Masters should survive loudness normalization and basic earbuds. That means controlling true peak, managing low-end energy, and exporting archival formats before you generate lossy copies.

Work from a 24-bit WAV master

Keep an uncompressed master at the native sample rate of the session. Generate MP3 or AAC only from that file so you never recompress a lossy source for distribution.

Use short-term loudness as a vibe check

Integrated LUFS helps compare genres, but the artistic decision is dynamics. If your chorus pumps unnaturally, the number is irrelevant; listeners hear the pumping first.

True peak matters on streaming

Intersample peaks can clip after conversion. A true-peak aware limiter gives you insurance without encouraging brick-wall destruction.

Stems and filenames clients understand

When you export stems, use one consistent naming scheme: SongTitle_stemname_YYYYMMDD. Bounce from the same zero point so every stem lines up on import. Keep a short readme or message listing tempo, key, and whether tails are printed.

Lossy copies: one generation only

Create MP3 or AAC once from the WAV master. If someone sends notes, adjust the session and re-export both WAV and lossy from the new print. Re-encoding a 128 kbps file to 320 kbps does not restore detail.

Dither when you shrink bit depth

Moving from 24-bit to 16-bit for delivery is normal; dither prevents quantization distortion in quiet tails. If you stay at 24-bit until the absolute final master, let the last export in the chain handle dither once.

Reference loudness without chasing numbers

Integrated LUFS compares genres, not taste. Ballpark streaming loudness often lands near -14 LUFS integrated for many pop tracks, but a great dynamic master can sit quieter and still translate. Watch short-term meters during choruses so excitement does not become sustained squish.

Pre-upload QC on phone and car

Before you commit to “final,” level-match a reference from the same device class you expect listeners to use. Harshness and vocal intelligibility show up earlier on small speakers than on your treated monitors.

Mini export checklist

  1. WAV master at session rate, peaks at least 0.5 dB below true peak if you still plan to encode.
  2. No hidden limiter bypass on the ref bounce you will share with collaborators.
  3. Null test or polarity check done if you printed stems through tape or saturation.
  4. Version bump in the filename after every client round.