Greg: In terms of the Grammy winners, the song that Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga did, if you look at that, that's got a more traditional sort of dynamic range. I had an article sent to me recently about how streaming has ended the loudness wars. Engineers can apply an increasingly high ratio of compression to a recording until it more frequently peaks at the maximum amplitude. For some people in the industry, even music that was pushed right up to the limit wasn’t quite loud enough. Where are people at with dynamic range these days? So it’s not just mastering engineers who are responsible for making music louder. Up to 2 or 4 consecutive full-scale samples was considered acceptable. [10] Engineers, musicians, and labels each developed their own ideas of how CDs could be made louder. As the name implies, brickwalled music often has a kind of wall-of-sound quality to it, where instruments struggle to stand out from each other, the snare drum doesn’t really pop like it normally would… It just sounds kind of… squashed, because it is. Think about if we treated photography like we treat our music and made all of these photos just as bright as possible so that they could stand out from each other. We’ll start with the Guitar Hero version: Now brace yourself, you might even want to pull out your earbuds—here’s the CD version: Ian: It's very unusual for us, as music fans, to get the opportunity to compare the final sound of an album with how it might've sounded earlier on in the process. Bob Katz is a mastering engineer with an impressively long CV. We’ll also hear about the artists and mastering engineers who have been fighting back, and learn how modern listening habits might finally put an end to this sonic arms race. Greg: The story I heard from Bob Ludwig, the mastering engineer, is that he mastered three versions of that album and played them for Axl, and Axl chose the one that was the least compressed. Most people know that I'm a fan of dynamics, and I'm not a fan of super-loud mastering. Greg: They keep it on a constant level because otherwise, especially if you were listening to a mix, if you were listening to Pandora or something, you'd have to be constantly adjusting your volume knob to deal with the fact that some records were louder than others. A rare example of Loudness Wars actually enhancing an album is the original 2002 issue of The Second Stage Turbine Blade, as the album very much has a garage rock feel and the poor production helps improve that feeling. A deep dive into the ongoing battle against dynamic compression. If you like to listen to your music loud, the best tool is your volume knob. Someone tried to vandalise the database by deleting about 76k entries. The Loudness War. Under The Stars In Tennessee 10. [30] Deruty and Damien Tardieu criticized Sreedhar's methods in an AES paper, saying that Sreedhar had confused crest factor (peak to RMS) with dynamics in the musical sense (pianissimo to fortissimo). The Pet Shop Boys started to get louder with 1996's Billingual, and the loudness war reared its ugly head on their latest album Yes, whose dynamic range is a paltry 6 db. Ian: There are various examples of albums where I love the music, and I just find them frustrating to listen to because the sound doesn't do what I want emotionally. Up until the 80s, the constraints of analog equipment meant that music had to be mastered on the quieter side. In 2008 there was a fire at the Universal Studios Vault. Universal Music Group hasn’t released the exact details on this fire, but it’s estimated that there were over 100,000 tapes with 500,000 songs stored in this vault. Where are we going? As explained in “The Loudness Wars: Why Music Sounds Worse” by NPR on their program “All Things Considered,” a perfect example of the dangers of creating painful music through over-compression involves one of my favorite bands of all-time, Metallica. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to tell your friends and family about us. So I wonder, if it had been a little quieter, with stronger dynamics, would it really have hurt sales? Greg: When the sound clips, the soundwaves actually look like mountaintops with the peaks shaved off, which is not the way soundwaves ever behave in nature. [47][48], A 2-minute YouTube video addressing this issue by audio engineer Matt Mayfield[49] has been referenced by The Wall Street Journal[50] and the Chicago Tribune. Similarly, starting in the 1950s, producers would request louder 7-inch singles so that songs would stand out when auditioned by program directors for radio stations. Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, "The Loudness Wars: Why Music Sounds Worse", "They Really Don't Make Music Like They Used To", 129th Audio Engineering Society Convention, "The Big Squeeze: Mastering engineers debate music's loudness wars", "Fans Complain After 'Death Magnetic' Sounds Better on "Guitar Hero" Than CD", "Even Heavy-Metal Fans Complain That Today's Music Is Too Loud!!! [51] Pro Sound Web quoted Mayfield, "When there is no quiet, there can be no loud. What If I Don't Grow Up? More importantly than the low loudness, they’re almost all playing at the same loudness. Ian: Whereas you get just other saccharine pop stuff that's pushed to within an inch of its life, I mean the last Miley Cyrus album was a country, folky thing, [Music clip: Miley Cyrus - "Malibu"] and it was as loud as Skrillex, [Music clip: Skrillex - "Purple Lamborghini"] which just feels insane. But if you’ve already compressed a song as much as possible, what happens when you try to make it even louder? [22] Shepherd cites research showing there is no connection between sales and loudness, and that people prefer more dynamic music. Sreedhar said that the over-compressed modern music was fatiguing, that it did not allow the music to "breathe". The loudness war is basically over. In recent years, a new paradigm has emerged in regard to audio level monitoring for broadcast and TV. "[41] Music critics have complained about excessive compression. That sounds distorted. The Loudness Wars. I'm impressed, frankly. Let’s take a listen to those two versions, and see how they compare. The worst of the compression is going on with the music genre where the artists and production/engineering folks demand it. Soulmate 9. Suffice it to say, I would never be pushed to overdrive things as far as they are here. When 20,000 Metallica fans start complaining about an album being too loud, there might be a problem. Ian: Some of the fans much preferred the sound of the Guitar Hero version to the released CD. Under The Stars In Tennessee 10. It sounds very elementary, but it's very important. Ian: Because we don't have to compete for loudness anymore, we can just choose whatever's perfect for the music itself, and know that it's going to be played back on a level playing field. To get your 20K referral link and earn rewards, visit 20k.org/refer.Check out Ian Shepherd’s podcast The Mastering Show.Check out Greg Milner’s book, Perfecting Sound Forever.Consolidate your credit card debt today and get an additional interest rate discount at lightstream.com/20k.Try ZipRecruiter for free at ziprecruiter.com/20k. I have been buying early CD's from the 80's and 90's of music I love and they sound great and are dirt cheap. Sure, people are still making very loud tracks – and it’s still a very valid goal for many producers out there to mix and master their music as loud … Think about all of the tools you can use to tweak an image. Even Heavy-Metal Fans Complain That Today's Music Is Too Loud!!! You know, the classic comment when they get back the master is, "It sounds great, but please can you make it louder?". Greg: “Let's Get it Started” by the Black Eyed Peas is a really big offender. In recent years, music production has become almost completely digital. What Will Loudness Wars By toneburst 23rd September 2016 29th April 2019 Broadcasting, music production. I think I’m qualified to speak on this because it’s actually my job. The loudness war is a very misunderstood beast.. All of us have had that moment – you know exactly what I’m talking about. to offer my perspective on the topic, and mastering for loudness in general.. Ian: Yeah, remastering is a bit of a controversial topic. Albums that have been criticized for their sound quality include the following: increasing audio levels in recorded music. PLR measurements show a trend of reduced dynamic range throughout the 1990s. "Video: The Loudness Wars Exposed: "When there is no quiet, there can be no loud. So while it was digital technology that started the Loudness War in the first place, ironically, digital technology might be the thing that finally ends it. But as newer versions replace old ones, that history is constantly being rewritten. If you know what this week's mystery sound is, tell us at mystery.20k.org. "[4] In the 1960s and 1970s, compilation albums of hits by multiple different artists became popular, and if artists and producers found their song was quieter than others on the compilation, they would insist that their song be remastered to be competitive. By the way, we are adjusting the volume levels of these examples so we can compare quality, not the loudness. Let’s listen to the two versions, and see if we can hear the difference. The trend to loud-all-the-time music shows no signs of letting up, but here's a possible way out of the Loudness Wars. But all of this volume came at a price, and music became so compressed that it lost a lot of that impact and depth. Bear It 9. [1] In particular, many Motown records pushed the limits of how loud records could be made; according to one of their engineers, they were "notorious for cutting some of the hottest 45s in the industry. The emphasis is shifting from simple level control to the much more complex question of loudness. Greg: If you look at certain recordings that really are notorious for being really poorly mastered in terms of loudness, the Red Hot Chili Peppers' Californication for