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Loudness penalty calculator.
Drop a mix or a master. It is measured on this page, and the table under the reading says how far Spotify turns the file down or up, in LU, and how far it sits from each other published loudness figure. Nothing is uploaded.
Analysing
Could not read that file.
The loudness penalty
What the published figures mean for this file.
Every figure above is arithmetic on your own reading and a figure its source publishes in its own words. The quotes and sources, and what being turned down does and does not change.
- Integrated
- —LUFS
- True peak
- —dBTP
- Range
- —LU
Master this file to the target you choose.
Pick a loudness, hear the full-level master against the file you just measured, and read the same numbers on the file you download. The preview is free and full length.
The arithmetic
The penalty is subtraction.
Spotify, which normalises to −14 LUFS on its default setting, plays a −9 LUFS master back 5 LU quieter than you made it. That difference is the loudness penalty. It is two numbers: your integrated loudness, and the figure the platform states in its own documentation.
Who publishes a figure
Two platforms and the AES
Spotify: “We adjust tracks to −14 dB LUFS, according to the ITU 1770 standard.” SoundCloud: “Target the loudness level of your master at −14 dB integrated LUFS and keep it below −1 dB TP (True Peak) max.” It says it normalises, without stating the level. AES TD1008 recommends −16 for track normalisation and −14 for the loudest track of an album. Those are the rows the calculator prints; only Spotify’s says what happens at playback.
Who publishes nothing
Apple, YouTube, TIDAL, Amazon Music, Deezer
None of the five publishes a loudness figure for a stereo track, so this page prints no row for them. A calculator that showed “Apple: 3.2 LU quieter” would be inventing the target it subtracts. What each one does say, quoted and dated.
Reading the result
Being turned down is not being made quiet.
Turning a −8 LUFS master down by 6 LU does not produce a −14 LUFS master. The limiting that got it to −8 — the density, the reduced range, the way transients sit — is in the file and survives the gain change. The penalty is a playback level. The master is still the master.
It is also not always applied. Spotify’s own documentation says normalisation is off on its web player and on third-party devices, and that a Premium listener can pick Loud, Normal or Quiet. A file that reads below −14 is turned up on Spotify only as far as its true peak allows with 1 dB to spare, so a quiet file with high peaks can still sit quieter than the records beside it in a playlist. Which of those you want is a decision about your record; the calculator only tells you the size of it.
Questions
Questions about the loudness penalty.
What is the Spotify loudness penalty?
The difference between your integrated loudness and Spotify’s published −14 LUFS, when your file is louder. On the default Normal setting, a −9 LUFS master is played back 5 LU quieter. Spotify also asks that a master louder than −14 LUFS keeps its true peak below −2 dBTP.
Does a penalty mean my master is too loud?
No. It means it is louder than a published playback target. A club record, a hip-hop release and a film score are mastered to different levels on purpose, and normalisation changes the playback gain rather than the file. The number tells you the size of the trade, and the trade is yours to make.
Why is there no row for Apple Music or YouTube?
Because neither publishes a loudness figure for a stereo track. Apple’s only loudness figure is a −18 LKFS ceiling for Dolby Atmos and surround deliveries; YouTube documents a “Stable Volume” setting with no figure. A row for either would be a number this site made up.
Is a louder master pointless because of normalisation?
No. Turning a −8 LUFS master down to −14 does not produce a −14 LUFS master: the limiting that got it to −8 is in the file and survives the gain change. Normalisation is also not always on — Spotify’s documentation says it is off on its web player and on third-party devices. How loud to master is a real decision with real consequences.
Is my file uploaded?
No. The file is decoded and measured in your browser and the audio never leaves it. There is no upload and no copy kept; close the tab and it is gone.
How accurate is the reading?
Integrated loudness follows ITU-R BS.1770 and loudness range follows EBU Tech 3342, the methods the mastering engine uses. Compared with ffmpeg’s ebur128 meter on five 48 kHz test signals, the page read within 0.25 LU on integrated loudness and matched true peak to one decimal. True peak is oversampled four times through a windowed-sinc filter rather than the standard’s own filter table, so read it as a headroom check rather than a compliance certificate.
Then choose
Master it to the level you decide on.
Four loudness targets at a −0.1 dBTP ceiling, and the reading you just took on the file that comes back. The preview is free and full length at its mastered level against your mix.
Put the loudness adjustment in context.
Enter the track’s integrated LUFS and true peak, or measure the file here. The calculator estimates playback adjustment; it does not change the audio. Use the LUFS meter for the file’s readings and check the platform notes for the conditions behind each figure.
