In Praise of Loudness
Let's talk about the greatest controversy in modern music production: LOUDNESS. Sacred to some, profane to others, the desire for loudness has spawned myriad techniques, products, and narratives throughout our industry. But which narratives are misguided and which are enlightening? How do various techniques stack up and what are the compromises? Why has loudness been vilified so much in the last couple decades? And ultimately, what is so useful and seductive about loudness in the music we hear?
This presentation aims to give you a much deeper understanding of loudness: what it is, how it's measured, how technology enhances it, how myths of its goodness or evil came to be, how regulatory bodies came to their distribution standards, how it fits into our products, and how it changes the way we produce and perceive music. So, if you'd like to sit down in front of a limiter without guilt and get your music heard, take a seat and listen to what loud can do for you.
Samuel Fischmann
Co-Founder
Musik Hack LLC
Sam is the technical co-founder of Musik Hack, and a seasoned software developer whose portfolio spans audio/DSP, Web development, data analytics, and embedded systems. He’s also a composer and longtime musician. Sam is obsessed with building creative, functional, major-label-quality products that don’t look like airplane cockpits, and helping spread the joy of music through more intuitive approaches to DSP. If you ask nicely, he can also cook up a mean marinara...
