The Mastering Show #106 - Are dynamics dead ?!

I see it every day: “The Loudness Wars are over - loud won. Get over it”And it’s easy to see why. The average mainstream release hits -8 LUFS integrated or more; club releases regularly hit -6 or even -4 LUFS and are peaking well above zero; every other post you see on social media is about a new limiter or clipping strategy…As the creator of Dynamic Range Day and Loudness Penalty, I should probably just give up and get my hat, right ?Maybe….But maybe not.In this episode I dig into the evidence in 2026, and try to decide whether dynamics really are dead or not, looking at:The LUFS of the biggest recent releasesWhy no-one hears itAre mixes built too loud to be dynamic ?Why music fans don’t care (which could be good news) - and who doesWhat do we do about it ?Reasons to be optimistic about dynamics in 2026Links and more episodes here:www.themasteringshow.com/episode-106Mentioned in this episode:MasteringClick HERE to work with IanLeapwingFind out more about Leapwing's pluginsLearn to master !Click HERE to see Ian's courses and mastering resources