Loudness Target Calculator — Platform LUFS Levels

Spotify normalises to -14 LUFS integrated by default. Mastering louder than -14 LUFS means Spotify will turn your track down, reducing perceived dynamics. Mastering at -14 LUFS preserves your intended dynamics while maximising loudness on the platform. (Values verified June 2026 — streaming targets are platform-controlled and can change.)

Only some. Spotify (Normal mode) and Apple Music (Sound Check) boost a quiet master up to their target. YouTube, Amazon Music and Tidal are attenuation-only — they turn loud tracks down but leave a quiet master at its actual mastered level, so it plays quieter than louder competing masters. If you are mastering for an attenuation-only platform, get close to the target rather than relying on a boost that never comes.

Amazon Music targets -14 LUFS integrated with a -2 dBTP true peak ceiling — slightly stricter than the -1 dBTP used by Spotify, YouTube and Tidal. The extra headroom guards against inter-sample peaks introduced during Amazon’s lossy transcoding. A master at -14 LUFS / -2 dBTP is safe across every -14 LUFS platform.

UK broadcasters follow the EBU R128 standard, which targets -23 LUFS with a true peak maximum of -1 dBTP. For UK television this is required by the DPP unified delivery specification (a broadcaster contractual requirement based on EBU R128) — Ofcom’s loudness remit mainly covers TV advertising via BCAP guidance. Loudness range (LRA) should typically be between 5 and 20 LU. R128 is a delivery standard: you must deliver at -23 LUFS — broadcasters do not boost a quiet file for you.

No. Streaming platforms normalise loudness, so a track mastered at -8 LUFS will be turned down to match one at -14 LUFS. The louder master will actually sound worse because the heavy limiting reduces dynamic range. Master to the platform target for the best result.