Mastering Level

[davidr]

As a newbie to TAXI, I wonder: What should the peak level be for a submitted track? Should it be normalized so that the peak level is 0 dB, or a couple of dB's lower?
Thanks!

[RickBourassa]

My recommendation would be to learn about LUFS and to get a LUFS meter for your master track. I use the free version of Youlean. Put it on as the last plugin on your master bus.

https://youlean.co/download-youlean-loudness-meter/

I shoot for -13 to -14 LUFS. That is the standard for the streaming services.

I hope that helps.

[cassmcentee]

As loud as you can without clipping or distortion

[cosmicdolphin]

As always...it depends

Some Libraries have fairly strict technical submission guidelines in terms and say stuff like all tracks should (1) have a maximum peak-level of -0.3 dB - NOT normalized to 0 dB to avoid “intersample overs” that cause clipping in D/A converters and in mp3 conversion. (2) All tracks should have an Loudness-Level of 12 LU/-11 LUFS or an RMS-level of -12 dB (equals a dynamic range of 12 dB)

OTOH...some other Libraries want stuff as loud as possible which goes into loudness war territory which I personally don't agree with as it generally makes the mix sound worse to my ears and things start distorting...but that's what they want. I've delivered perfectly good masters that they've sent back and asked to be louder. So I make it louder and try not to get overly precious about it.

As a newbie with no Libraries under your belt, you don't really know which sort of library you may end up signing your tracks to so I would err on the side leaving more dynamic range and not pushing things over loud. It's easier to make it louder later on if you get asked than to undo too much loudness.

Mark