a long time was really Exhibit A. Greg: Well, you think about it in terms of what music and sound is. But he personally prefers more dynamics, balanced dynamics. I would not be surprised if these early CD's eventually become as popular as original vinyl is … On the other hand, Californication, by Red Hot Chili Peppers, came out eight years later, and it was also a huge hit. For special projects like the Beatles remasters, you can go back to these original tapes and use modern technology to bring the sound quality into the 21st century. The loudness war is greed. Artists also started trying to one-up each other with how loud their songs were, and music overall got louder and louder. The 2000s thus far have come to be known by critics as the high watermark of volume, the midst of what has been deemed “The Loudness Wars.” Little has been done by way of pop music to curb the noise. Some people will even say that it's a physical fatigue, that your eardrums are just being bombarded by these compressed parts and you are less likely to listen to music for long periods of time. Ludwig said the "fan and press backlash against the recent heavily compressed recordings finally set the context for someone to take a stand and return to putting music and dynamics above sheer level. None of that, in my experience, is true. Starting in the 90s, popular music became completely consumed by the Loudness War. Vinyl technology hasn’t changed a whole lot since the 70s. INTRODUCTION “Loudness war” is a term applied to the ongoing increase in the loudness of recorded music, particularly Here’s a clip from the Guitar Hero version: And here’s that same clip from the CD release: The CD version just sounds awful. Ian: It just feels like a missed opportunity to me, and especially if it's music where I love it and I want it to have that emotional impact. Digital media such as CDs remove these restrictions and as a result, increasing loudness levels have been a more severe issue in the CD era. And check out Greg Milner’s book, Perfecting Sound Forever. [46], A hearing researcher at House Ear Institute is concerned that the loudness of new albums could possibly harm listeners' hearing, particularly that of children. In recent years, some artists and mastering engineers seem to have found this sweet spot, and have made big hits. ", "The Loudness War: Background, Speculation and Recommendations - Additional material", "Lust for Level – Audio perception and the battle for great sound", "Random Access Memories – Pitchfork Review", "The Loudness War Has Been Won: Press Release", "Mastering audio for Soundcloud, iTunes, Spotify, Amazon Music and Youtube", "Why Spotify Lowered the Volume of Songs and Ended Hegemonic Loudness". The emphasis is shifting from simple level control to the much more complex question of loudness. Also, if there’s anyone in your life who records music seriously be sure to tell them about these two mastering episodes. The paper concludes with practical recommendations for de-escalating the loudness war. So, many modern artists have been releasing their music on vinyl, and that’s an encouraging sign for the Loudness Wars. The list of artists is unbelievably long and there’s no way I could go through the entire thing now, but just casually looking over it, here is a tiny fraction of who’s master tapes were probably stored there: Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Patsy Cline, Chuck Berry, Aretha Franklin, Elton John, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Buffett, The Eagles, Aerosmith, Steely Dan, Iggy Pop, Barry White, Patti LaBelle, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, The Who, the Police, Sting, George Strait, Dolly Parton, R.E.M., Janet Jackson, Guns N’ Roses, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige, Sonic Youth, No Doubt, Nine Inch Nails, Snoop Dogg, Nirvana, Soundgarden, Hole, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Tupac, Eminem, 50 Cent, The Roots. If you've purchased discs mastered in the 1990's you may notice that you'll want to turn up the volume when you've just played a disc from the last 10 years. Find out more at defactosound.com. Greg: Why would you want to limit the tools that you have at your disposal? It's a sonic palette and there's different ways to use that palette. This is partly a response to the perennial consumer complaint about loudness variations on broadcast television. [5] Modern computer-based digital audio effects processing allows mastering engineers to have greater direct control over the loudness of a song: for example, a "brick wall" limiter can look ahead at an upcoming signal to limit its level.