Loudness Unit Full Scale to control the volume of your release on sale 🎧

LUFS stands for Loudness Unit Full Scale. It’s a way to measure volume at an average over a whole track so two tracks with the same LUFS measurement should sound the same. This ensures that broadcasting services maintain a consistent level and isn’t way too loud for the listeners. LUFS are the units of loudness; so two different tracks that are at the same LUFS level should have the same average loudness.

LUFS are measured using negative numbers, for example -5 LUFS, -13 LUFS, etc. This is because they’re referenced full scale; the full scale refers to the comparison to 0dB being the loudest point along that spectrum before clipping. The less negative the LUFS value, the higher the average level.

Streaming platforms like to have all the tracks on their service to have the same volume. So they do this by using LUFS.The standard for streaming platforms is -14 LUFS.

When making an album, like the stores, you can also ensure your tracks are the same in volume by using LUFS. This will ensure all your tracks are consistent with eachother. Please note! If your tracks go above 9 LUFS, your track’s dynamic range might suffer for it. So it would be best to compare versions before finalising on your LUFS level.

For more information on LUFS, watch our YouTube video below!

If you have any further queries, feel free to get in touch with us!

See also:
Why won’t my audio file upload?
Can I edit or replace the audio on my release after it has been approved?
How do I add audio?