Loudness guide
Mastering for SoundCloud: loud counts here.
Short answer: SoundCloud doesn’t turn loud uploads down, so a louder master plays louder. Master as loud as your song stays punchy, about −8 to −10 LUFS for most genres, keep true peaks around −1 dBTP, and upload a WAV.
No loudness normalisation
Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube measure each song and play it at a common level. SoundCloud doesn’t. Your track plays at the level you mastered it, so a quiet master sounds quiet next to the track before it, and listeners rarely reach for the volume.
| Service | Plays at | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| SoundCloud | none | A louder upload plays louder. |
| Spotify | −14 LUFS | Turns louder songs down. |
| YouTube | −14 LUFS | Only turns loud songs down. |
| Apple Music | −16 LUFS | With Sound Check turned on. |
Integrated loudness, as the services publish it. They adjust these now and then.
More on the other services in mastering for Spotify.
How loud to master
Released pop, hip-hop, rock and electronic music sits around −7 to −10 LUFS integrated. That is the company your track keeps on SoundCloud. Aim for that range, but judge by ear: stop pushing the limiter when the drums lose their snap or the low end starts to distort. A track that is 1 dB quieter but still punchy beats one that is squashed flat.
Watch the loudest part of the song, the chorus or drop, more than the integrated number. A long quiet intro lowers the integrated value without changing how loud the song feels. Check yours with the free loudness checker: check your song free, measured in your browser, nothing uploaded.
True peaks and transcoding
SoundCloud keeps your original file but streams an encoded copy, for example AAC at 256 kbps. Lossy encoding can raise peaks slightly, and peaks over 0 dBFS distort on playback. SoundCloud recommends leaving −0.5 to −1 dBFS of headroom. Set your limiter in true peak (dBTP):
- −1 dBTP is the safe choice for every song.
- About −0.3 dBTP can work for loud masters if they still sound clean after encoding. Bright, dense mixes need more room.
Upload a WAV
- Upload a WAV, FLAC or AIFF, 16 or 24-bit, at your song’s sample rate. Don’t upload an MP3: it would be encoded twice.
- If you allow downloads, listeners get the file you uploaded, so make that the final master.
- Trim long silence at the start: SoundCloud starts playing from the first second.
Mastering for SoundCloud online
MakeItSoundPro’s Loud setting is made for places like SoundCloud: about −8.5 LUFS in the loud parts with true peaks at −0.3 dBTP. Every song is mastered three ways (Gentle, Balanced and Bold) at the same loudness, and you compare them with your original at that loudness, so you hear what changed rather than just more volume. You download a 24-bit WAV for the upload, a 320 kbps MP3 and a 30-second clip of the highlight. Your first three songs are free.
New to mastering? Start with how to master a song.
Questions
Does SoundCloud normalise loudness?
No. Unlike Spotify, Apple Music and YouTube, SoundCloud doesn't turn loud uploads down. A louder master plays louder than a quieter one, right next to it in the feed.
What LUFS should I master to for SoundCloud?
Loud enough to hold up next to other tracks in your genre: for most pop, hip-hop and electronic music that is about −8 to −10 LUFS integrated. Push only as far as the song stays punchy; a squashed master sounds worse, not better.
What true peak should I use for SoundCloud?
SoundCloud streams a lossy encode of your file and recommends leaving −0.5 to −1 dBFS of headroom, because encoding can raise peaks. −1 dBTP is the safe choice; very loud masters can go up to about −0.3 dBTP if they stay clean.
Should I upload a WAV or an MP3 to SoundCloud?
A WAV or FLAC. SoundCloud encodes every upload for streaming, so an MP3 gets encoded twice and loses more quality. If you allow downloads, listeners get the original file you uploaded.
Can I use the same master for SoundCloud and Spotify?
Usually yes. A loud master made for SoundCloud is simply turned down on Spotify and sounds about as loud as everything else there. Just keep true peaks at −1 dBTP or slightly below so it encodes cleanly on both.