Knoxville, TN (December 11, 2025)—The origins of the 30-year war over loudness are explored in a short documentary, How Music Got Loud, produced by Waves Audio.
According to Waves, How Music Got Loud: The Untold Story of the Loudness Wars, examines “the controversial battle that transformed modern music—the race to make every track louder than the last. For three decades, the pursuit of loudness has redefined audience expectations…. The film examines the industry’s attempts at balancing its obsession with loudness while encouraging dynamic range; the ultimate goal of creating records that audiences can connect with.”
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Produced by Waves Audio, the short speaks with mastering engineer Howie Weinberg (Nirvana’s Nevermind; Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik); mastering engineer Dale Becker (Billie Eilish’s Hit Me Hard and Soft; SZA’s SOS); Gavin Lurssen and Reuben Cohen: Two figures from the mastering house responsible for releases by Metallica, Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and Robert Plant; Jesse Ray Ernster, mixer for Doja Cat, Burna Boy; mastering engineer Bob Katz, author of Mastering Audio: The Art and the Science; and Meir Shashoua, co-founder and CTO of Waves.
