ABSTRACT
Every mix is a unique piece of music with its own inherent dynamic and potential effective loudness. If normalised to a fixed or suggested level whether it be peak or average, its perceived loudness will be relative to that internal density and dynamic range. In current times, this normalisation could be using ITU 1770/EBU 128 or another LUFS or a dBr scaling. These aspects will change in the future as newer ‘technologies’ for measuring loudness become fashionable. In this chapter, navigating loudness outcomes in mastering are explained with workable directives to achieve the best optimisation in all scenarios. Exploration of streaming platforms and their loudness normalisation systems, limiting for loudness, observation of peak, soft clipper uses, tonal balance and its link to loudness are discussed at length to give an informed overview as to how to achieve an appropriate loudness for a given master. Evaluation of the factors of lossy and potential adjustments, future thoughts and a practical summary make navigating loudness in mastering easier to manage.
