How To Win the Loudness War
Our friends at Trust Me I’m A Scientist recently published this unique look at The Loudness War. Catch a glimpse below, and click thru to read the entire feature.
Recorded music has been getting louder over for the past few decades. So much louder in fact, that everyday-listeners have begun to hear about it in general-interest papers like the Wall Street Journal, the Atlantic, the Huffington Post, and even the New York Times.
As records have increased in average level, so has the chatter surrounding these “loudness wars”. In some online communities, a shamelessly “hot” master is seen as a crime against fans. Some of the most zealous critics have even taken to publicly shaming mastering engineers or petitioning record labels to remix entire albums.
It’s easy to scapegoat the mastering engineers who oversee the final level of each album but in reality, mastering is a client service, and the engineer is only one voice among many. Somewhere along the way, “loud” has morphed to become more than a level — It’s now an aesthetic choice of its own, and has even transcended perceived volume.
This development has made arguments on both sides pretty messy, but the real solution remains simple. More on that later.
Go to Trust Me I’m A Scientist to continue reading this feature, by Justin Colletti.
Please note: When you buy products through links on this page, we may earn an affiliate commission.