--- title: "Spotify — Loudness Normalisation" description: "Spotify normalises to −14 LUFS to ITU 1770, with listener settings at −11 and −19 LUFS. True peak guidance is below −1 dBTP, or −2 dBTP for louder masters." canonical_url: "https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/spotify" type: "Article" date_modified: "2026-09-18T13:01:43.380Z" publisher: "Elephant Audio" publisher_url: "https://elephantaudio.pk" source_kind: "published-standard" source_url: "https://support.spotify.com/us/artists/article/loudness-normalization/" source_fetched_at: "2026-09-18" entities: - name: "Lahore" type: "City" same_as: - "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11739" - "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lahore" - name: "Pakistan" type: "Country" same_as: - "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q843" - "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan" author: name: "Abu Bakar Zahid" role: "Founder, Managing Director & Music Producer at Elephant Audio" url: "https://elephantaudio.pk/founder" same_as: - "https://www.linkedin.com/in/abubakarzahid94" - "https://www.youtube.com/@AbuBakarZahid" - "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12369947/" - "https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vsRY1hLmqEBXcx5xeKs0m" - "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/1654787374" - "https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/190524117" - "https://on.soundcloud.com/EnpcD" - "https://www.instagram.com/abubakarzahid94/" - "https://www.facebook.com/abubakarzahid9400/" - "https://twitter.com/abubakarzahid94" - "https://soundsofpakistan.com/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/" person: "Abu Bakar Zahid" person_same_as: - "https://www.linkedin.com/in/abubakarzahid94" - "https://www.youtube.com/@AbuBakarZahid" - "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm12369947/" - "https://open.spotify.com/artist/1vsRY1hLmqEBXcx5xeKs0m" - "https://music.apple.com/us/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/1654787374" - "https://www.deezer.com/us/artist/190524117" - "https://on.soundcloud.com/EnpcD" - "https://www.instagram.com/abubakarzahid94/" - "https://www.facebook.com/abubakarzahid9400/" - "https://twitter.com/abubakarzahid94" - "https://soundsofpakistan.com/artist/abu-bakar-zahid/" --- # Spotify — Loudness Normalisation ## What loudness does Spotify normalise to? Spotify normalises playback to −14 LUFS using ITU 1770. Listeners can select Loud at −11 LUFS or Quiet at −19 LUFS. Spotify advises keeping true peak below −1 dBTP, and below −2 dBTP for masters louder than the target. This is playback normalisation, not a delivery requirement. −14 LUFS Normal (the default playback target) · −11 LUFS Loud setting (limiter engaged at −1 dB) · −19 LUFS Quiet setting (listener-selectable) · −1 dBTP true peak guidance (−2 dBTP for louder masters) This is normalisation, not a delivery specification: Nothing here is a requirement to hand in a file at a particular level. Spotify measures whatever is uploaded and applies gain on the way out so that tracks sit at a comparable loudness for the listener. A master will not be rejected for being louder or quieter than −14 LUFS. The practical consequence is that loudness gained by compression before upload is given straight back by the platform, while the dynamic range spent to get it is not recoverable. What the listener hears is the damage without the level. The three listener settings: Most references quote only the first. The playback target is under the listener's control: - Normal — −14 LUFS. The default. - Loud — −11 LUFS, with a limiter engaged at −1 dB to prevent clipping. - Quiet — −19 LUFS. Turning a quiet track up is not symmetrical with turning a loud one down: Negative gain is straightforward: a track louder than the target is turned down, which adds no distortion and costs nothing. Positive gain is capped by headroom. Spotify's own example: if a track measures −20 LUFS and its true peak maximum is −5 dBFS, it is lifted only to −16 LUFS — not all the way to −14 — because lifting further would clip. So a quiet master with little headroom does not reach the target at all, and will still play quieter than the tracks around it. That is the real argument for leaving true-peak headroom on a quiet or dynamic master: it is what allows the platform to bring it up to the house level. Spotify's own example: > "If a track loudness level is -20 dB LUFS, and its True Peak maximum is -5 dB FS, we only lift the track up to -16 dB LUFS" — Spotify for Artists. Loudness normalization, read 2026-09-18 True peak guidance: Spotify's published mastering advice: - Keep audio below −1 dBTP for lossy formats. - For masters louder than the target, keep true peak below −2 dBTP to prevent distortion during encoding. - Measurement follows the ITU 1770 standard. The source: Read from Spotify's own artist documentation: - Spotify for Artists — Loudness normalization — Spotify's published figures. Read 2026-09-18.: https://support.spotify.com/us/artists/article/loudness-normalization/ ## Frequently asked questions ### Should a track be mastered to −14 LUFS for Spotify? Not as a rule. −14 LUFS is what Spotify normalises playback toward, not a delivery requirement, and a master is never rejected for missing it. What matters more is leaving true-peak headroom: a quiet master with peaks close to full scale cannot be lifted all the way to the target, because Spotify caps positive gain to avoid clipping. ### Does the listener's Loud setting undo a careful master? It changes the target to −11 LUFS and engages a limiter at −1 dB to prevent clipping, so a dynamic master will be limited on playback for listeners who choose it. The setting is theirs, not the artist's, which is an argument for delivering something that survives the range rather than optimising for one of the three. ### Is Spotify's −14 LUFS the same number as broadcast's −23 LUFS? They are the same unit but not comparable requirements. −23 LUFS under EBU R 128 is a delivery specification a file must meet to be accepted. −14 LUFS is what Spotify does to a file after it is uploaded. Neither is louder or quieter than the other in any meaningful sense; they are measuring different things for different purposes. ## Related - [Delivery specs versus playback normalisation](https://elephantaudio.pk/guides/broadcast-loudness-specs/raw) - [The European broadcast target](https://elephantaudio.pk/reference/ebu-r128/raw) - [Mastering for streaming release](https://elephantaudio.pk/services/mix-master/raw) ## Studio - **Studio:** Elephant Audio — Lahore, Pakistan - **Founder:** Abu Bakar Zahid — Founder, Managing Director & Music Producer at Elephant Audio - **Website:** https://elephantaudio.pk - **Contact:** abubakar@elephantaudio.pk