Loudness for TikTok, Reels and Shorts: a practical guide

October 24, 2026 · All posts

A short video is heard on a phone, often in a noisy place, and the app re-encodes the sound before anyone hears it. A track that sounds right in your studio can sound thin, harsh or quiet on a phone. The fix is not a louder master. It is a clean master with a sensible loudness and a true-peak ceiling, checked on the file you actually post.

What platforms publish, and what they do not

Public information differs from one platform to another, so it helps to separate the facts from the guesses:

YouTube Shorts is part of YouTube, but we have not confirmed that Shorts follows the same rule as long videos, so measure your own export instead of relying on the number.

The reference: −14 LUFS, true peak at or below −1 dBTP

Use −14 LUFS integrated as your reference, and keep true peak at or below −1 dBTP. −14 LUFS is Spotify's published level and, by measurement, about YouTube's. A master at that level, with the peaks under control, plays well on a phone and survives re-encoding. A hotter master does not make a video perform better. It only leaves less room for the dynamics that make a hook land.

The −1 dBTP ceiling matters more than the loudness number for short video. Short-video apps transcode uploads into a lossy format, and the encoder can add peaks above the level in your file. A little headroom keeps the encoded version clean. True peak explained covers why.

Why a phone changes the mix

• Small speakers reproduce the bass weakly. A hook that depends on sub-bass will lose its punch, so keep the low end under control and let the midrange carry the groove.
• Portrait video often plays through one speaker, which means the stereo image collapses. Check the mix in mono before you post.
• Noisy places make the vocal and the lead sound quieter than they are. Clear midrange and a steady vocal level help more than extra loudness.

Check the master in mono

1. Sum the master to mono.
2. Listen to the hook and one verse, for at least a minute.
3. Listen for bass that thins out, pads that vanish, and stereo effects that collapse into nothing.

If something disappears, narrow the one element that is wide and out of phase, such as a hard-panned pad or a stereo effect. Do not narrow the whole mix. The before/after report in Echoteka shows the stereo reading of both files, so you can see the change as well as hear it.

Keep the dynamics

A short video does not need a flat master. A hook that stays at the same level from start to finish has nothing to rise into. Compare the loudness range before and after mastering. A large drop means the master has squeezed the movement out of the track. Too loud and flat? explains how Echoteka offers a second version with more of the dynamics kept.

Steps before you post

Step 5 matters because a video editor can change the level of the audio track when it mixes the video, and the file you post is the one that counts.

FAQ

Should a TikTok track be louder than a Spotify master? Not for the platform's sake. Use the same reference, about −14 LUFS with peaks under control. A louder master sounds tired on a phone once its dynamics are gone, and loudness does not decide how a video performs.

Do I need a separate master for each app? One master at about −14 LUFS with true peak at or below −1 dBTP is a sound starting point for Spotify, YouTube and short video. What differs is the export, because each app re-encodes the audio, so check the exported video, not only the master.

My track sounds quiet on a phone. What should I change first? Check the balance before the loudness. A quiet vocal is more often a mix issue than a loudness one. Then measure the file, and master it only if it sits far below the reference.

Does the platform turn my track down? Platforms that publish a target do this for loud tracks. For TikTok and Instagram we cannot give a verified rule, so measure the file you post rather than trusting a number.