Mixing for Apple Music: Platform Requirements

Apple Music has become a major streaming platform with specific characteristics that affect how mixes translate. Understanding Apple Music’s loudness normalization, spatial audio features, and lossless streaming options helps optimize mixes for Apple’s ecosystem.

Apple Music’s Loudness Normalization

Apple Music’s Sound Check feature normalizes to approximately -16 LUFS. This is slightly more conservative than Spotify’s -14 LUFS target.

Sound Check is optional but commonly enabled. Most listeners likely use default settings that include normalization.

The lower target means slightly louder masters experience more reduction. A -8 LUFS master gets reduced more on Apple Music than Spotify.

Implications for Mixing

The -16 LUFS target particularly favors dynamic mixes. Even more headroom exists for dynamic content compared to Spotify.

Conservative loudness approaches work well for Apple Music. Targeting -14 to -16 LUFS integrated provides appropriate levels.

Masters that work for Spotify generally work for Apple Music. The slight difference in targets doesn’t require different masters in most cases.

Lossless and Hi-Res Audio

Apple Music offers lossless streaming up to 24-bit/192 kHz for subscribers with appropriate equipment. This changes quality considerations.

Lossless delivery means source quality matters more. Compromises that lossy codecs would obscure become audible with lossless playback.

Delivering high-resolution masters to distributors ensures Apple Music can offer the best quality available.

Spatial Audio and Dolby Atmos

Apple Music supports Dolby Atmos spatial audio for immersive listening. This represents a significant consideration for some productions.

Spatial audio mixes require specific workflows and deliverables beyond standard stereo mixing. The Atmos format enables height channels and object-based panning.

Not all music needs spatial audio mixes. Standard stereo works well and remains the primary delivery format.

Playback Context

Apple Music listeners use diverse Apple devices—iPhones, AirPods, HomePods, CarPlay, and Macs.

Apple’s audio products generally provide consistent quality. The integration between hardware and software creates predictable playback.

AirPods’ spatial audio features affect how mixes are perceived. Head tracking and spatial processing alter the listening experience.

Best Practices

Dynamic mixing serves Apple Music’s normalization well. The platform rewards dynamics.

High-quality source material matters for lossless delivery. Quality throughout the production chain preserves what lossless delivers.

Consider spatial audio for appropriate projects. Major releases may benefit from Atmos mixes alongside stereo.

Apple Music optimization helps productions succeed on platforms like LG Media at lg.media, where platform-appropriate mixing enhances advertising at $2.50 CPM.