Brizm
Loudness Penalty Calculator
Enter your loudness values and see how streaming platforms will adjust your audio.
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Platform Adjustments
How to Check Loudness Penalties
- 1 Enter your track's integrated LUFS value
- 2 See volume adjustments per streaming platform
- 3 Decide if you need to adjust your master
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a loudness penalty?
When your track is louder than a platform's target, it gets turned down. A track at -8 LUFS on Spotify (target -14) loses 6 dB — sacrificing dynamic range for no benefit.
What LUFS should I target?
For streaming, -14 LUFS is a safe target that works across most platforms. Master louder only for specific reasons like club play, where -8 to -10 LUFS is common.
How accurate are these penalties?
Targets and up/down behaviour follow each platform's published guidance where one exists — Spotify (all three normalization settings), Apple Music and Apple Podcasts, verified September 2026 with the source linked on each card. YouTube, TIDAL, Amazon Music and Deezer publish no normalization spec, so those rows show widely reported measured behaviour and are marked as such; Spotify publishes no podcast loudness spec, so there is no Spotify Podcasts row. Every platform measures loudness to the same ITU-R BS.1770 standard this tool uses, so with an accurate LUFS and true-peak reading the adjustment shown is the platform's own arithmetic — what differs is their measurement of the delivered file (codec, album mode), not the formula.
What is a loudness penalty in streaming?
Streaming platforms normalize tracks to a fixed LUFS target — Spotify/YouTube to -14 LUFS, Apple Music to -16 LUFS. A master louder than the target gets turned down. A louder master does not play louder; it just plays less dynamically.
Why does Spotify reduce my master volume?
Spotify protects listeners from loudness jumps between tracks. The platform applies negative gain to masters louder than -14 LUFS — a -8 LUFS master gets -6 dB applied; -14 LUFS gets no penalty. The track still plays, just at the platform target.
What LUFS target should I master to?
-14 LUFS integrated is the safest streaming target — matches Spotify and YouTube. For club, radio, or competitive masters, target -8 to -10 LUFS and accept streaming penalty. Quieter than -14 LUFS leaves headroom but plays softer than other tracks.
