Mastering for Streaming Platforms

Mastering is the final step before your music reaches listeners. Its purpose is to ensure your track sounds polished, consistent, and competitive across all playback systems. A good master adds the final layer of loudness, clarity, and cohesion that makes a track feel finished. A bad master can ruin a great mix. If you are mastering your own work, approach it with fresh ears — ideally after a day away from the mix.

Streaming platforms normalise loudness, which has changed mastering significantly. Spotify targets -14 LUFS (integrated), Apple Music targets -16 LUFS. If your master is louder than the target, the platform turns it down — and an overly compressed, squashed master sounds worse when turned down than a dynamic master at the same playback level. Aim for -12 to -14 LUFS integrated, with a true peak ceiling of -1dB. This gives you competitive loudness while maintaining dynamics.

A typical mastering chain includes an EQ, a compressor, a limiter, and sometimes a stereo widener or a saturation plugin. Start with corrective EQ — subtle moves to address any tonal imbalances. A gentle high-shelf boost above 10kHz adds air and presence. A slight cut around 200 to 300Hz can reduce muddiness. Use broad curves and gentle amounts — 1 to 2dB maximum. If you need to make larger moves, go back and fix the mix.