Podcasting:Mixing podcast music to loudness targets

Loudness is measured in LUFS (loudness units relative to full scale), which approximates how loud audio sounds to people, rather than how high its peaks are. Podcast platforms publish recommendations so that listeners do not have to adjust the volume between shows.

A common target

Apple's podcast audio requirements recommend an integrated loudness of around -16 LUFS for stereo episodes, with true peaks no higher than -1 dB. Many shows use that as their target everywhere. Check the current guidance for the platforms you publish to, since recommendations change.

Mix the voice first

Get your voice tracks sounding right first: clear, even, and at a consistent level. Music comes second. It is much easier to fit music around a finished voice than to rebalance everything at the end.

Where the music should sit

• Intro and outro music on its own can sit close to the loudness of the voice, so it does not feel like a drop.
• Beds under speech should sit much lower. A starting point is 15 to 20 dB under the voice.
• Stingers and transitions can briefly match the voice level, since nothing is competing with them.

Measure the whole episode

Use a loudness meter on the final mixdown, not on the separate tracks. Then apply a single gain change or a limiter to hit the target. Do not push the music up to make the episode louder; it will crowd the voice.

Choose beds that behave

Music with steady dynamics is much easier to mix under speech than music with big swells.

• Evidence Room Ambience on the Mystery & True Crime shelf

Low, patient beds like Evidence Room Ambience stay put under a narrator, which makes them easy to level.

For the file format question, read WAV or MP3 for video editing.