Studio credit
Elephant Audio
Audio production · Sound design · Music production
LahorePKEngineering sound since 2018
Reference
The number, and who says so.
What each territory and platform actually requires, read out of the standard itself rather than summarised from another summary. Every page says where its figures came from and links the document, so you can check us. If you want the explanation rather than the lookup, the loudness guide covers why these numbers differ.
Every spec, side by side
Integrated loudness and true-peak ceilings for each territory and platform we deliver to, read from the published documents. A blank means the specification does not state that limit — not that it allows anything.
| Specification | Applies to | Integrated loudness | True peak | Also specifies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ITU-R BS.1770 — The Measurement Underneath Everything | Worldwide — the measurement algorithm | — | — | ±0.3 dB true-peak tolerance |
| EBU R 128 — European Broadcast Loudness | Europe & UK — broadcast | −23.0 LUFS | −1 dBTP | ±0.2 LU QC allowance |
| EBU R 128 s1 — Loudness for Adverts, Promos and Idents | Europe — short-form and trailers | −23.0 LUFS | −1 dBTP | −18.0 LUFS Maximum Short-term |
| EBU R 128 s2 — Loudness in Streaming | Europe — streaming distribution | −23.0 LUFS | — | −20.0 to −16.0 interim distribution window |
| EBU Tech 3341 — The Meter Specification Behind R 128 | Worldwide — the meter R 128 requires | — | — | −70 LUFS absolute gate |
| ATSC A/85 — US Television Loudness | United States — television | −24 LKFS | −2 dBTP | Dialogue long-form anchor |
| Free TV OP-59 — Australian Television Loudness | Australia — broadcast | −24 LKFS | −2 dBTP | ±1 dB tolerance |
| UK DPP — Programme Delivery (AS-11) | United Kingdom — broadcast delivery | −23.0 LUFS | −1 dBTP | 4 LU dialogue separation |
| Clearcast — UK Television Advertising Clearance | United Kingdom — TV advertising clearance | −23 LUFS | — | −0.95 mean phase floor |
| Cinema Advert Audio — UK and Gulf Specifications | UK & Gulf — cinema advertising | — | — | 82 dB Leq(m) loudness ceiling |
| France — Loudness of Television Programmes and Commercials | France — broadcast, legally binding | −23 LUFS | — | −20 LUFS commercials, short-term |
| Spotify — Loudness Normalisation | Spotify — music streaming | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP | −11 LUFS Loud setting |
| Netflix — Sound Mix Specification | Netflix originals — home mix | −27 LKFS | −2 dBTP | 85 dB SPL theatrical reference |
| Apple Music — Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos delivery | Apple Music — spatial audio | −18 LKFS | −1 dB TP | 50 ms conform tolerance |
| ACX / Audible — Audiobook Submission Requirements | ACX / Audible — audiobooks | −23 to −18 dB RMS | −3 dB | −60 dB RMS noise floor ceiling |
| AES TD1008 — Streaming Loudness | AES TD1008 — internet streaming | −18 LUFS | −1 dBTP | −16 LUFS Music, track-normalised |
| Apple Podcasts — Audio Requirements | Apple Podcasts — spoken word | −16 LKFS | −1 dBFS | BS.1770-5 measurement |
The measurement
BS.1770-5ITU-R BS.1770 — The Measurement Underneath EverythingWhy LKFS and LUFS are the same unit, what the gate actually does, and which revision is in force.Read the spec −18.0 LUFSEBU R 128 s1 — Loudness for Adverts, Promos and IdentsThe supplement written for short-form content, with a Maximum Short-term ceiling the main recommendation does not have.Read the spec −20.0 to −16.0EBU R 128 s2 — Loudness in StreamingThe document that answers the question every client asks: you said −23, but Spotify says −14 — which is it?Read the spec EBU ModeEBU Tech 3341 — The Meter Specification Behind R 128The three time scales a compliant meter must show, what the gate excludes, and where zero sits on the two permitted scales.Read the spec −18 / −16 / −14 LUFSAES TD1008 — Streaming LoudnessThe only recommendation that sets a different target per content type on the same stream — and the only one that separates track-normalised music from album-normalised.Read the spec
By territory
−23.0 LUFSEBU R 128 — European Broadcast LoudnessThe European broadcast target, with the tolerances and the Loudness Range caveat that the summary tables leave out.Read the spec −24 LKFSATSC A/85 — US Television LoudnessThe US television target — and the detail most summaries drop: long-form is measured on dialogue, short-form on the full mix.Read the spec −24 LKFSFree TV OP-59 — Australian Television LoudnessAustralia's target, with the tightest tolerance of any broadcast spec here — ±1 dB, half what US television anticipates.Read the spec ±0.5 LUUK DPP — Programme Delivery (AS-11)The UK's programme tolerance is half of Europe's — and the true-peak rule is two numbers, one of which is the one that fails you.Read the spec −0.95 mean phaseClearcast — UK Television Advertising ClearanceUK adverts clear through Clearcast, and its spec carries an automated phase gate that exists in no loudness standard.Read the spec 82 dB Leq(m)Cinema Advert Audio — UK and Gulf SpecificationsCinema adverts are judged on Leq(m), not LUFS — and the UK and the Gulf ask for conflicting things on the same file.Read the spec −20 LUFSFrance — Loudness of Television Programmes and CommercialsFrance caps short-term loudness on commercials two units below the EBU supplement — and it is law, not guidance.Read the spec
By platform
−14 LUFSSpotify — Loudness NormalisationNormalised to −14 LUFS, but the listener can move it to −11 or −19 — and what happens then is not symmetrical.Read the spec −27 LKFSNetflix — Sound Mix SpecificationDialogue-gated −27 LKFS ±2 LU for the home mix, −2 dBTP peaks — and no loudness target at all for theatrical.Read the spec −18 LKFS maxApple Music — Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos deliveryA delivery specification, not a normalisation target — and the only major platform rule that dictates how the mix must have been made.Read the spec −60 dB RMSACX / Audible — Audiobook Submission RequirementsA hard gate with a human reviewer — and the spec that fails people is the noise floor, because it measures the room rather than the performance.Read the spec −16 LKFSApple Podcasts — Audio Requirements−16 LKFS with a ±1 dB tolerance and true peak below −1 dBFS — calculated to BS.1770-5, a newer revision than most specs cite.Read the spec
Delivering somewhere that is not listed?
Send the spec sheet. We’ll measure every deliverable against it individually and send the report back with the files — and if the territory belongs on this page, it gets added.
These are the numbers the studio delivers against — see the work they apply to: Music, sound design, mixing and mastering.
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