According to RTW’s worldwide loudness spec resource, Apple appears to be the first streaming service to issue specific guidelines for loudness in immersive content for its streaming platform. Although the difference is not huge, it is good to see that Apple considers immersive audio a format that deserves its own loudness recommendations. We have the details.

Are you providing content to broadcasters, mixing a TV show for Netflix, or simply interested in optimising your audio for various platforms? Are you not sure what spec you should be working to? There is an excellent resource listing the most up-to-date details on the latest delivery standards concerning audio loudness specifications.

Adhering to specific loudness standards has become increasingly important for more than just broadcast TV, as these days, loudness is part of practically any audio spec sheet, and although the best advice is to get the delivery spec from the client, this isn’t always as easy as it seems. You may be dealing with an agency that doesn’t have the latest information, or your client may not be completely across what the audio delivery specs are.

If you find yourself in that situation, check out this resource from RTW. They have recently updated it and made it much more detailed, and it includes the specs for broadcast, OTT and online content, for both content, adverts and trailers, where they are different.

One of the latest updates is to list the loudness Delivery specs for Immersive Audio on Apple Music. With the new Immersive Audio spec from Apple, the True Peak (TPmax) is the same as for stereo content: -1 dBTP. But the Integrated Loudness target has been set at -18 LKFS/LUFS rather than -16, which is the spec for stereo audio. What do you make of this difference, does it make sense to you, or do you have other ideas about what the immersive delivery specs for Apple Music should be?

Loudness - Everything You Need To Know

Not sure what all this loudness stuff is about and how it affects you? Confused about the difference between LKFS and LUFS? We can help.

In this article, loudness expert Mike Thornton answers all these questions and many more, including what loudness is and how it relates to both music production and audio post-production workflows.

We also have plenty of resources to help you if you are already working to a loudness-based delivery spec, with advice and tutorials to help you develop and understand everything you need to know about loudness.