Mastering/outputting for radio

poopot

Quick question for those in the know.

Do radio stations have a different “mastering” requirement to say Spotify, iTunes and the other streaming services?

Danny1969

Real FM radio stations tend to use their own multiband compressors so it kind of gets mastered again. This to to keep a consistent output level across all music and to keep the quiet bits not quiet so they aren't lost in the noise of a car. Some songs that are already a little too hot can get killed in this process. Older stuff though can sound great. 

With internet radio everybody does their own thing but again, there's generally a comp / limiter to keep a consistent output