The Mastering Show · The Mastering Show Podcast

The Mastering Show #95 - Loudness trends in 2024: should you follow them ? with Ian Stewart

August 15, 2024·1 hr 16 min·6 clips

Ian Stewart analyzed 54 top songs to find the real loudness trends in 2024.

Mastering is simple, not easy. The host begins with a point most engineers know: modern DAWs already have plenty of usable tools, while newer plugins make it very tempting to keep reaching deeper into a master. Leapwing Audio's Stage One and Dyne One sit right in that tension. They can add depth, width, parallel compression, fullness, density, and richness, but that does not mean every move earns its place. So the episode keeps circling back to judgement. Loudness is the doorway, not the destination. Ian Stewart's more useful thread is measurement: LRA, width by genre, and overall tonal balance. Those numbers are handy, and also easy to overread. He has put the measurements into Tonal Balance Control as a downloadable preset, giving listeners a reference point for checking EQ balance without pretending the preset can make the decision for them. The host follows that idea instead of letting integrated loudness take over the whole conversation. Tonality gets treated as the heavier question. Width and LRA are discussed as genre-dependent clues, not rules to copy across every track. That is a small distinction, but in mastering it changes the whole job. The practical example lands well. In a Loudness Penalty Studio demonstration, a client brought in an already loud mix, and the host asked for less processed versions to hear whether a better master was possible. He matched integrated loudness on purpose, then compared the results the way streaming services would normalise them. That pulls the argument out of the usual fog around loudness. Louder is not written off; it just does not get to crowd out balance, movement, or the damage caused by pushing a mix too hard before mastering. Use the data. Try the tools. Give clients concrete alternatives. Then judge the master by more than a number on a meter.

As heard by us

A grounded case for judging loudness alongside width, tone, and translation.

The discussion treats loudness as one piece of mastering, not the whole job. It starts with the basic point that modern DAWs already cover a lot, then moves into newer plugins that give more control over depth, stereo width, and parallel or upward compression.

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Why you'd press play

A sober mastering check on width, tonal balance, and compression, with a reminder that tools matter less than how you use them.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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