How to Master an Album or EP: A Practical Guide

An album is not a pile of mastered songs. It is one record that people play from the first song to the last, so the songs have to share a sound, a level plan and the right silence between them. Here is what to decide, in order, and how to deliver it.

The short answer

Master the songs against each other, not one by one. Put them in their final order, give the record one level plan (the most intense song sets the level and the gentler songs sit a little under it), fix only the songs whose tone stands out from the rest, set the gaps and fades, keep every true peak at or below −1 dBTP, and deliver one master per song with a track list.

Decision	What to aim for
Order	Final, before you master: levels and gaps depend on it
Loudness	The most intense song sets the level; ballads and quiet songs sit a little lower
Tone	Fix only the songs that stand out, gently; do not make them identical
Gaps	Around 2 seconds as a starting point; shorter for songs that segue, a bit longer after a ballad
Peaks	True peak at or below −1 dBTP on every song
Delivery	One master per song, a CUE sheet and a report of the numbers

What album mastering adds

Mastering a song makes it sound right on its own. Mastering an album also makes it sound right next to the song before it and the song after it. Someone who plays the whole record should never reach for the volume knob, notice that one song came from another room, or sit through a silence that is too long or too short.

Level: the songs sit in the right relationship to each other.
Tone: no song is clearly brighter, duller or bassier than the rest unless it is meant to be.
Flow: gaps and fades make the record play as one piece.
Delivery: one file per song, in order, ready for a distributor or a CD-style master.

That is why mastering the same songs one at a time, each to the same target, is not the same job. Every song can pass its own check and the record can still feel uneven.

Step 1: decide the order

Choose the running order first. The level of each song, the gap after it and any fades depend on what comes next, so changing the order later means redoing them. Play the songs in order from start to finish, not shuffled, and ask where the record lifts, where it rests and whether the last song feels like an ending.

Listen to the songs side by side before you master. If one jumps out as louder, brighter or much quieter, note it now.
A ballad after a hard song needs room to land. Two fast songs in a row can sit closer together.
Interludes and short skits belong in the order too. They are meant to sound different, so do not try to match them to the songs.

Step 2: set the loudness across the record

The tempting plan is to bring every song to the same integrated LUFS. On a record that usually sounds wrong: the quiet song gets pushed until it feels as dense as the closer, and the album loses its shape. On commercial records the most intense song sets the level and the quieter, ballad-like songs sit a little lower.

Measure the integrated LUFS of every final file.
Find the most intense song. It is not always the one with the highest number: it is the one that feels biggest. Give it the level you want for the record, for example the target for your genre.
Put the other songs a little under it, in proportion to how intense they are: a ballad lower than a mid-tempo song, and a mid-tempo song close to the single.
Keep the difference modest. A ballad a few LU under the single sounds natural; much further and listeners reach for the volume.
Play the whole record at one volume setting and ask whether any song feels too loud or too quiet for what it is.

Streaming helps here. Spotify normalizes albums together, so when someone plays your album from start to finish, the level relationship between your songs stays as you set it.

Step 3: make the tone consistent, gently

Songs mixed at different times often differ in tone: one is brighter, another has more low end. Look at each song's tone next to the average of the record. Most will sit close together. The one or two that stand out are the ones to fix.

Move only the songs that stand out, and only part of the way. Meeting the album halfway usually sounds more natural than forcing a match.
Use a gentle EQ move: a dB or two with a wide bell, not a big cut or boost.
Leave interludes and skits alone. A piano interlude or a voice recording should sound like itself.
Do not make every song identical. A stripped ballad and a heavy closer should keep their character.

If a song needs much more than a small nudge to fit, the problem is in its mix, not in the master.

Step 4: gaps, fades and silence

The silence between songs is part of the music. Around 2 seconds is a common default and a good place to start. Then adjust by ear, song by song:

Shorter when one song segues into the next, when a song has a cut ending (a hard stop with no tail), or between a fast pair where you want momentum.
A bit longer before a strong song that follows a ballad, so the quiet has time to settle.
Judge the gap from where the sound really ends, not from the last note: a long reverb tail belongs to the song.
Fade out a song that was never given an ending. Fade in only when the first moment has a click or starts too abruptly. Keep fades short unless the fade is the point of the song.
Trim the silence at the start and end of each file, so the gap you set is the gap listeners hear. Silence left in the bounce adds to it.

