More dynamics, same loudness

With recent updates to playout loudness levels, the main platforms now only differ by 3 LU between the loudest and the softest. Clearly there is no benefit in mixing louder than the loudest platform (at which point all platforms will be turning down your audio).

But how should we consider dynamics? A song can be dynamic in various different ways, but in terms of loudness it might be useful to consider “micro” dynamics and “macro” dynamics. This article discusses the former.

Micro dynamics are the defined at the sample level - very rapid changes in level that provide detail, punch and clarity to a sound, often referred to as transients. In music production it is common to use compressors and limiters to control the transients, evening them out, reducing peaks, and raising the overall loudness of a track. But when major streaming services use loudness normalisation, it doesn’t make sense to over-compress, because your track will not be any louder once it reaches the listener.

Information accurate at the time of publishing - last edited 2 October 2018

The more dynamics there are on a micro level, the higher the peaks will be when your track is normalised for streaming. So rather than creating a “loud” master via heavy compression, it makes more sense to keep as much transient detail as possible. In order to take advantage of this, you could try to avoid over-compressing your drum bus, or ease off your mastering limiter a little to let the transients come through. You can literally view micro dynamics in action by zooming into the waveform of your mixdown and examining how clearly you can see the pulse of the track.

The image above shows two versions of the same track, both normalised to the same integrated loudness. The first version is heavily compressed, the second version isn't.