[MLA] iTunes NOT using -16 LUFS yet ?

[Bob Katz]

On 2/23/22 6:38 AM, Ian Shepherd wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> Just a heads-up about this. We’re planning an update to Loudness 
> Penalty to reflect the news that iTunes is going to use LUFS for Sound 
> Check, but I wanted to warn you that in our tests it doesn’t seem to 
> be working as intended, even on a brand new M1 Mac with the latest 
> software updates and recently released material.
>
> I have other examples but specifically Bob drew my attention to this song:
>
> https://music.apple.com/gb/album/the-joker-and-the-queen-feat-taylor-swift/1608894948?i=1608894952
>
> Using the afinfo command in Terminal it reports the following results:
>
>> aa itu loudness: -8.5
>> sound check volume normalization gain: -7.50 dB
>
> This would result in a playback loudness of -16 LUFS, but measuring 
> the actual value gives a result of -15.1 LUFS, which is a 
> normalization change of only -6.6 dB


Oy vey.

Well, I agree, this means that the legacy SoundCheck is being used. We 
need some clarification from Buddy Judge.

Let's compile this information and alert Buddy Judge. At the least he 
will have an explanation.


>
> Whereas the "Song Info>File>Volume" value in iTunes reports -6.7, 
> which is obviously a very close match to the measured result. Since 
> this is the “Legacy” Sound Check value, this song and other examples 
> like it make me think that LUFS values aren’t being used yet, on Mac 
> OS at least.
>
> Testing the results from iOS is tricky because of Apple’s copy 
> protection, but if we make any progress with this I’ll let you know.
>
> I’ve emailed Buddy to ask about this, and will let you know if I get a 
> reply - perhaps it’s just a glitch!
>
> Either way I wanted to make you aware so that we don’t jump the gun 
> announcing the change.
>

I'm glad you wrote him!


Best,



Bob





> Cheers,
>
> Ian
>
>
>
> ***
> Ian Shepherd
> Mastering Media Ltd <http://mastering-media.co.uk/> - Audio Mastering, 
> Blu-ray and DVD Excellence
> http://twitter.com/ianshepherd
>
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>
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-- 

If you want good sound on your album, come to Bob Katz 407-831-0233 
DIGITAL DOMAIN MASTERING STUDIO Author: *Mastering Audio* Digital Domain 
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