Copyright information here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cd_loudness_trend-something.gifIt has been an ongoing debate for over a decade now, but I was intrigued and a little shocked to see this excellent visual representation of how much louder mixes have got in the last two decades.

I’m not sure how I feel about the whole compression thing, I appreciate how useful it can be when used approriately or even imaginatively, but squashing the sh*t out of everything seems just plain silly.

Many mastering engineers are at the mercy of the record companies who want the ‘loudest’ possible mix, instead of what is more musical and what a skilled mastering engineer would judge as the right mix. So often for the sale of protecting their income they have to master in this way.

Thoughts and comments welcome?