Release Loudness Guide
How loud should your master be? See what each streaming service and DJ store will do to your track's level, measure your own master, and know what to aim for before you release.
What to do
Sounds to load your MIDI into
Supersaw Essentials: 25 free trance presets for Vital, the free synth. Leads, plucks, pads and gated stabs, voiced for every tool on this site.
How loudness normalisation works
Streaming services measure every track's integrated loudness in LUFS (loudness units relative to full scale, a measure of how loud it sounds rather than how high its peaks go) and turn it to the same level, so listeners don't have to reach for the volume between songs. Master louder than the target and your track is simply turned down. You don't win any loudness, and if you pushed the limiter hard to get there, you've traded punch for nothing.
DJ stores like Beatport and Traxsource, Bandcamp and DJ software don't normalise. Your file plays exactly as you mastered it, next to other club tracks, which for trance usually sit between about −9 and −6 LUFS. That's why most trance producers master one version for the club and let the streaming services turn it down.
True peak and lossy files
True peak is the highest level between the samples, which is what a converter or an MP3 or AAC encoder actually sees. Encoding a master whose true peak is close to 0 dB can push it over and clip. Set your limiter's ceiling to −1 dBTP for anything that will be streamed or sold as MP3, and to −2 dBTP if your master is louder than about −9 LUFS, where the encoder has less room to work with.
For more about your mix (balance, low end and stereo width against a reference track), use the Mix Checker.
Platform targets as published or widely measured in 2026. Services change their settings from time to time, and most let listeners switch normalisation off.
Questions
Should I master to −14 LUFS for Spotify?
You can, but for trance you usually don't need to. A club master at −8 LUFS is turned down to −14 on Spotify and sounds fine, as long as it isn't squashed. Master to −14 only if you want a separate streaming version with more dynamics.
Why is my track quieter than others on Spotify?
If it measures at −14 LUFS or louder, it isn't: Spotify plays it at the same loudness. It may sound smaller if it was limited hard and lost punch, or if its low end is heavier, which reads as loud on the meter without sounding loud.
What about Beatport?
Beatport doesn't change your level, so your track sits next to the other releases in a DJ's set at whatever loudness you mastered it. Check a few recent releases in your style with the Mix Checker and land close to them.