Why do certain songs sound louder than others even when they’re played at the same volume?
In: Technology
One thing to blame is the [Loudness War](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war?wprov=sfti1), where producers mastered their albums to be louder on the radio than other songs.
They’re probably not actually at the same volume. If we record you whispering to me, and me yelling at you, and then play them both back at 100% volume, it doesn’t change the fact that we recorded you doing something quiet and me doing something loud – the playback volume may be the same, but the source volume is different.
FYI some PC audio applications like snackamp can take your audio library and “auto-level” them for you, do you don’t have to mess with the volume controls all the time.
There’s an audio technique called levelling, where the overall average volume can be changed. Some CDs have different levels depending on the production values, and sometimes because the range of volumes in the music (loud vs. soft), more common in orchestral pieces. You’ll see levelling used on radio and TV stations, they use it to keep the audio low so that they can blare commercial sound, used to be a common tactic.
Its the way it is produced. Imagine, different people speaking at a mic in an auditorium. Some may speak louder than others. Even though speaker volume is unchanged you can make out the difference.
While post production some may amplify a bit.
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