What is LUFS?
LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale) measures perceived loudness over time. Unlike peak meters, it reflects how loud something feels — which is exactly what streaming platforms care about.
The key number is Integrated LUFS: the average loudness of the entire track. Spotify's target is −14 LUFS. If your track hits −7 LUFS, Spotify pulls it down 7 dB at playback. Your transients lose impact. Your mix sounds flat.
True Peak vs. Sample Peak
When audio is encoded to AAC or MP3, inter-sample peaks can push above 0 dBFS and cause clipping. True Peak metering (TP) accounts for this. Keep your True Peak below −1 dBTP before export.
The DAW fix
Use a LUFS meter (Youlean Loudness Meter is free) on your master bus. Target −14 LUFS integrated with a True Peak ceiling of −1 dBTP. Pull back your limiter threshold until you hit it — don't push the gain stage up.
To fix this loudness problem, here are the tools PRISM producers reach for most — each picked for this specific case, not a generic list.