No, it’s not just about the ‘loudness war’.
You’ve probably noticed that new music doesn’t hit the same way older recordings do.
It’s not just nostalgia talking. There’s hard science behind why today’s songs sound flat, lifeless, and exhausting to listen to. And, we’ve got the technical breakdown to prove it.
- 1. The Loudness War Has Destroyed Dynamic Range
- 2. Over-Compression Is Sucking the Life Out of Songs
- 3. Over-Processing Creates Plastic-Sounding Music
- 4. Everything Is Mixed for Phone Speakers Now
- 5. Modern Remastering Is Ruining Classic Albums
- 6. Music Is Too Easy to Make Now
- 7. Streaming Algorithms Punish Musical Risk-Taking
- 1. The Loudness War Has Destroyed Dynamic Range
- 2. Over-Compression Is Sucking the Life Out of Songs
- 3. Over-Processing Creates Plastic-Sounding Music
- 4. Everything Is Mixed for Phone Speakers Now
- 5. Modern Remastering Is Ruining Classic Albums
- 6. Music Is Too Easy to Make Now
- 7. Streaming Algorithms Punish Musical Risk-Taking
1. The Loudness War Has Destroyed Dynamic Range
The music industry once believed that louder songs would stand out more on the radio or in playlists. That kicked off a loudness arms race that’s been going on since the late ’90s, with each new release trying to out-loud the last.
To make that happen, engineers started using brickwall limiters, A.K.A. tools that push the volume right up to the maximum limit without going over.
When used carefully, they’re helpful for catching peaks and preventing distortion without messing with the rest of the track. But when pushed too far, they crush the natural dynamics in a song.
This is why some modern tracks feel tiring to listen to, even if you like the music.
That doesn’t mean every older song was perfectly mixed. Plenty of ’80s radio hits were already compressed. But back then, there was usually more room for the music to breathe.
2. Over-Compression Is Sucking the Life Out of Songs
Compression works by lowering the volume of the louder parts of a sound so everything feels more even. Used lightly, it helps vocals stay smooth and keeps drums from peaking too hard.
But these days, compression is often pushed way too far, especially during the mixing stage, before the final master is even done.
Let’s say you have a snare drum that pops in the mix. With heavy compression, especially with a high ratio like 10:1 and a fast attack, you squash the start of that hit. Instead of a sharp, satisfying crack, you get a dull thud. Do this across all the instruments, and everything starts sounding flat and squished.
You can see the difference visually, too.
Open a track from the ’70s or ’80s in audio software and you’ll see natural peaks and dips in the waveform. Do the same with many modern pop songs and the waveform looks like a solid rectangle, which is what engineers jokingly call a “sausage waveform.”
Over-compression also creates audible artifacts like “pumping” where the volume swells and recedes unnaturally with the beat.
You might not consciously identify these problems, but your brain recognizes something’s wrong. The music feels less exciting, boring, and tiring.
3. Over-Processing Creates Plastic-Sounding Music
Digital tools promised unlimited creative possibilities. But, they’ve also led to an addiction to “perfection” that strips away everything human from recordings.
Processing just means using digital tools to shape or fix the sound. That can include EQ to adjust tone, reverb to add space, Auto-Tune to fix pitch, and dozens of other effects.
These tools are a normal part of music production, and when used carefully, they can make a song sound better. The problem is when they’re stacked on top of each other without much thought.
For example, boosting EQ too much can make the highs harsh and tiring. Overusing reverb can make vocals sound like they’re coming from a tunnel. Setting Auto-Tune too tight can take away natural pitch changes, like vibrato, and make the voice sound robotic.
In some genres, like hyperpop or certain types of EDM, that’s the point. But in other cases, it just makes the performance feel cold and fake.
There’s also a buildup of small issues. Every plugin adds its own little bit of color or change. Run a track through 20 or 30 of them, and it might not even sound like the original anymore.
On top of that, digital problems like aliasing (weird noises from bad sampling) or quantization distortion (grainy edges from rounding digital values) can creep in, especially when the processing isn’t done carefully.
All of this strips away the little details that make music feel alive. This includes timing that’s just a bit off, slight tone changes between notes, and the natural space between instruments.
These imperfections might seem small, but they give songs character and groove. And, when everything is locked to a grid and polished to perfection, it starts to feel more like a machine than a performance.
4. Everything Is Mixed for Phone Speakers Now
Most people listen to music on phones, earbuds, or laptop speakers, than on big stereo systems. Because of that, producers and engineers now mix songs to sound good on small speakers first. It’s a practical move, but it’s also changing how music sounds, and often not for the better.
The thing is, phone speakers have limited space to move air, which makes it hard for them to produce strong bass, especially below about 125 Hz. Some phones can fake it a little using software, but in most cases, that deep, rumbling bass just isn’t there.
So, to make up for it, engineers often boost the low-mid frequencies (around 250–500 Hz) to create the illusion of bass. But, this can make songs feel muddy on larger systems. They also bump up the upper mids (2–6 kHz) to keep vocals and details clear on tiny speakers, which can sound harsh when played on good gear.
