Mastering for Apple Music Complete Guide

Mastering for Apple Music requires understanding Apple's Sound Check loudness normalization, which targets approximately -16 LUFS integrated, as well as the platform's support for lossless audio and the Apple Digital Masters quality certification. Apple Music is the second-largest streaming platform globally, and its listener base tends to use higher-quality playback hardware (AirPods Pro, HomePod, high-end headphones), making audio quality especially important. This page is part of our AI mastering hub, which covers mastering optimization for all major platforms.

How Apple Music Sound Check Works

Sound Check is Apple's loudness normalization feature, enabled by default on Apple Music. It analyzes the perceived loudness of each track and adjusts playback volume to approximately -16 LUFS integrated. This is 2 dB quieter than Spotify's -14 LUFS target, which means tracks mastered aggressively for loudness lose even more dynamic range on Apple Music.

Unlike Spotify, which limits gain adjustment and only turns tracks down (by default), Apple's Sound Check can turn tracks both up and down. This means a quiet, dynamic master at -18 LUFS will be brought up to -16 LUFS, while a loud master at -10 LUFS will be brought down by 6 dB. The algorithm uses ReplayGain-style per-track analysis and applies a smooth volume curve.

For a technical comparison of normalization targets across all platforms, see our LUFS targets for Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube guide.

Recommended Mastering Settings for Apple Music

If you are creating a single master for all platforms, targeting -14 LUFS with a true peak of -1 dBTP is the pragmatic approach. Apple's Sound Check will reduce the volume by approximately 2 dB, which is a subtle difference that most listeners will not notice. If you are creating platform-specific masters, target -16 LUFS for the Apple Music version to preserve maximum dynamic range.

Apple Digital Masters Program

Apple Digital Masters (ADM) is a quality certification for tracks that are encoded from high-resolution source files using Apple's proprietary AAC encoder. To qualify, you must submit your master at 24-bit with a sample rate of 96 kHz or higher. The encoding uses Apple's Core Audio AAC encoder, which produces higher-quality results than third-party encoders.

Tracks that qualify receive an "Apple Digital Master" badge on Apple Music, which signals premium audio quality to listeners. To participate, you need a distributor that is part of the ADM program. Major distributors like DistroKid, TuneCore, CD Baby, and LANDR Distribution support ADM submissions.

Even if you do not pursue the ADM certification, following its principles (submitting high-resolution masters with proper true peak management) ensures the best possible audio quality on Apple Music. For preparation tips, read our preparing stems for mastering guide.

Lossless Audio and Spatial Audio

Apple Music supports lossless streaming via ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec) at resolutions up to 24-bit/192 kHz. This means your master can be delivered to listeners without any lossy encoding artifacts. However, most listeners still stream in standard AAC at 256 kbps, so true peak management remains essential for the majority of your audience.

Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos is available for tracks mixed in immersive formats. Standard stereo masters do not benefit from Spatial Audio unless they are specifically mixed and encoded in Dolby Atmos. This is a separate production process beyond standard mastering and requires specialized tools.

Genesis Mix Lab for Apple Music Mastering

When you select Apple Music as your target platform in Genesis Mix Lab, the AI calibrates its processing for -16 LUFS integrated with a -1 dBTP true peak ceiling. The algorithm accounts for Apple's Sound Check behavior and preserves the dynamic range your music needs to sound engaging on Apple's ecosystem of playback devices.

You can also export a Spotify-optimized master from the same session, or generate versions for YouTube and TikTok. If you are comparing options, check our free online mastering tools review.