Measure and manage audio using the Loudness Meter

Last updated on Aug 23, 2022 | Also applies to Adobe Audition

Learn how to use the Loudness Meter to measure and manage the audio of your sequence.

If you are producing content for broadcast television, you may have to provide media files according to strict delivery requirements. A common delivery requirement is related to the maximum loudness that a sequence can have. You can measure the audio level of your clips, tracks, or sequences using the Loudness Meter. It provides industry standard ITU-based loudness monitoring for broadcast, podcast, and streaming media content.

The Loudness Meter transparently measures program loudness for full mixes, single tracks, or buses and submixes. Presets support common regional loudness requirements, like EBU for Europe or ATSC for the Americas, while new presets ensure compatibility with online destinations, such as Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Netflix, and YouTube.

You can use the Loudness Meter in both Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition with the workflow being the same in both the applications.

If you have projects created in Premiere Pro versions earlier than 15.2 that you want to open in version 15.2, or if you have projects created in Adobe Audition version earlier than 14.2 that you want to open in version 14.2, you can still use the old Loudness Radar effect (Premiere Pro) or the Loudness Radar Meter effect (Adobe Audition). For more information, see Measure audio using the Loudness Radar effect.

Apply the Loudness Meter to a track in Premiere Pro

Open the Audio Track Mixer (Window > Audio Track Mixer).

The Audio Track Mixer is open automatically if you are using the default Audio workspace.
In the first effect slot of the Mix Track, click the tiny triangle to open the Effect Selection menu and choose Special > Loudness Meter.

Note: Select Loudness Radar from the dropdown if your workflow demands.

Premiere Pro applies the Loudness Meter effect to the track.

Apply the Loudness Meter to a track in Adobe Audition

Open the Effects Rack tab on the left side of the UI. Click the tiny triangle to open the dropdown and select Special > Loudness Meter. The effect is applied automatically.

Note: Select Loudness Radar Meter from the dropdown if your workaround demands.

Select Effects > Special > Loudness Meter. In the Effect - Loudness Meter dialog, adjust the settings and click Apply.

Edit Loudness Meter settings

These settings are applicable to both Premiere Pro and Adobe Audition.

To change the measurement levels manually in the Loudness Meter, right-click Loudness Meter, or double-click to open the Track Fx Editor - Loudness Meter dialog. click Settings.

If you are not comfortable editing the levels manually, you can use a preset that is based on widely used standards.

Loudness Meter presets

In the Settings tab, set the following Loudness options:

Option	What it does
Target Loudness	Defines the target loudness value
Low Level Below	Sets the shift between the green and blue meter regions. This indicates that the level may be below the noise floor level.
Maximum True Peak	Sets the maximum True Peak level. The peak indicator is activated if the signal is above 0 dBTP. The input meter’s red region is affected by this setting. Everything above the maximum true peak value is shown as a red meter region.
Scale	Select the scale for the momentary range. EBU +9, indicates the narrow loudness range, used for normal broadcast. EBU +18 is the wide loudness range used for drama and music.
Unit	Sets the Loudness unit to display on the Loudness Meter. LKFS: Loudness unit specified by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) LUFS: Loudness unit specified by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) LU: A unit for loudness relative to target according to EBU and ITU.

The channel map at the bottom of the Loudness Meter indicates the In and Out channels, and also how the effect is instantiated.

To change the switches to the channel map editor, click the icon at the top-left of the Track Fx Editor - Loudness Meter dialog.

Measure the loudness of your track

In Premiere Pro, right-click (Win) or Ctrl + Click (macOS) the Loudness Meter and select Edit to open the Loudness Meter dialog box.

Editing the Loudness Meter

In Adobe Audition, in the Effects Rack, right-click (Win) or Ctrl-click (macOS) the Loudness Meter effect and select Edit selected effect from the dropdown.
Press the spacebar to play, or click Play on the Program Monitor. During playback, the Loudness Meter monitors the loudness of all the channels that are playing and displays it as a range of values illustrated in blue, green, and yellow.

Loudness Meter display in Premiere Pro

Loudness Meter display in Adobe Audition
- Input: Indicates level of the audio signal that takes inter-sample peaks into account.
- Short-Term: Uses a sliding time window of 3 seconds, describing a more averaged, less event-dependent loudness of the past 3 seconds.
- Integrated: Averages the programme from start to finish, describing the loudness of the whole program.
- Momentary: Uses a sliding time window of 400 ms, best describes the instantaneous loudness.
The Loudness Meter does not change the audio level. It gives you a precise measure of Loudness that you can use to change your audio loudness levels.

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