS Normal target, so it plays 6 dB quieter. Its −0.5 dBTP peaks drop to −6.5 dBTP, and it ends up exactly as loud as every other normalized track.
Spotify’s own example: a quiet, dynamic track
Reaching −14 LUFS would need +6 dB, but that would push the −5 dBTP peaks to +1 dBTP. Spotify leaves 1 dB of headroom, so the boost stops at +4 dB and the track plays at −16 LUFS — matching the example Spotify gives for artists.
Same idea on Spotify Loud
In Loud mode the target is −11 LUFS and the full +5 dB boost is applied. Peaks would reach +2 dBTP, so Spotify’s limiter (set at −1 dB) shaves about 3 dB off them.
Custom −16 LUFS turn-down-only service
Testing a service that normalizes to −16 LUFS and never turns tracks up, a −9 LUFS master is reduced by 7 dB. A track quieter than −16 LUFS would be left alone.
Frequently asked questions
What LUFS should I master to for Spotify?+
Spotify plays Premium listeners at −14 LUFS by default. There is no penalty for being louder other than being turned down, but Spotify recommends true peaks below −1 dBTP, or below −2 dBTP for masters louder than −14 LUFS.
Does Spotify turn up quiet songs?+
Yes, in Normal and Quiet modes Spotify applies positive gain to quiet masters but only while the true peak stays under −1 dBTP. In Loud mode it boosts fully and uses a limiter set at −1 dB.
Is there a loudness penalty for loud masters?+
The so-called penalty is simply the negative gain: a master at −7 LUFS plays 7 dB quieter on Spotify Normal. It is not worse than normal, but any dynamics sacrificed for loudness are not given back.
Does Spotify normalize by track or by album?+
Spotify normalizes an entire album with the same gain so the level relationships between songs are kept. Tracks heard in shuffle or playlists are normalized individually.
What is the difference between LUFS and dBTP?+
LUFS measures perceived average loudness over time using the ITU-R BS.1770 algorithm. dBTP measures the highest true (inter-sample) peak level. Normalization uses LUFS; peak limits use dBTP.