The short answer
| Setting | For YouTube |
|---|---|
| Playback level | About −14 LUFS integrated; louder uploads are turned down |
| Quieter uploads | Left as they are, never turned up |
| True peak | At or below −1 dBTP, so the Opus and AAC versions do not clip |
| File in the video | WAV or a high-bitrate AAC in the video file, at 48 kHz if the video is 48 kHz |
YouTube does not publish these numbers. They come from measurements of what its player does, and they have been stable for years.
Why quiet masters lose on YouTube
Spotify turns quieter songs up (as far as their peaks allow). YouTube does not. A master at −18 LUFS stays at −18, about 4 dB quieter than the videos around it, and listeners hear that as weaker.
- Aim for at least −14 LUFS integrated, so nothing is lost.
- Louder is fine: a −9 LUFS master is turned down about 5 dB, to the same level as a −14 master, only denser.
- Your mix may be quieter than you think. In our study, 22.5 % of the mixes dropped into OBRA were quieter than −16 LUFS.
See what YouTube does to your song
Right-click the video (or tap the settings on mobile) and open Stats for nerds. The Volume / Normalized line shows two numbers and a content loudness value.
- Content loudness above 0 dB means your upload is louder than YouTube's reference, and that is how much it is turned down.
- Content loudness of 0 dB or below means it plays as you uploaded it. A negative value is how much quieter than the reference it is.
Check this on your own upload and on a reference video of your genre.
True peak and encoding
YouTube re-encodes the audio of every upload, usually to Opus or AAC. Like every lossy encoder, that can push peaks above the level of your master. A master that touches 0 dBTP can distort on YouTube even when the WAV is clean.
- Set the true-peak limiter at −1 dBTP, or −2 dBTP for very loud masters.
- Put a WAV, or AAC at 320 kbps, in the video file. Do not upload an MP3 that was made from the master: that is two lossy encodes.
- Match the sample rate to the video project, usually 48 kHz, to avoid one more conversion.
Check your master for YouTube, free
- Open obra.art/mastering and drop in your mix or master. It is read in your browser; nothing is uploaded.
- Read the integrated LUFS and the true peak of each master.
- Open the Platforms view to hear how YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music will play each one.
- Pick the master that still sounds full at YouTube's level, then download the 24-bit WAV at 48 kHz.
2 different songs a day free, with no account: all three masters, the Studio and every meter, as a WAV or FLAC up to 24-bit / 48 kHz.
Frequently asked questions
What LUFS should I master to for YouTube?
About −14 LUFS integrated or louder. YouTube turns louder uploads down to about −14 LUFS and leaves quieter ones as they are, so a master quieter than −14 LUFS plays quieter than others.
Does YouTube normalize audio?
Yes, downwards only. Uploads louder than its reference of about −14 LUFS are turned down; quieter uploads are not turned up.
What true peak should I use for YouTube?
−1 dBTP, or −2 dBTP for very loud masters, because YouTube re-encodes the audio and the encoder can raise peaks.
How do I see how much YouTube turned my song down?
Open Stats for nerds on the video. The content loudness value on the Volume / Normalized line is how much louder than the reference your upload is, in dB.
Can I use the same master for YouTube and Spotify?
Yes. Both play at about −14 LUFS and turn louder songs down. Just make sure the master is not quieter than −14 LUFS, because YouTube will not turn it up.
Sources
More from OBRA Mastering
- Mastering for Apple Music
- How loud to master for Spotify
- LUFS for every streaming service
- Free LUFS meter
- Free online mastering, no sign-up
- AI mastering: how it works and a free one to try
- OBRA ULTRA: mixing and mastering by an engineer
- All mastering guides, comparisons and data
- Free mastering course: master a song in 8 lessons