Step 5: keep the peaks safe

Every song needs the same safe ceiling. Streaming services convert your files to lossy formats, which can push peaks higher, so keep the true peak at or below −1 dBTP on every song. Check the final files after export, not the session.

Step 6: deliver the album

One master per song: a WAV or FLAC for each, 24-bit if you can, named with the track number so they sort in order. One file per song is also what a distributor takes.
A CUE sheet: a small text file that lists the tracks and where each one starts. It is what CD-style delivery uses for track markers, and it keeps your running order on record.
A report of the numbers: integrated LUFS and peak for every song, so you can check the level plan and keep it for later.

Prepare the mixes

Export each mix as a WAV or FLAC, 24-bit if you can, all at the same sample rate.
Leave headroom: peaks around −6 dBFS. Nothing should touch 0 dBFS.
Take the limiter off the master bus and do not normalize. The loudness of the record is set across all the songs, not inside each mix.
Export the whole song with its tail, without fades or trimming. Those are set at the master.
Check each mix on headphones and on a phone speaker, and fix balance problems now. Mastering moves the whole song, not the parts inside it.

Album mastering checklist

The running order is final, and you have heard it from start to finish.
Every mix is exported the same way: same format, same sample rate, peaks around −6 dBFS, no limiter.
The most intense song sets the level and the others sit a little under it.
Only the songs that stand out in tone were touched, gently.
Gaps are set by ear, fades are used only where needed and the silence at the edges is trimmed.
True peak is at or below −1 dBTP on every file.
One master per song, a CUE sheet and a report are saved together.
You listened to the whole record in order, on headphones and on a phone speaker.

Or do it in your browser

OBRA's Album mode follows the same plan. Drop 2 to 20 songs, in any order, and drag them into the running order you want. The record gets one sound for the whole album:

Level: the most intense song carries the album level and the others sit a little below it, ballads lower. It is capped so nothing drops too far: up to 4.5 LU in the Natural master, 3.5 in OBRA and 2.5 in Loud.
Tone: only songs that stand out from the album's average are nudged, half the way, by at most ±2 dB with at most two EQ bells. Interludes and skits are left alone.
Gaps and fades: 2 seconds by default, adjusted for tails, cut endings and segues. You can change the gap and the fade of every song, and the silence at the start and end of each one is trimmed.
Stems: songs can also be split into vocals, drums, bass and music stems (stem separation) and leveled to the album.
Download: a ZIP with every master, a CUE sheet and an album report with the LUFS and peak of each song.

You hear the record in three masters side by side: Natural, OBRA and Loud. Listening is free. The album download is $9 / €9 / £9 once, with the downloads available for 30 days, or included with OBRA PRO. Nothing is uploaded: the engine runs in your browser, on your device.

Master your album →

For a single song, master it free instead: two songs a day.

Master a single song free →

Keep reading

Why the songs on your album sound different: how to find out what differs, and what mastering can and cannot fix
How loud should you master for Spotify?: a target by genre and how to hit it
Mixing vs mastering: which problems belong to the mix and which to the master
LUFS for Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube: what LUFS and true peak mean

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between mastering an album and mastering songs separately?

Mastering songs separately gives each one its own level and tone. Mastering an album also sets how the songs sit next to each other: one level plan, one tonal balance, the gaps and fades between them and a consistent true peak.

Should every song on an album be the same loudness?

Usually not. The most intense song sets the level and the quieter, ballad-like songs sit a little lower, as on commercial records. Forcing every song to the same LUFS tends to make the quiet songs feel pushed and flattens the shape of the record.

How long should the gap between songs be?

Around 2 seconds is a common default. Make it shorter for songs that segue, for cut endings and for fast pairs, and a bit longer before a strong song that follows a ballad. Judge it by ear, from where the sound really ends.

What true peak should the songs of an album have?

At or below −1 dBTP on every song for streaming, checked on the final files.

What files do I deliver for an album?

One master per song as a WAV or FLAC, named in track order. A CUE sheet lists the tracks and where each starts for CD-style delivery, and a report with the loudness and peak of each song helps you check the result.

How much does OBRA's album mastering cost?

Listening is free. The album download is $9 / €9 / £9 once, with the downloads available for 30 days, or included with OBRA PRO. Single songs are free for two a day at /mastering.

Is my music uploaded?

No. The engine runs in your browser, so your songs stay on your device.

How to master an album or EP