[6]. These issues don’t just affect one or two styles of music. There's research to show that users don't really care what the loudness is, it's all about the music. When a song has had this done to it, engineers will say it’s been “brick walled.” and since the 90s, a ton of albums have been given the brickwall treatment. Nevermind became one of the best selling albums of all time, but by today’s standards, it's pretty quiet. If you don’t know what the loudness wars are, I… Greg: When you clip, you literally are inserting a little blip [SFX] of noise. And I really think that's what hyper dynamic-range compression does. [Music clip: Guns N’ Roses - Chinese Democracy]. Dopamine 4. Nirvana’s Nevermind arrived in 1991, just as this trend was catching on. was created by Charles Dye, John Ralston, and Allen Wagner in 2007 with the aim of certifying albums that contain a suitable level of dynamic range[44] and encourage the sale of quieter records by placing a "Turn Me Up!" Soulmate 9. If you look at it on paper, you look at the peaks and the averages it looks like it's just peaking nonstop, but it's very subtly done so that there's enough of a difference between the averages and the peaks to really sound nice. We like our ears to be kind of tickled by these really quick bursts of high energy that go from soft to loud. They both sound fantastic, but the YouTube version just sounds incredible. Ian: 87% of US music industry revenue in 2017 came from non-physical formats. But if you look at a song that’s clipping, you’ll see that the soundwaves no longer have these dramatic peaks and valleys. [39], The production practices associated with the loudness war have been condemned by recording industry professionals including Alan Parsons and Geoff Emerick,[40] along with mastering engineers Doug Sax, Stephen Marcussen, and Bob Katz. "Interview with Inovonics CEO Jim Wood at Radioworld", https://www.audioholics.com/news/metallica-death-magnetic-sounds-better-on-guitar-hero-iii, "Was the Metallica album too loud for you?". Conversely, the remasters of their older albums gained in volume, while retaining most of their dynamic range. [40], The nonprofit organization Turn Me Up! The 'Loudness Wars' aren't about loud music, they're more about how music is mixed or mastered to eliminate the soft-to-loud variations … It’s all to escape a recent, insidious trend in digital mastering, often called the loudness wars, but more accurately described as excessive compression. His website is called Production Advice. Starting in the 90s, popular music became completely consumed by the Loudness War. No genre has been safe from the Loudness War. The war became so heated that by the latter part of the decade some mastering engineers took it … Turning up the brightness on that gray image is like boosting the volume on a hyper-compressed song. The fire started from construction work on the roof. He's still making good on that promise with the follow-up, Addicted!, despite it being a ton heavier than Ki. They selected the one with the least compression. He believed this would eventually result in producers and engineers making more dynamic masters to take account of this factor.[31][32][33]. There is so much compression and clipping in that, it just assaults the ears [Music clip: Red Hot Chili Peppers': "Parallel Universe"]. Let’s see if we can hear how the sound changed across a few different Beatles releases. Ian: And then you have the situation where maybe some of those compromises that we've talked about, in order to get that super loud sound in the first place, actually become more obvious when they're compared to other songs that were more dynamic to begin with. While some remasters have been overly compressed, others have done a great job preserving the dynamics of the originals, while making them sound even better. So some kid isn’t “disturbed” by having to reach down to his nano to turn up the volume a bit. [11], By the early 2000s, the loudness war had become fairly widespread, especially with some remastered re-releases and greatest hits collections of older music. The New York Times kicks off with an article about the loudness wars, complete with peak/average amplitude charts. [SFX: music gradually clipping more and more] If you kept going and going, eventually, you’d be left with pure white noise. when did it end? In extreme cases, efforts to increase loudness can result in clipping and other audible distortion. This is the final nail in the coffin. We Won The Loudness Wars? And the iTunes version, to me, when I compare it, just sounds held in. Jukeboxes became popular in the 1940s and were often set to a predetermined level by the owner, so any record that was mastered louder than the others would stand out. The idea of mastering is to get a track to be as loud as it can whilst still maintaining a 0 dB> level or (-0.3 dB). The loudness war (or loudness race) is a trend of increasing audio levels in recorded music, which reduces audio fidelity and — according to many critics — listener enjoyment. To 2 or 4 consecutive full-scale samples was considered acceptable manages to sound the most punchy and. About this issue in the game were much cleaner say that they clip distort... Ian Shepherd, a freeware mastering analysis program song during most of their older albums gained in volume, retaining! 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