What loudness should you target for YouTube?
YouTube does not publish a loudness target. Loud uploads are turned down on playback and quieter ones are not turned up, so mastering louder than about -14 LUFS integrated, the widely used working reference, mostly costs you dynamics. Master for the music and keep true peak under -1 dBTP, because the audio is re-encoded to a lossy format together with the video.
When you export from Quantara targeting YouTube, the engine measures your master's integrated loudness (ITU-R BS.1770 / EBU R128), normalises it toward the -14.0 LUFS reference, and holds inter-sample (true) peaks under -1 dBTP. It will not slam a quiet, dynamic track up to a loud number just to hit a target — and since the major streaming platforms normalise playback anyway, sitting near the reference is what actually matters. You stay in control: tweak the chain, A/B against the original, and export when it sounds right.
How YouTube handles loudness
Loud uploads are turned down, quiet ones are not turned up. In the player, right-click the video and open “Stats for nerds”: the “content loudness” line shows how far the video is above YouTube’s reference. A positive value means it is turned down by that amount; a negative value means it plays at its own level.
No published number. YouTube does not state its reference level. About -14 LUFS integrated is the widely used working reference; treat it as a reference, not an official target.
Stable volume is separate. On YouTube, “stable volume” continuously evens out quiet and loud passages and is on by default, but YouTube turns it off for YouTube Music and for official music videos.
Sources: Control video volume on your device, YouTube Help; YouTube ‘Stats for nerds’ explained, Ian Shepherd, Production Advice.
Mastering for a music video or a lyric video
Export the master first and add it to the video at unity gain: any fade, limiter or gain change in the video editor changes the loudness and the true peak you measured.
Check the master on phone and laptop speakers as well as headphones: much YouTube listening happens on devices that reproduce little deep bass, so the low end has to be heard through its upper harmonics.
After uploading, open “Stats for nerds” on the published video. If “content loudness” shows several dB, the master is being turned down by that much and a more dynamic master would play at the same level with more punch.
How to master your track for YouTube
Upload your mix
Create an account (no card needed), then drag and drop your WAV, FLAC or MP3 file into Quantara Studio. Supports files up to 500MB.
Select YouTube preset
Click the YouTube target. The mastering chain starts from a -14.0 LUFS reference with tone, dynamics and stereo width tuned for this target.
A/B compare and export
Press Play and flip between Before and After to hear the difference. When you're happy, click Export to download your YouTube master in the format your plan includes (WAV, FLAC or MP3), normalised toward -14.0 LUFS with true-peak limiting at -1 dBTP.
Genres to pair with YouTube
Genre starting points to pair with the YouTube target: Electronic, Hip-Hop, Pop, Rock, Cinematic. Each genre has its own frequency balance and dynamics, so treat the preset as a starting point and fine-tune by ear.
Why master YouTube with Quantara?
A mastering engineer brings trained ears to a release. Quantara gives you a fast, transparent mastering chain tuned for YouTube: try it with a free account (1 export with a watermark), then unlimited on the Pro plan at €8.99/month. It is a strong, measurable starting point, not a replacement for a trained engineer's ears on a critical release.
Quantara Music masters with its own engine — no AI model. The YouTube starting point is fully adjustable in real time, and every change shows on real LUFS, true-peak and gain-reduction meters, so you can verify what it does.
Quantara Music gives you full control: adjust every control in real time, hear the difference with A/B bypass, and export when you're satisfied. Mastering runs entirely in your browser: your files are not uploaded for mastering.
FAQ — YouTube mastering
Yes — master and preview in the studio; a free account includes 1 export with a watermark, no credit card. Exports without a watermark come with Pay Per Track, Pro or Studio. Unlimited exports are available on the Pro plan.
Use -14.0 LUFS integrated as a reference and keep true peak under -1 dBTP. Master for the song first; most streaming platforms normalise playback, so the reference matters more than chasing a loud number.
Upload WAV, FLAC or MP3 up to 500MB. Export WAV, FLAC or MP3, depending on your plan, normalised toward the YouTube reference with true-peak-safe limiting.
No. Loud uploads are turned down to YouTube’s reference; quieter uploads play at their own level. “Stats for nerds” shows the adjustment as “content loudness”.
No. YouTube does not publish a loudness target. About -14 LUFS integrated is the widely used working reference; keep true peak under -1 dBTP.
YouTube Help says stable volume is turned off for YouTube Music and for official music videos. On other videos it is on by default and evens out quiet and loud passages.
Ready to master your track for YouTube?
Free account: 1 export with a watermark — no credit card required
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