What are general loudness levels for radio mastering

H

home-recorder

New member
Hallo guys,
I would like to know something: In general, what are the loudness levels measured in terms of RMS and LUFS for radio mastering. I generally master my tracks with an RMS between -8 and -10 dB. I engage in EDM. Thank you in advance.
 
bouldersoundguy said:
I would call that kind of loudness both sadly over limited and probably about right for CD and radio.
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While I agree that it's pretty hot, it's not unusual for EDM. That music is usually slammed. It's not the most dynamic music, so they just get it loud as they can.
 
This is a tricky question .. you have to make sure you mix sounds good across all playback systems, or is optimized for venue vs home. I am interested in seeing if my ears can make that happen .. zero charge for one track as I'm very curious. DM me if you want
 
Do radio stations even care what your LUFS/RMS levels are? They are going to compress/limit and maybe EQ it to fit into their parameters.

I was listening to a song on a local FM station a few days ago while driving. I also had the same song on a flash drive in the car as a 320k MP3 from the CD, so I pulled up the album (it was the first song). They didn't sound anything alike. The FM version was far more squashed that the CD version.

Of course, people listening to an FM station couldn't care less if it sounds like the CD. They just crank it up while they cruise down the road. I bet 90% of the people don't even know that it's been changed.
 
TalismanRich said:
Do radio stations even care what your LUFS/RMS levels are? They are going to compress/limit and maybe EQ it to fit into their parameters.

I was listening to a song on a local FM station a few days ago while driving. I also had the same song on a flash drive in the car as a 320k MP3 from the CD, so I pulled up the album (it was the first song). They didn't sound anything alike. The FM version was far more squashed that the CD version.

Of course, people listening to an FM station couldn't care less if it sounds like the CD. They just crank it up while they cruise down the road. I bet 90% of the people don't even know that it's been changed.
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That is very true.

I've learned that FM radio runs everything through an algorithm that compresses and EQs the signal.

But it's not by choice. It's a function of the bandwidth of FM signals. FM can transmit lossy stereo signals efficiently across very long distances (esp on clear nights).

In contrast, AM radio can transmit essentially lossless Mono signals across the whole world on clear nights.

If anything, I'd make your stereo mixes mono-compatible. That way, they'll sound good on AM or FM, and also everywhere else
 
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