As we increasingly hear that the “loudness war is over,” for many amateur and indie creators, it feels like a discussion from another world. Technologies like “loudness normalization,” implemented by streaming platforms such as Spotify and YouTube, have reduced the competition of boosting volume to stand out. However, for those of us who haven’t even fully “participated” in the loudness war, there are still significant challenges ahead.
The Reality of Not Even Participating in the Loudness War
While social media discusses the loudness war, observing the advanced tools and techniques professionals use can often feel like watching a completely different level of expertise. They can skillfully control loudness with years of experience and high-end tools. Meanwhile, amateurs like us struggle with how to deliver high-quality music and how to manage loudness effectively. Though modern standards like LUFS (Loudness Units Relative to Full Scale) have reduced the former volume-boosting race, even meeting those standards can be far from simple. Every stage of production, from composition, recording, and arrangement to mixing and mastering, requires precise technical skills.
The Intricacies and Challenges of Mixing
Mixing is not just about placing sounds but weaving together the “story” of the entire track. It’s about how each sound interacts and communicates with the listener, requiring careful adjustments to achieve balance. For example, ensuring the snare doesn’t overpower the track or that the bass doesn’t drown out other instruments in the lower frequencies is an art. This process can feel like delicately sculpting each sound. While professional engineers might swiftly execute these tasks, amateurs face constant trial and error.
When mixing, maintaining the spatial relationships and volume balance between instruments is crucial. If the vocals are too forward, they may overwhelm other instruments, while pushing them too far back can make the track feel thin. The panning and fader adjustments can drastically change the track’s feel, making balance a key consideration. Moreover, properly applying effects and dynamics processing to enhance depth and space is like meticulously building a sandcastle, one grain at a time.
Mastering: The Final Challenge of Loudness Control
Even after a successful mix, the final hurdle is mastering. Here, the goal is to create a cohesive sound while ensuring proper loudness. But simply increasing volume isn’t the answer—too much and you risk clipping (distortion) or degrading the sound quality, while too little might make the track sound small compared to others. Finding this delicate balance requires mastering tools like limiters and compressors, but using them effectively is no easy feat.
Tools like Cubase, other DAWs, and external plugins offer various ways to manage loudness, but using them skillfully demands experience and knowledge. To create a comfortable listening experience while adhering to LUFS and true peak standards requires advanced techniques. Especially in streaming, it’s a tightrope act to ensure the track isn’t quieter than others while preserving dynamics.
The Battle Isn’t Over
Given this reality, the statement that “the loudness war is over” seems more relevant to the professional domain. In the world of amateurs and some indie creators, we are still learning and fighting to participate. Boosting loudness itself isn’t inherently bad; the key is making sure it serves the song’s message and provides a pleasant listening experience. Overly loud tracks can lead to listener fatigue, damaging the overall musical experience. Managing loudness with balance is an essential skill in music production.
Personally, I aim to refine my skills in loudness management, mixing, and mastering to deliver a better musical experience to listeners. Rather than seeing the loudness war as “over,” I believe the battle to master these skills is still ongoing. In this journey of music production, I find the challenge itself to be a source of meaning and value.
In conclusion, while the loudness war may be over for professionals, for those of us in the amateur and indie world, the path to mastering these techniques is still long. Music production is an endless process of trial and error, and it’s within that process that the true essence of music lies. By continuing to challenge ourselves, we believe we can enrich our music even further.
