0 -5 -10 -15 -20 -25 -30 RMS levels In negative decibles -35 -40 -45 -50 -55 -60 0 -5 peak levels In negative decibles -10 1979 • 1982 • 1985 • 1988 • 1991 • 1994 • 1997 • 2000 • 2003 • 2006 • 2009 Too Much Heaven – Bee Gees █ Da Ya Think I'm Sexy? – Rod Stewart █ Babe – Styx █ Rock With You Michael Jackson – Off The Wall █ Call Me (Theme From American Gigolo) – Blondie █ Lady – Kenny Rogers █ (Just Like) Starting Over – John Lennon & Yoko Ono █ Bettie Davis Eyes – Kim Carnes █ Physical – Olivia Newton-John █ Centerfold – The J. Geils Band █ Jack & Diane – John Cougar █ Eye Of The Tiger – Survivor █ Billie Jean – Michael Jackson █ Every Breath You Take – The Police █ All Night Long (All Night) – Lionel Richie █ Jump – Van Halen █ When Doves Cry – Prince █ Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham! █ Like A Virgin – Madonna █ GRAPH KEY SONG KEY Shout – Tears For Fears █ from the primary chorus, or most definitive RMS Levels █ High Frequency Peaks █ Pop █ MoneyCountry/Ballad For Nothing █ – Dire Straits █ Hip Hop █ sounds in the middle frequencies of the song, which are the frequencies that most everyday moment of each song. Three songs were Low Frequency Peaks █ Mid Frequency Peaks █ Absolute Peak Level █ Rock █ RockR&B Me █ Amadeus – Falco █ sounds are involved with, including the selected from each year over the last three Greatest Love of All – Whitney Houston █ human voice (1000hz). The high frequency decades, one from each trimester, with prece- peaks are the loudest sounds in the higher, dence given to songs with the most weeks at The absolute loudness of a song is called it's peak peak at zero, or the maximum volume alloted by decreasing the space betweenTrue the softestColors and– Cyndi Lauperestimated █ beyond the threshold of zero. Low less audible sections. The human ear is very number one, as well as musical diversity by level. In a song, this is the loudest part of the the medium. Producers and engineers found a loudest point. The RMS value determines how frequency peaks are the average volume of the Livin' On A Prayer – Bon Jovi █ sensitive to these frequencies so volumes genre and artist. For help understanding what loudest instrument. By the mid nineties, the prolif- way to increase volume beyond this by increas- loud a song is by combining it's peak levels with loudest sounds in the bass region of the song tend to remain lower as other frequencies this data means, see the understanding RMS, eration of CD audio made it possible for sounds to ing the volume of everything in the song, and it's softer levels, so that loudnessWith can Or beWithout You –(100hz). U2 █ Mid frequency peaks are the loudest rise (10000hz). The data presented is pulled dynamic, and frequency section. Faith – George Michael █ Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley █ Sweet Child O'Mine – Guns N' Roses █ Love On The Rocks – Poison █ Straight Up – Paula Abdul █ Right Here Waiting – Richard Marx █ Miss You Much – Janet Jackson █ Nothing Compares 2 U – Sinéad O'Connor █ Vision Of Love – Mariah Carey █ Because I Love You (The Postman Song) – Stevie B █ Justify My Love – Madonna █ Rush Rush – Paula Abdul █ Black Or White – Michael Jackson █ Save The Best For Last – Vanessa Williams █ Jump – Kris Kross █ End Of The Road – Boyz II Men █ A VisualI Will Always Love You History– Whitney Houston █ That's The Way Love Goes – Janet Jackson █ Dreamlover – Mariah Carey █ I swear – All - 4 - one █ This Is How We Do It – Montell Jordan █ Waterfalls – TLC █ Bump N' Grind – R. Kelly █ The Sign – Ace Of Base █ Fantasy – Mariah Carey █ Because You Loved Me – Celine Dion █ of LoudnessTha Crossroads – Bone Thugs-N-Harmony █ Why your music is getting louder, and why it’s a problem La Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix) – Los Del Rio █ Un-Break My Heart (Album Version) – Toni