Targets
Most of these numbers have no published source.
Spotify and SoundCloud publish −14 LUFS in their own words. Apple, YouTube, TIDAL, Amazon and Deezer publish no loudness target at all — the figures attributed to them come from somewhere else and get repeated. Everything below is quoted and linked.
Every published target, on one scale
The four marked are the loudness targets you can pick here. The other two are on the scale because they are real published numbers, not because we deliver them.
One question per platform
Does the platform publish a number, or not?
What LUFS does Spotify use? Is −14 the official number?
Yes, in Spotify’s own words: “We adjust tracks to −14 dB LUFS, according to the ITU 1770 standard.” It also publishes the three Premium playback settings, Loud at −11, Normal at −14 and Quiet at −19 dB LUFS, and asks that a master louder than −14 LUFS keeps its true peak below −2 dBTP. Normalisation is off on its web player and on third-party devices.
What LUFS does SoundCloud use?
−14 integrated LUFS, published: “Target the loudness level of your master at −14 dB integrated LUFS and keep it below −1 dB TP (True Peak) max.”
What LUFS does Apple Music use? Is −16 Apple’s number?
Apple publishes no loudness figure. Neither the Apple Digital Masters document nor the Sound Check article contains one; what Apple does publish is a true-peak requirement: “True-peak level should not exceed −1 dB TP measured as per ITU-R BS. 1770-4.” The −16 attributed to Apple is AES TD1008’s track recommendation, from a different organisation.
Does YouTube publish a loudness target?
No. YouTube documents a “Stable Volume” setting with no figure, and says it is turned off for YouTube Music and official music videos. The −14 usually quoted for YouTube is not in any YouTube document.
Does TIDAL publish a loudness target?
No. TIDAL has no loudness documentation of any kind; a help-centre search for “loudness” returns zero articles.
Does Amazon Music publish a loudness target?
No. Amazon Music publishes a how-to for switching normalisation on, and no figure.
Does Deezer publish a loudness target?
No. Deezer documents a user toggle without a number; staff have said in Deezer’s own community that it is on by default and BS.1770-based. That is a forum answer, not a published figure.
Where does the −16 LUFS track recommendation come from?
AES TD1008, the Audio Engineering Society’s streaming recommendation: −16 LUFS for a single track, −14 for an album, and a maximum true peak of −1 dBTP at the input of a lossy encoder. It is a standards body, not a platform, and no platform has adopted its figure in its own documentation.
Checked against each company’s own documentation in August 2026, sources linked under the table below. Measure your own file against these on the loudness penalty calculator.
Who publishes what.
Checked against each company’s own documentation in August 2026. Where a row says none published, that is not us failing to find it — it means the document does not contain a figure.
Scrolls sideways →
| Source | Loudness target | True-peak ceiling | In their words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP −2 above −14 |
“We adjust tracks to −14 dB LUFS, according to the ITU 1770 standard.” And: “If your master is louder than −14dB integrated LUFS, keep True Peak below −2dB to avoid extra distortion.” |
| SoundCloud | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP | “Target the loudness level of your master at −14 dB integrated LUFS and keep it below −1 dB TP (True Peak) max.” |
| AES TD1008 | −16 / −14 LUFS track / album |
−1 dBTP | “For all content, it is recommended that the Maximum True Peak level not exceed −1 dBTP at the codec input of lossy-encoded streams.” |
| Apple | none published | −1 dBTP | “True-peak level should not exceed −1 dB TP measured as per ITU-R BS. 1770-4.” No LUFS figure appears in the Apple Digital Masters document or the Sound Check article. The −16 everyone cites is the AES number, not Apple’s. |
| YouTube | none published | none published | Documents only “Stable Volume”, with no figure — and says it is turned off for YouTube Music and official music videos. |
| TIDAL | none published | none published | No loudness documentation of any kind. A help-centre search for “loudness” returns zero articles. |
| Amazon Music | none published | none published | A settings how-to for turning normalisation on. No figure. |
| Deezer | none published | none published | A user toggle, documented without a number. Staff have said in Deezer’s own community that it is on by default and BS.1770-based. |
Sources, in order: Spotify for Artists, SoundCloud Help, AES TD1008 v1.21-9, Apple Video and Audio Asset Guide, YouTube Help, Deezer Support. Checked August 2026 — platforms change these.
The number under the number
The listener picks a playback level.
Spotify Premium lets a listener choose the playback level, and the three options are published figures. This is why −11 LUFS is on our scale: it is not a compromise between −14 and louder, it is a real endpoint that a real listener can be sitting on.
- −11 LUFS Loud A −11 master plays back unchanged. Spotify adds a limiter engaging at −1 dB with a 5 ms attack.
- −14 LUFS Normal The default, and the number every guide quotes.
- −19 LUFS Quiet Eight decibels below Loud. The same master serves all three.
What we do with that
The two controls.
Loudness is a judgement about where your record sits. The ceiling is a technical fact about what happens to the file next. Two questions, two controls.
The loudness axis
Where it sits
Four targets, −14 to −8 LUFS. Above −14 streaming plays the master back at −14 — but the limiting stays, and normalisation is off on Spotify’s web player and on third-party devices.
The ceiling axis
The true-peak ceiling
Three ceilings. −2.0 is what Spotify asks for above −14 LUFS. −1.0 is the general recommendation. −0.1 leaves no room for encoder overshoot at all, so it is only for a file nobody re-encodes.
We checked the field first. Most automatic mastering exposes no loudness control at all; the ones that do fix the ceiling for you. Choosing both is what this does differently.
Check where your mix already sits.
The checker reads integrated loudness and true peak in your browser, without uploading anything. Then you will know which row you are choosing from.
Where it ends up
Every platform decides your playback loudness for you.
Questions
What people actually ask.
How many LUFS should my master be for Spotify?
Spotify normalises to −14 LUFS and says so in its own words: “We adjust tracks to −14 dB LUFS, according to the ITU 1770 standard.” That is what it plays back at, not a rule about how you must master. Spotify also asks that a master louder than −14 LUFS keeps true peak below −2 dBTP.
What LUFS does Apple Music use?
Apple publishes no loudness figure at all. Neither the Apple Digital Masters document nor the Sound Check article contains one. The −16 LUFS everyone attributes to Apple is the AES TD1008 track recommendation, which is a different organisation making a general recommendation. Apple does publish a true-peak requirement: not above −1 dB TP.
Which platforms publish a loudness target?
Two, as of August 2026: Spotify and SoundCloud, both −14 LUFS. AES TD1008 publishes −16 for a track and −14 for an album, but it is a standards body, not a platform. YouTube, TIDAL, Amazon Music, Deezer and Apple publish nothing — TIDAL’s help centre returns zero articles for a search on “loudness”.
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.
What true-peak ceiling should I use?
−1 dBTP is the general recommendation and the one AES TD1008, SoundCloud and Apple all state. Spotify asks for −2 dBTP if your master is louder than −14 LUFS, because a hotter file leaves the encoder less room. Anything closer to zero is only safe for a file nobody re-encodes.
Why do these numbers keep changing?
Because the platforms change them, quietly, and most of the figures in circulation were never published in the first place. Every quote on this page carries the date it was checked for that reason. If you are reading this long after August 2026, check the source documents linked above rather than trusting the table.