KEY POINTS Streaming platforms don’t change your master - they only adjust playback level:  Spotify and Apple Music measure integrated LUFS and turn playback up or down to hit a target. They do not remaster, compress, or alter your file. -14 LUFS is a playback target, not a mastering target: Spotify normalizes to about -14 LUFS and Apple Music closer to -16 LUFS - but mastering to those numbers often sacrifices the density and energy modern productions rely on. Two songs can

KEY POINTS Loudness is Perceptual:  Loudness isn't just about volume; it’s a mix of physical sound pressure and how your brain interprets factors like pitch and duration. The Decibel (dB):  We use decibels to measure sound intensity. Because the scale is logarithmic, a 10 dB  increase usually sounds about twice as loud to the human ear. LUFS vs. Raw Volume:  LUFS (Loudness Units Full Scale) is the industry standard because it measures how loud a song feels , whereas older met