Free cheat sheet
Streaming Loudness Targets (LUFS & True Peak Cheat Sheet)
Every streaming platform turns your song up or down to hit a loudness target, so mastering to that target is what makes your track sit right next to commercial releases. Here are the LUFS and true-peak numbers that matter, on one chart.
Integrated loudness by platform
True peak -1 dBTP
Normalizes to -14; louder gets turned down
Sound Check target, a touch quieter
Normalizes loud uploads down
Streaming-standard target
Similar to Spotify
Between Spotify and Apple
No strong normalization; -14 is safe
Not normalized; master louder for systems
Key takeaway. Rule of thumb: master to about -14 LUFS integrated with a -1 dBTP true-peak ceiling for streaming. Going louder just gets turned down - and costs you dynamics.
Frequently asked questions
What LUFS should I master to for streaming?
Around -14 LUFS integrated is the practical center for Spotify, YouTube, Tidal and Amazon. Apple Music sits a little quieter near -16 LUFS. Keep true peak at -1 dBTP.
Why does louder sound quieter on Spotify?
Spotify normalizes every track to about -14 LUFS. If you master to -8 LUFS, it just turns you down to -14 - so you lose dynamics and gain nothing.
What is true peak and why -1 dBTP?
True peak measures the real maximum level including inter-sample peaks. Leaving -1 dBTP of headroom prevents distortion when the platform re-encodes your file to a lossy format.
Put it into practice
Upload a mix and Sauce masters it to streaming-ready loudness - free first master, no plugins.
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