Understand how loud and dynamic your track really is. Upload your audio and receive a detailed report on integrated LUFS, momentary loudness, true peak levels, dynamic range, and perceived impact. The analysis highlights if your track is over-compressed, too quiet for streaming, or has moments that clip. Vital for mastering engineers and anyone preparing tracks for distribution.
Decibels (dB) measure the amplitude or peak level of audio samples, while LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) measure perceived loudness averaged over time using a model that reflects how human hearing weighs different frequencies. A track can have a high peak dB level but low LUFS if it has very dynamic peaks with quiet passages in between, or a lower peak dB but high LUFS if it is heavily compressed and consistently loud throughout.
Dynamic range is the difference between the quietest and loudest parts of your track. A high dynamic range (12+ LU) means the music breathes: there are distinct soft and loud moments that create emotional contrast and energy. A low dynamic range (below 6 LU) typically indicates heavy limiting or compression that squashes the track flat, which can sound fatiguing on extended listening and reduce the impact of drops and climaxes.
Spotify uses loudness normalization, targeting approximately -14 LUFS integrated. If your track is mastered louder than this target, Spotify will apply gain reduction to bring it to the target level. This means the extra loudness you pushed for in mastering gets negated, and you may lose some dynamic quality in the process. The Loudness Analysis report shows your exact LUFS level so you can master to the target range and avoid normalization penalties.
Not in the streaming era. The loudness war of the 2000s, where masters were compressed as loud as possible, has been effectively neutralized by loudness normalization on all major platforms. A master that is moderately loud but retains good dynamic range will sound as loud as a heavily limited master on Spotify or Apple Music, and will actually sound more powerful and impactful because the transients and dynamics are preserved.