The Loudness Wars

For decades “Turn that damn thing down” has been directed at hooligans blaring stereos and sound systems for ages. That phrase may take on a whole new meaning if some recording studios have their way.

Unbeknownst to many, there is a war that has been raging for about a decade in recording studios across America. For years, record companies have been increasing the volume on recordings, making songs louder. In turn, the increased loudness is perceived as positive, especially when the majority of listeners use tiny iPods, wimpy computer speakers and garbled car speakers can tell how degraded the audio quality is. Labels push artists to mix their albums louder because their sound stands out and draws more attention than artists that choose not to participate in the loudness war.

Modern songs are louder. So what?

While an increase in volume may seem positive, mixing an album to be loud destroys the audio leaving a wimpy lifeless sound. The subtle nuances of an audio track, ripe with peaks and valleys in sound add dynamic interest and “punch” to the audio recording. Most notably, the snare drum, toms and cymbals usually carry the most dynamic weight on a track because of the spike in volume from a percussive hit. During the final mix, when the volume is maxed out and sound travels beyond the audio amplitude of an mp3 file, the peaks of the audio are lopped off, making the difference between loud and quiet nonexistent. On a track that has been given the loudness treatment, the most delicate details placed in the music are bombarded with a wash of ugly sound and become nearly indistinguishable. The final track results in a song that’s about as dynamic as a stale bowl of oatmeal.

This technique is known as over-compressing audio (basically making the soft parts loud and the loud parts soft). The excessive compression erases the difference between loud and soft, causing the listener to forfeit control of the volume knob. People can no longer simply crank the volume knob because the track just becomes too loud. Loud, bland sound is the result of record labels ordering mixers to master their tracks improperly – a process that is slowly killing high fidelity sound as we know it.

Outside the realm of music, television advertisers are prime perpetrators of this practice. The contrast in compressed and uncompressed audio is heard on television every day. For instance, after watching a televised movie filled with everything from bellowing explosions to nearly inaudible whispers, the network cuts to a blaring commercial forcing you to quickly locate the remote and turn it down. The audio on commercials involves the same over-compression found in the music world. The shared primary goal in both music and television is to grab the audience’s attention, but there’s a disconcerting flaw in that logic. Music isn’t an advertisement, it’s an art form – an art form that is being destroyed by record labels who want to sacrifice audio quality so that their artist is just a little louder than the rest.

Undefined mush is the best way to describe a track that’s had the loudness treatment. Instruments are boosted to nearly identical volumes removing detail and definition. Nuances such as delicately plucked strings are smashed into a static wave of sound that lacks sparkle and clarity. The softness of a song’s verse is leveled with the loudness of the chorus destroying the dynamics of the track. The loudness process leeches the waves of emotion that are usually experienced thanks to different dynamic levels. If the verse is as loud and powerful as the chorus, then how does the song build to the chorus? The chorus, the climax, the hook and the sweet spot of the song are affected in an immensely adverse way. Imagine if classical artists treated their songs in this manner and each song was just too loud the entire album. The entire emotional musical roller coaster of grief and joy would be completely absent, making the song a lifeless musical cadaver.

The loudness treatment isn’t new. During the glory days of 7” records, the loudness war was in its infancy. When there are several choices in the jukebox, the loudest songs were more noticeable so the tracks were mixed a bit louder. What tamed excessive volume was that the physical restrictions on vinyl were far more limiting than those on a standard CD. On vinyl, if too much compression was applied, the needle would miss a groove, keeping extreme compression at bay.

As the era of the compact disc dawned, the loudness treatment became more frequent, although the CD format did have its limitations as well. The term digital zero-dB, refers to the point where the track begins to self-distort if the audio exceeds that threshold. In the early 90s advancements in technology allowed producers to more easily compress audio tracks. As tiny computer speakers and headphones with portable media became more common, listeners didn’t have the equipment to gauge the difference between loud and soft, making it more enticing for labels to mix their audio with a volume increase.

According to a list compiling 39 of the 1,000 loudest popular artists on musicmachinery.com, Venetian Snares, Soulja Boy, Slipknot, Dimmu Borgir and Andrew W.K., Queens of the Stone Age, Black Kids, Dropkick Murphys, All That Remains and Disturbed round out the top ten respectively. Some peculiarities dot the list as well. The Barenaked Ladies and Katy Perry are louder than Megadeath, while Avril Lavigne tops them all in volume, even Metallica coming in at No. 22.

One of the biggest and most recent offenders of the loudness war, Metallica’s latest album, Death Magnetic, reportedly suffers from over-compression, according to a wired.com article and several other sources. Wired.com reported that Metallica’s album is so compressed, it is about twice as loud as the version of the song released for Guitar Hero. Subsequently, fans are claiming that the Guitar Hero version sounds better. But why would the Guitar Hero version be mixed differently from the album version? Because players have to be able to hear their parts clearly and differentiate between instruments on the video game. Even older Metallica albums such as Load and Garage Inc. carry more dynamic weight than Death Magnetic and don’t suffer from a mushy sound, a hint that over-compression is coming ever popular in modern music.

Turnmeup.org is an organization that campaigns for artists to have the choice to produce a loud or dynamically rich album. The Pleasurize Music Foundation, based out of California, is also working to spread knowledge about this issue. History has shown that for the most part, albums are getting increasingly louder, so these organizations along with a growing number of artists and producers are arguing on the behalf of better sound for labels to leave the volume control up to listeners.

But what about consumers who embrace loudness? As long as there is a market for loudness, it is unlikely that the situation will change for some artists. Perhaps education and choice are the best routes to go in this situation. Consumers should be educated about over-compression and how it affects the overall audio quality. Artists not record labels should be given a choice and have the final say in how the album is mixed. If an artist cannot control the final form of their art, is that not the same as robbing a painter of his pallet or a dancer of their elegance?

For now, the divide between loud and soft is a stark one. Even presented with the choice to be soft or loud, some artists still may choose the latter, while others will continue to produce dynamically rich music. And that’s OK. Even when the art of sound ultimately lies with the artist, they must remember that the volume knob still belongs to the listener. Record labels and artists must recognize that people may turn their music down, but more importantly, that people may also turn it off.

No related posts.

Comments

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.