How to Fix Uploads on Soundcloud Not Having Good Quality
Quick Answer
When mastering music for Soundcloud, it'south important to keep a few things in mind – primarily that your audio volition be normalized to -fourteen LUFS, and that the encoding process volition affect the aamplitude. Mastering to roughly -14 LUFS and having a max peak of -1dBTP is a good idea.
Mastering Your Music for Soundcloud in Detail
Mastering has changed with the popularization of streaming. Some sites process the audio in ane way and other procedure it in a different style.
If you're looking to master your music solely for Soundcloud, there are some helpful things to know nearly the service.
With that in listen, we'll cover how to export your master for Soundcloud, while minimizing distortion, optimizing loudness, and retaining your dynamics.
If you're an artist or audio engineer, and you desire to hear a mix of yours mastered by usa, send it to united states here:
We'll main it for yous and transport you a complimentary mastered sample.
How Loud Should My Primary for SoundCloud Exist?
This is a difficult question to answer since there is no absolute loudness that your master should be if you're uploading the rail to Soundcloud; however, Soundcloud now normalizes audio to an integrated -xiv LUFS. Furthermore, Soundcloud normalizes the loudness of audio both up and downwardly.
In other words, if your track has a loudness below -14 LUFS, Soundcloud will turn information technology upwards to -xiv LUFS. Additionally, if your track is louder than -14 LUFS, Soundcloud will turn it downwardly to an integrated -14 LUFS.
This means that whenever your song is played back past a listener, it's going to exist played at a specific loudness, in this case, -fourteen LUFS.
Additionally, all other tracks on the platform, whether they're yours or from another artist, will be played at the same -14 LUFS loudness.
Equally you tin imagine, this has some big implications for how yous should master your music.
You might exist wondering if your primary is going to exist played dorsum at the aforementioned volume as everyone else's rail, is there any benefit to making mine super loud during mastering?
The reply is, no. There'southward nigh no good reason to make your main incredibly loud if y'all intend to upload it to Soundcloud since again information technology will just be turned downward.
Yous may also exist curious if y'all should just make your track exactly -14 LUFS.
Again, the answer is no. Although you tin can make your runway -xiv LUFS, this doesn't mean that it'south now the only loudness to which you should principal your music.
The audio of a heavily limited or compressed track can be enjoyable if done right. This audio works particularly well for rap, pop, and on occasion rock music since information technology results in an incredibly forward and nowadays sound.
If you want to meliorate understand your dynamic range, check out our video on the topic:
Should I Main My Music Below -14 LUFS to Brand It More Dynamic?
No – mastering your music quieter will not increment the dynamic range unless yous've decreased the amount of limiting or attenuation applied to your rails. Because loudness normalization doesn't affect the dynamic range, yous shouldn't aim to make your track quieter for the sake of having a more than dynamic chief.
In fact, if your track is too repose, this may exist an result if you lot want to upload it to Soundcloud.
For example, say yous have a track that'south loudness is an integrated -xviii LUFS. This aforementioned track has a max peak at -1dBTP.
In social club to normalize your track's audio to an integrated -fourteen LUFS, Soundcloud is going to increase the proceeds of your track by 4dB.
This presents a pretty big problem, since you have a meridian at -1dBTP, and it tin can't go to a higher place 0dB.
When this happens, Soundcloud, similar to other streaming services that use normalization, will introduce a limiter to decrease the gain of the peak. This limiter may or may not have the timbre that you lot like, and will nigh certainly cause some mild distortion if the peak is strong enough.
With all of this in mind, it's better to chief your music closer to the set integrated LUFS. Again, decreasing the volume of your master will not make information technology more dynamic as far as normalization goes.
With normalization covered, permit'southward await at another very important aspect of mastering music for Soundcloud, Encoding.
If you want to larn more virtually mastering for streaming, here'due south another video on the topic:
Does My Track Misconstrue if I Upload it to Soundcloud?
Unfortunately, information technology'due south entirely possible for your track to distort if you upload information technology to Soundcloud – the reason being, pocket-sized changes to the amplitude of your track occur during the encoding process that Soundcloud uses. As a result, your track may clip, and if it does, it may cause clipping distortion.
Why Does Encoding Cause Baloney?
When an audio file is encoded, it'due south converted from a PCM file type, like a WAV file, to a lossy file type, similar an MP3. During this process, aspects of the file are deleted to lower the file size – this causes less authentic amplitude quantization, resulting in clipping distortion.
To explain this further, each track has a bit-depth which determines both the dynamic range of a track and also the accuracy with which the signal tin can be assigned an amplitude.
Typically speaking, the higher the bit-depth, the more accurate the aamplitude quantization.
When your track is converted past Soundcloud or another site to a lower quality file blazon like an MP3, or in the case of Soundcloud either an Ogg Vorbis file or an AAC, this accuracy is diminished.
As a effect, bits that were assigned levels closer to peaking may brainstorm to really elevation. In fact, the change in amplitude of the peaks can be as much as 2dB!
Fortunately, there is a way to work effectually this effect and to avoid distortion during encoding.
When you consign your master, reduce the level by 1dB to 2dB. Too, measure your signal with a truthful pinnacle meter which will take inter-sample peaking into consideration.
Furthermore, if you're concerned that your master may still be distorted during encoding, and you lot're on an Apple tree operating system, you can use the plugin RoundTripAAC.
This plugin shows yous if whatever clipping distortion would occur when converting the file from a PCM type to an AAC.
Because that there'south a large difference between lowering your output by 1dB and lowering it by 2dB, which output level should y'all utilise?
How Much Should I Lower My Output to Avoid Encoding Distortion?
How much you lower the level of your output will depend on the loudness of your master. If your master is particularly loud, lower the output by 2dB to reduce the chances of encoding distortion; if it'south quieter, lower the output by about 1dB.
Conclusion
Although there is no absolute loudness to which you lot should principal your track, a slap-up range when mastering for Soundcloud is -eighteen LUFS to -ten LUFS. Keep in mind that Soundcloud will normalize your track to -14 LUFS, and so keeping the loudness around this figure volition work well.
Additionally, you should try to avoid distortion acquired past the encoding process.
Soundcloud recommends that yous lower your output past -1dB if the rail is below -14 LUFS, and 2dB if the runway is in a higher place this loudness.
Lastly, brand certain that if yous do upload a quieter chief to Soundcloud that the greatest peak won't clip after normalization.
If you're an artist or audio engineer, and yous want to hear a mix of yours mastered by us, send it to us here:
We'll principal it for you and transport yous a gratis mastered sample.
Go a Costless Mastered Sample of Your Song → SageAudio.com/register.php
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Nashville, TN
www.SageAudio.com
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Source: https://www.sageaudio.com/blog/mastering/mastering-your-music-for-soundcloud.php
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