Why Music Really Is Getting Louder

Teksty Piosenek writes "Artists and record bosses believe that the best album is the loudest one. Sound levels are being artificially enhanced so that the music punches through when it competes against background noise in pubs or cars. 'Geoff Emerick, engineer on the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album, said: "A lot of what is released today is basically a scrunched-up mess. Whole layers of sound are missing. It is because record companies don't trust the listener to decide themselves if they want to turn the volume up." Downloading has exacerbated the effect. Songs are compressed once again into digital files before being sold on iTunes and similar sites. The reduction in quality is so marked that EMI has introduced higher-quality digital tracks, albeit at a premium price, in response to consumer demand.'"

Comments

maybe it prevents hearing loss?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't like those compressed tracks myself, but think about it. When they compress the volume, they are likely making the listener turn the volume down, because everything can be heard anyway. Uncompressed music on the other hand has to be played at a higher volume to hear everything that is not loud, and then the transient spikes wreck your ears.

Re:The older I get the louder I need it

[The_Wilschon]

I believe that what you speak of (inability to distinguish foreground from background sound) is actually a common symptom of typical hearing loss. IANA doctor, but this is what I remember.