Spotify normalizes music to −14 LUFS integrated by default. Apple Music plays at about −16 LUFS, YouTube, Tidal and Amazon Music at about −14 LUFS, and Deezer at about −15 LUFS. Only Spotify publishes its rules in full, so the other figures are estimates. Instagram, TikTok and SoundCloud publish no loudness target for music.
A master louder than the target gets turned down. A master at −9 LUFS plays 5 dB quieter on Spotify than it left your DAW. What happens to a quieter master depends on whether the service turns quiet tracks up.
The targets at a glance
| Service | Target (integrated) | Turns quiet tracks up? |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS (Loud −11, Quiet −19) | Yes on the default setting, only as far as the peaks allow, keeping them under −1 dBTP |
| Apple Music (Sound Check) | About −16 LUFS | Not published |
| YouTube | About −14 LUFS | No, it turns loud tracks down only |
| Tidal | About −14 LUFS | Not published |
| Amazon Music | About −14 LUFS | Not published |
| Deezer | About −15 LUFS | Not published |
| No published target | Not published | |
| TikTok | No published target | Not published |
| SoundCloud | No published target | Not published |
All targets refer to integrated loudness, the gated average over the whole track. If that term is new, start with what LUFS is.
Spotify
Spotify is the only service here that publishes its rules in full. The default setting normalizes to −14 LUFS integrated. Listeners can pick Loud (−11 LUFS) or Quiet (−19 LUFS), or switch normalization off in the app's settings.
Spotify turns loud tracks down. A −9 LUFS master plays 5 dB lower, at −14 LUFS. On the default setting it can also turn a quiet track up, but only as far as the peaks allow, keeping them under −1 dBTP. Take a master at −18 LUFS that peaks at −4 dBTP. Spotify can raise it 3 dB before the peaks reach −1 dBTP, so it plays at −15 LUFS, still 1 dB below other tracks.
Spotify recommends that masters peak no higher than −1 dBTP, and no higher than −2 dBTP for masters louder than −14 LUFS. The margin leaves room for inter-sample peaks, which can clip when a service encodes the file to a lossy format such as Ogg or AAC. The true peak guide explains why sample peak meters miss them.
When you play an album, Spotify normalizes the album as a whole. A quiet interlude stays quieter than the single next to it, as you mastered it.
Apple Music
Apple Music uses Sound Check, which plays music at about −16 LUFS. That is 2 dB lower than Spotify's default. A −9 LUFS master gets turned down about 7 dB on Apple Music and 5 dB on Spotify, so the same file loses more level there. Apple doesn't publish its rules in full, so treat −16 LUFS as an estimate.
YouTube
YouTube plays music at about −14 LUFS and turns loud tracks down only. It doesn't turn quiet ones up. A master at −18 LUFS plays at −18 LUFS, 4 dB below a track that reached −14 LUFS.
YouTube doesn't publish a true peak ceiling for music. Spotify's −1 dBTP is a safe ceiling for an upload too, because the same inter-sample clipping can happen whenever a service encodes your file to AAC, MP3 or Ogg.
Tidal, Amazon Music and Deezer
Tidal and Amazon Music play at about −14 LUFS, the same as Spotify. Deezer plays at about −15 LUFS. None of the three publishes its rules in full, so these are estimates. A master that works on Spotify will play at close to the same level on all three.
Instagram, TikTok and SoundCloud
Instagram, TikTok and SoundCloud publish no music loudness target. Numbers you see quoted for them are someone's measurement or a guess, not a figure the service has stated. They can also change without notice.
For these platforms, there's no number to master to. Master for the published services, keep true peak at or below −1 dBTP, and listen to an upload on a phone before you post it widely.
One master for every service
You don't need a master per service. The targets sit within 2 dB of each other, from about −16 to −14 LUFS. Here is what each service does to a master at −8 LUFS integrated.
| Service | Target | Change to a −8 LUFS master |
|---|---|---|
| Spotify | −14 LUFS | Down 6 dB |
| YouTube, Tidal, Amazon Music | About −14 LUFS | Down about 6 dB |
| Deezer | About −15 LUFS | Down about 7 dB |
| Apple Music | About −16 LUFS | Down about 8 dB |
After those cuts, the −8 LUFS master plays at the same level as a −14 LUFS master. It is not louder for the listener, and it has less dynamic range left. A quieter master isn't penalized on services that only turn down, but it plays quieter than other tracks where nothing turns it up. The guide to how loud a master should be works through the trade-off, and the loudness normalization guide covers what listeners hear with normalization on or off.
To check a master against all of these at once, load it in ABSeq. Each track shows its integrated LUFS and true peak, and tapping the readout shows how much Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, Tidal, Amazon Music and Deezer would change its level. "Spotify −1.8 dB" means Spotify would turn it down 1.8 dB.
Questions
How many LUFS for Spotify?
Spotify normalizes to −14 LUFS integrated on its default setting, −11 LUFS on Loud and −19 LUFS on Quiet. It recommends peaks no higher than −1 dBTP, or −2 dBTP for masters louder than −14 LUFS. A louder master isn't rewarded. Spotify turns it down to −14 LUFS.
What is the Apple Music LUFS target?
Apple Music's Sound Check plays music at about −16 LUFS, 2 dB lower than Spotify. Apple doesn't publish its rules in full, so −16 LUFS is an estimate. A −9 LUFS master gets turned down about 7 dB.
What LUFS should I use for YouTube?
YouTube plays music at about −14 LUFS and only turns loud tracks down. A quieter master stays quieter, so a −18 LUFS upload plays 4 dB below one at −14 LUFS. Keep true peak at or below −1 dBTP to leave room for encoding.
How many LUFS for Instagram and TikTok?
Neither Instagram nor TikTok publishes a loudness target for music, and SoundCloud doesn't either. Any number quoted for them is a measurement or a guess. Master for the published services, around −14 LUFS with true peak at or below −1 dBTP, and check an upload by ear.
Should I master to −14 LUFS?
You don't have to. −14 LUFS is where Spotify, YouTube, Tidal and Amazon Music play music, so a master at that level plays without being turned down there. A louder master gets turned down to the same level with less dynamic range. A quieter one plays quieter on services that don't turn tracks up.