Son of the Loudness War

Related to a previous post, I found an article on music + dynamic range:

"Britain’s leading studio engineers are starting a campaign against a widespread technique that removes the dynamic range of a recording, making everything sound 'loud.'"

“'Peak limiting' squeezes the sound range to one level, removing the peaks and troughs that would normally separate a quieter verse from a pumping chorus."

"Peter Mew, senior mastering engineer at Abbey Road studios, said: 'Record companies are competing in an arms race to make their album sound the ‘loudest’. The quieter parts are becoming louder and the loudest parts are just becoming a buzz.'"

"The brain is not geared to accept buzzing. The CDs induce a sense of fatigue in the listeners. It becomes psychologically tiring and almost impossible to listen to. This could be the reason why CD sales are in a slump."

I don't think this it the only reason CD sales and in slump, but I absolutely notice a difference between rock CDs produced after 2001 or so. Songwriting issues aside, there is something about modern production that just sounds wrong. Check out a previous post for a video demonstration.

The Loudness War

If you are like me, you've noticed that music produced since around the year 2001 has a different feel - less dynamic, more fatiguing - than music produced in the 80s and 90s. Here is a video I found offering a brief explanation as to why. In this case the culprit isn't songwriting or arrangement, but a production technique related to compression/limiting used for the purpose of gaining loudness on mainstream radio.

Why don't record companies service compressed non-dynamic discs to radio stations, and sell a dynamics-restored version to consumers?

PS: Since we are on the subject of music production, when I'm in charge there will be more "wet" mixes. In other words, more reverbs, delays, flangers and phasers: space. Things are mixed too "dry" these days for my taste.