Your mix should not be as loud as a finished Spotify release before mastering. It should be balanced and dynamic, with headroom so the mastering engineer can set final loudness and tone.
Short answer
- Peaks on the stereo mix around -6 dBFS or lower (not hitting 0)
- No heavy brick-wall limiting on the mix bus
- Do not normalize to maximum before export
- Focus on balance and translation, not pre-master loudness
Why headroom matters
Mastering uses EQ, compression and limiting. If the mix is already maxed:
- Less punch and transient detail
- Distortion risk
- Harder to adjust brightness or weight
Mix loudness vs master loudness
| Stage | You aim for |
|---|---|
| Mix | Clarity, balance, dynamics, headroom |
| Master | Release loudness (LUFS), true peak safety, streaming targets |
Platforms like Spotify normalize playback — slamming the mix bus rarely helps.
→ Mastering loudness explained
→ Mastering for streaming platforms
How to check your mix level
- Bypass or remove mix bus limiter
- Play chorus — peaks should not pin at 0 dBFS
- Level-match against a reference (do not chase their loudness)
- Export 24-bit WAV stereo
→ How to prepare a track for mastering
“My mix sounds quiet”
Quiet compared to a mastered reference is normal. Compare at matched volume.
→ Why does my song sound quiet?