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LOUDER is BETTER. It gets your attention. It STANDS out. LOUDNESS sells. Simple as that. Mastering a commercial? Make it louder. Mixing a film score? Louder. Re-mastering Symphony No. 9? LOUDER! Compress that track to two bits per sample... Then ship it on a high resolution disc. Right?
Music has become louder. Listen to a song recorded in the 70's and then to a song recorded this year. Chances are good that your eardrums will burst. The "loudness war" is an arms race. Elaborate weapons of mass-compression have been invented for a single purpose: to GET YOUR ATTENTION. Every war has its casualties. In this one, dynamic range is dead. But a rebellion has begun...
Your dad is tired of loud commercials. Your mom finds her iPod fatiguing to listen to. Everything sounds flat on your high-end stereo. Should we limit loudness? The United States Federal Communication Commission thinks so. So does the European Broadcast Union and the International Telecommunications Union. The list goes on. In many countries loudness will soon be regulated in broadcasts (e.g. the CALM Act). What does this mean for us audio engineers?
Dynamic range is making a comeback. We should be glad! The difference between loud and soft creates interest and emotion. It draws the listener in and keeps them on the edge of their seat. It brings instruments to life, provides punch and heightens tension. WHEN EVERYTHING IS LOUD, NOTHING STANDS OUT. Variety IS more INTERESTING. We designed K-Meter to encourage interesting, dynamic recordings.
But hey, enough from me, the next step is yours:
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What are weapons of mass-compression?