I’m not saying to cut everything to extremes either – too much headroom can result in some messy noise problems when the algorithm normalizes your song. If they still don’t think it’s loud enough, let them turn it up! There are plenty other solutions than a mix that borders on clipping. Do you think your listener is going to miss that extra 1-2 dB when you’ve properly mixed and mastered your song to those levels? Absolutely not.

Leave yourself some breathing room on everything you master. A mastering engineer should know this all too well – it’s the basis of the ongoing loudness wars that destroyed Metallica’s Death Magnetic album (which is still being used as the prime example of something that was mastered “too loud” more than 10 years after its release). Loud can be great, but only within a context that has dynamics. The key to any good mix is to give yourself some headroom while working. Make sure your mix is clear and polished no matter what your listener’s Internet speed is. Sites like YouTube and SoundCloud have HUGE user bases and communities that share music.

So instead of trying to fight the impossible, focus on the control you do have when mastering a song that’s going to be on these streaming services. Unfortunately, that approach relies on having listeners that have those speeds something you have no control over. All kinds of social networks and sites like SoundCloud and YouTube can absolutely destroy a mix when it runs through their compression algorithms (the kinds that make files smaller, not the ones that make your kick drum punchier).Īs download rates become faster and Internet providers upgrade bandwidths, the streaming issues get better, thanks to less (or no) compression when streaming in HD. If you’ve got a discerning ear, it doesn’t take much to tell that a song streaming in your web browser isn’t the highest quality method of listening.

Mix and master my song free