Mixing and mastering
Streaming master vs club master: how loud, and do you need two?
There is no club loudness standard, and club systems don't normalize. What that means for how loud a club master should be, what Spotify does to a −8 LUFS master, and when two masters make sense.
The short answer. Streaming services turn every track to about the same loudness, so a streaming master can stay dynamic: about −14 LUFS, true peak below −1 dBTP. Club systems don't normalize, so dance tracks are usually mastered much louder, commonly reported around −9 to −6 LUFS, with peaks near −0.5 dBTP. There's no official club number. If a track matters in both places, make two masters.
The difference: who sets the volume
On Spotify, the app sets the volume. It measures every track and plays it at about −14 LUFS in its default setting. A louder master doesn't get you a louder playback; it gets turned down. (The whole platform list is in How loud should your master be?)
In a club, the DJ sets the volume. The PA doesn't measure anything. A DJ mixes your track against whatever came before it, usually other loud dance tracks, using the channel gain and their ears. Some DJ software can do the levelling: Traktor's manual says its Enable Autogain option "adjusts the gain for the incoming audio signals automatically". Other DJ software has its own gain options. Either way, that's the DJ's setup, not something you can count on.
So the question for a club master is less "what's the target?" and more "will this hold up next to the tracks it gets mixed with, on a big system, with the gain where the DJ left it?"
What normalization does to a loud master
Take a club-style master at −8 LUFS with true peaks at −0.5 dBTP, and a streaming master of the same song at −14 LUFS with peaks at −1 dBTP.
| Club master on Spotify | Streaming master on Spotify | |
|---|---|---|
| Measured loudness | −8 LUFS | −14 LUFS |
| Spotify's gain (Normal) | −6 dB | 0 dB |
| Plays at | −14 LUFS | −14 LUFS |
| Peaks after normalization | −6.5 dBTP | −1 dBTP |
Same playback loudness. The difference is what's left of the transients: the streaming master's peaks reach 5.5 dB higher at the same loudness, so its kick and snare stand further out. Spotify describes the same effect: "A very dynamic track mastered to -14dB LUFS keeps its peak levels intact. In comparison, a loudly mastered track (e.g., at -6dB LUFS) is reduced in volume."
Loud masters have a second cost on streaming. Spotify warns that "very loud masters with true peaks above -2 dB can introduce distortion during encoding". A club master with peaks at −0.5 dBTP is exactly that case once it's encoded to a lossy format. More in True peak vs sample peak.
Why club masters are louder anyway
- They're mixed against loud tracks. If everything else in the set is around −7 LUFS, a −14 LUFS track needs about 7 dB more channel gain. That's a big move to make mid-mix, and if the DJ doesn't make it, the quiet track sounds small.
- Density reads as energy on a big system. A controlled, compressed low end can feel more solid at high SPL. That's a sound choice as much as a loudness one.
- DJs often play lossless files. A WAV or AIFF bought from a store or sent as a promo doesn't go through a lossy encoder, so a ceiling around −0.5 dBTP is less risky than it would be on streaming.
None of this makes louder better by default. An over-limited club master loses punch exactly where a club system would show it off. The club number is a range people work in, not a rule.
Two masters, or one?
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| Mostly streamed (album, playlists, no DJ play) | One master: about −14 LUFS, true peak below −1 dBTP |
| Made for DJs, also streamed | Two masters: a louder club master for DJs, a −14-ish master for streaming |
| One file has to do both | A compromise around −10 to −9 LUFS, true peak below −2 dBTP |
Where the second master goes depends on your distributor, so check what yours allows. A club master can always go straight to DJs as a promo.
Whatever you do, compare the two at matched loudness. Turn the club master down until both measure the same, then decide which one you prefer on streaming.
How monody handles both
monody's Finish view measures the rendered song against a target. Two of them map to this guide:
| Target | Loudness | True peak ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Streaming (Spotify, YouTube, Tidal) | −14 LUFS | −1 dBTP |
| Club / DJ | −9 LUFS | −0.5 dBTP |
The Finish view offers those three. For another number, ask the assistant: it can measure and master to a custom target from −30 to −5 LUFS.
For two masters: pick Streaming, press Master to target, export. Then pick Club / DJ and press it again. It swaps out only the limiter (and trim) it added the first time, so you don't end up stacking processors. Export again. Each step is one undo. It's loudness and true-peak control with a trim and a limiter; it adds no EQ.
If the track isn't finished yet, the 8-bar loop guide and the Finish view come first. Loudness is the last step, not the fix.
Sources
- Spotify for Artists: Loudness normalization and Track not as loud as others?
- Native Instruments: TRAKTOR PRO manual, Preferences
- AES: TD1008 (PDF), on peak overshoot in lossy encoding
The club loudness range (−9 to −6 LUFS) is commonly reported by mastering engineers and producers; no club, DJ software maker or standards body publishes a club target. Checked on 1 October 2026.
Questions
- How loud should a club master be?
- There is no standard. Electronic club masters are commonly reported somewhere around −9 to −6 LUFS integrated, much louder than a streaming master, with true peaks around −0.5 dBTP. monody's Club / DJ target uses −9 LUFS and −0.5 dBTP as a starting point.
- Do clubs normalize loudness?
- The sound system doesn't. Some DJ software can level tracks if the DJ turns it on (Traktor's Autogain, for example, "adjusts the gain for the incoming audio signals automatically"), but whether it's on, and how a mixer's gain is set, is up to the DJ.
- What happens to a −8 LUFS master on Spotify?
- In the default Normal setting Spotify turns it down about 6 dB, to −14 LUFS. It isn't louder than other tracks there, and its peaks end up lower than those of a dynamic master at the same loudness. Spotify gives the same example with a −6 LUFS master, which "is reduced in volume".
- Do I need two masters?
- Not always. If a track is mainly streamed, one master around −14 LUFS and −1 dBTP is enough. If it's made for DJs and also streamed, two masters let each one suit its destination; check whether your distributor lets you send a different file to DJ stores.
- Can one master work for both?
- Yes, as a compromise. A master around −10 to −9 LUFS with true peaks below −2 dBTP is usually workable in a club and is simply turned down on streaming. You give up some dynamics on streaming for convenience.