The Loudness War is over, but loudness still matters. LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) is the standard for measuring how loud we perceive music.
What is LUFS?
LUFS takes into account how the human ear perceives frequencies. It is much more accurate than RMS or Peak meters for judging actual loudness.
Streaming Standards
Target Values
Spotify and YouTube normalize to approx. -14 LUFS. If you master louder, they turn you down. If you master quieter, they (sometimes) turn you up, but often using limiters that alter the sound.
