LUFS, explained for producers
LUFS, loudness units relative to full scale, measure how loud audio sounds to a listener, not how high its peaks reach. Streaming platforms read a track’s integrated loudness in LUFS to decide how far to turn it down, which is why it is the number a master is judged by. A difference of one LU is a difference of one decibel in loudness.
The four loudness readings, and what each tells you
Integrated loudness
One number for the whole track: how loud it sounds from start to finish. It is the figure a platform compares with its target, so it decides how much your master is turned down. Spotify’s target is −14 LUFS.
Short-term loudness
The loudness of the last few seconds, following the music as it plays. Its maximum is your loudest passage, usually the drop or the last chorus; a short-term maximum far above the integrated figure is where a limiter is working hardest.
Momentary loudness
The loudness of the last fraction of a second, fast enough to follow each hit. It is what a meter beside your transport shows while you play, and it moves too quickly to judge a whole master by.
Loudness range
How far the loudness moves between the quiet and the loud parts of the track, in LU. Below 4 LU the arrangement has been flattened into one level; above 12 a listener keeps reaching for the volume. That is the general band RefBooth reads it against, and a genre profile moves it: an ambient record breathes wider than a club tool.
Why platforms use LUFS, and their targets
Because listeners hear loudness, not peaks. Two tracks with the same peak level can sound very different in loudness; two tracks at the same LUFS sound about as loud as each other. So a platform that wants every track to play at a similar level reads LUFS and turns each track to its target.
| Platform | Target | True-peak ceiling | Where the figure comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP; −2 dBTP above the target | Published by the platform |
| Apple Music | −16 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Partly published by the platform |
| YouTube | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Reported, not published |
| SoundCloud | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP; −2 dBTP above the target | Published by the platform |
| TIDAL | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Reported, not published |
| Amazon Music | −14 LUFS | −2 dBTP | Reported, not published |
| Deezer | −15 LUFS | −1 dBTP | Reported, not published |
| Club / DJ | −8 LUFS | −0.3 dBTP | A working convention |
The loudness targets page gives each figure’s note and source, and the guide to mastering loudness what the targets mean for your master.
LUFS, dBFS, dBTP and RMS
| Unit | What it tells you | Where you meet it |
|---|---|---|
| LUFS | How loud the audio sounds to a listener. | Platform targets; the integrated, short-term and momentary readings. |
| LU | A difference in loudness, one LU to one decibel. | Loudness range; how far a track sits above or below a target. |
| dBFS | The level of the stored samples, against the digital ceiling at 0. | Sample peak; the meters on a channel strip. |
| dBTP | The highest level the track reaches when it is played back, between the samples too. | Platform ceilings, such as −1 dBTP; the true peak checker. |
| RMS | The average level of the signal, with every frequency counted alike, so it can disagree with what you hear. | Older meters, and the crest factor (peak against RMS). |
Questions
Is −14 LUFS right for every master?
No. It is the level Spotify plays at, not a level you must master to. A louder master is turned down to it; a quieter one is turned up only as far as its peaks allow. Masters for club systems are commonly made far louder, around −8 LUFS, because nothing turns them down there.
Does a louder master sound louder on Spotify?
Not while normalisation is on. It is turned down to the same level as everyone else, and keeps whatever density it took to get loud. Above the target, Spotify also asks for −2 dBTP rather than −1 dBTP.
Are LUFS and LKFS different?
No. They are two names for the same unit; meters and documents use one or the other.
Does LUFS tell me how dynamic my master is?
No. Two masters at the same LUFS can be very different: one breathing between quiet verses and big choruses, the other flat from start to finish. Read the loudness range and the peak to loudness alongside it; the report gives both.
To read your own figure, the LUFS checker gives integrated loudness, loudness range and the short-term maximum against the platform you pick.
Sources
- Spotify: support.spotify.com, checked on 1 November 2026.
- Apple Music: apple.com, checked on 1 November 2026.
- YouTube: support.google.com, checked on 1 November 2026.
- SoundCloud: help.soundcloud.com, checked on 1 November 2026.
- Amazon Music: developer.amazon.com, checked on 1 November 2026.
- Deezer: support.deezer.com, checked on 1 November 2026.