Braxton █ I'll Be Missing You (Feat. Faith Evans & 112) – Puff Daddy & The Family █ Candle In The Wind 1997 – Elton John █ Over the last thirty years, and even before, the music decades. This could be chalked up toGettin' harmless Jiggy Wit Itcapi – Will- Smithare █ loud and so are all the soft ones. The dynamic of thirty years: the biggest hits from each trimester of we listen to has been getting louder. And I don't just talism, but the problem is that audioThe can Boy only Is Mine get (feat. so Monica)sound, – Brandy or█ the part of music that makes it funky or every year from 1979-2009. Follow the numbers and I'm Your Angel – Celine Dion(Duet With R. Kelly) █ mean more aggressive and angry. It's physically getting loud before it begins to lose all the stuff that makes it groovy or smooth or mellow or punchy or whatever you may find, like so many record producers and ...Baby One More Time – Britney Spears █ louder. Because louder music creates a more immediately so good. Once you compress the peaks and valleys you like, is suddenly being pushed to what is more or mastering engineers already have, that the situation If You Had My Love – Jennifer Lopez █ pleasing effect on the listener, record execs have been of rhythm and sound too far, it becomes the visual less white noise, merely for a chance at that #1 spot. is far more dire than it seems. Smooth (feat. Rob Thomas) – Santana █ ordering the volume knob cranked up for the last three equivalent of typing in all caps: All the loud sounds Compiled here are 93 chart toppers from the last María María – Santana █ Come On Over (All I Want Is you) – Christina Aguilera █ Independent Women Part I – Destiny's Child █ Stutter – Joe █ Understanding Dynamic All For You – Janet Jackson █ Who’s Who in the Loudness Wars Family Affair – Mary J. Blige █ Foolish – Ashanti █ Hot in Herre – Nelly █ Genre popularity Dynamic Lose Yourself – Eminem █ Average Loudness by Genre is the distance between any part of a song. In Da Club – 50 Cent █ Crazy In Love (Featuring Jay-Z) – Beyonce █ Hey Ya! – OutKast █ Yeah! (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris) – Usher █ Here is what a visual diagram of what a song Here is what a popular song mightSlow look Motion like in ft. Soulja Slim – Juvenile █ might look like around 1979. Notice that the the early nineties. Notice how theGoodies peak is (Feat. Petey Pablo) – Ciara █ highest points in the sound still only peak at regularly hitting zero? This wouldLet be Me like Love if i You (part 2) Feat. Jadakiss & T.i. – Mario █ about -4 or -5. This is like a beautiful painting took my painting and expanded itWe all Belongthe way Together – Mariah Carey █ with a generous matte around it. to the edges. Gold Digger – Kanye West Feat. Jamie Foxx █ Total Loudness by Genre Bad day – Daniel Powter █ Promiscuous (ft. Timbaland) – Nelly Furtado █ SexyBack – Justin Timberlake █ Umbrella – Rihanna █ Beautiful Girls – Sean Kingston █ Crank That (Soulja Boy) – Soulja Boy █ Low – Flo Rida Feat. T-Pain █ By the early 00's, new digital technologies It is not uncommon, in more extreme situa- allowed producers to push the lower levels of tions, to see songs today that lookI Kissed like this. A Girl it – Katy Perry █ the song up even louder without distorting would be the equivalent of blowingWhatever up our You Like – T.I. █ the peaks. This would be like me blowing up image so that only a small portionRight is visible. Round – Flo Rida █ Loudness by Decade my painting outside of the frame. Poker Face – Lady GaGa █ Boom Boom Pow – The Black Eyed Peas █ 79 89 99 09 Data based o genre by wikipedia and a mean average of songs over thirty years. Loudness by decade calculated as inverse of negative decibals from zero. Loudness statistics found using Destroy FX’s RMS buddy, Blue Cat’s Freqanalyst, and Sonalksis’ Free G stereo..