Mono compatibility has also been important recently since many phone and Bluetooth speakers combine stereo channels into one. If a mix has too much stereo width, some sounds might cancel out or disappear when collapsed to mono.
To avoid that, producers often pull everything toward the center. This means less space between instruments and a flatter soundstage overall.
Mixes optimized for 2-inch phone speakers sound thin, harsh, and two-dimensional on real audio systems. You’re getting music designed for the lowest common denominator instead of recordings that showcase the full frequency spectrum and spatial depth that music can offer.
5. Modern Remastering Is Ruining Classic Albums
Record labels discovered they can sell you the same album multiple times by releasing “remastered” versions. But these remasters almost always sound worse than the originals.
Many remasters from the 2000s and 2010s were part of the loudness war. Labels made them louder to match newer releases, even if that meant flattening all the dynamics.
Take Michael Jackson’s catalog, for example. The original versions had space and punch. Some later remasters pushed everything to the limit, making them sound loud but lifeless.
It’s not just about the volume, though. In some cases, labels don’t (or can’t) use the original master tapes. So, they remaster from older digital versions, like CDs, that were already compressed, instead.
It’s like making a photocopy of a photocopy, with each step losing a little more detail. The result is a mix that sounds dull, harsh, or just wrong.
Some early digital transfers also didn’t adjust for how music was originally mastered for vinyl. Older EQ curves and dynamics don’t always translate well to digital formats. Without proper updates, those versions can sound thin or unbalanced.
And, of course, there’s also the business side. Until 2018, copyright laws in Europe let labels extend their ownership by creating a “new” version of a recording. Remastering qualified. So, even if the sound wasn’t improved, a few tweaks could keep an album under the label’s control for another 50-70 years while selling you an inferior product
Labels often work from compressed CD masters instead of original tapes, degrading quality further. Sometimes they can’t even find the original mixes, so they remaster already-mastered versions. like making a xerox of a xerox.
To be fair, not all remasters are bad. Some are done with care, using original tapes and modern tools to bring out detail that older formats couldn’t handle.
But too often, remastering has become a shortcut for labels to repackage the same albums. Just louder, harsher, and less true to the original sound.
Original vinyl masters from the ‘60s and ’70s had specific EQ curves and dynamics for that format. When transferred to digital without adjustment, they sound thin and lifeless.
6. Music Is Too Easy to Make Now
These days, anyone with a laptop and free software can make a song in a few hours. That’s not always a bad thing! It’s great that more people than ever can make music without needing expensive gear or a studio. But this has changed how a lot of modern music sounds, and not always for the better.
In the past, recording drums meant setting up mics, finding the right room, and working with a drummer who had good feel. Now, it’s common to use pre-recorded drum samples that are already lined up perfectly to a grid. That saves time, sure, but when there’s no variation, the beat can feel stiff and robotic.
The same goes for guitars. Instead of mic’ing up an amp and getting a unique tone, producers often use amp sims or presets that sound polished but a bit generic.
And for keyboards or chord progressions, many people use MIDI packs (drag-and-drop files that come with pre-made melodies or progressions). When everyone uses the same packs, songs can start to sound the same.
Timing and pitch can also be fixed instantly.
Tools like Auto-Tune and time alignment software can smooth out small mistakes. But, as mentioned earlier, when everything is corrected too much, you lose the natural movement in a performance.
None of these tools are bad on their own. In fact, many artists use them in creative ways.
The problem is when speed and perfection become the main goals. That’s how we end up with songs that are technically flawless but emotionally flat.
7. Streaming Algorithms Punish Musical Risk-Taking
Music streaming services add over 100,000 new songs every day. To stand out, artists increasingly play it safe with proven formulas that algorithms favor.
Streaming services track skip rates obsessively. If listeners skip within the first 30 seconds, the algorithm buries your song. This pushes artists to front-load hooks, avoid long intros, and stick to predictable structures.
24% of Spotify tracks get skipped within 5 seconds. In other words, there’s little room for songs that build slowly or challenge expectations.
Even song length has changed. The average track has gotten shorter, with many now clocking in around two minutes.
Then there’s the playlist problem. Getting on a big playlist is one of the best ways to reach new listeners, but curators often want songs that blend in with a certain mood or genre.
If your track stands out too much, like if it changes tempo halfway through or uses strange instruments, it might not make the cut. Especially on mood-based playlists like “Chill Vibes” or “Lo-Fi Beats,” uniqueness can work against you.
On top of that, the payout model doesn’t help. Artists usually make between $0.003 and $0.005 per stream. To earn a living, they need millions of plays. That means more pressure to make music that works with the algorithm, not against it.
This kind of pressure leads to safer music. Artists stick to proven structures and familiar sounds because they’re trying to avoid skips and have their music featured to large platform-made playlists.
As a result, everything kind of sounds the same now.