Audio Mastering Essentials: Final Export Formats Explained

Audio mastering is part art, part science, and part format bureaucracy. The creative work—EQ, compression, limiting—gets all the attention. But exporting the final file? That's where projects die quietly because someone chose the wrong sample rate or bit depth for their target platform.

Let's fix that.

The Pre-Master: Your High-Res Archive

Before we talk about delivery formats, let's talk about the pre-master.

This is your high-resolution, uncompressed master file that lives on your backup drives forever. It's what you'll return to if you need to create new versions for different platforms or remaster in the future.

Recommended pre-master specs:

• Format: WAV or AIFF (FLAC is fine too if you need to save space)
• Sample rate: 48kHz (or whatever you tracked at—don't upsample)
• Bit depth: 24-bit
• Peak level: -1 dBTP (true peak) to avoid intersample clipping
• LUFS: Depends on genre and delivery platform (more on this below)

Why 48kHz and not 96kHz? Because the audible difference is negligible, file sizes are half as large, and most delivery platforms will downsample anyway. Save your CPU and storage for things that matter.

Streaming Platforms: The New Masters

Here's the thing: in 2026, most music gets heard on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Tidal. Each platform has its own loudness normalization and format requirements.

What they want:

• Spotify: 16-bit/44.1kHz WAV or FLAC, normalized to -14 LUFS
• Apple Music: 24-bit/44.1kHz or 48kHz WAV, normalized to -16 LUFS
• YouTube: 16-bit/48kHz WAV or AAC, normalized to -13 LUFS
• Tidal (HiFi): 24-bit/96kHz FLAC (but 44.1 or 48 is fine), -14 LUFS

Do you need separate masters for each platform? Technically, yes. Realistically? Most producers create one master at -14 LUFS and call it a day. It's the middle ground that works everywhere without sounding too quiet or too crushed.

But if you're mastering for a major label or want to squeeze every ounce of dynamic range, consider creating platform-specific versions. The difference is subtle but real—especially between Spotify (-14) and YouTube (-13).

Broadcast and Radio: The Old Guard Still Matters

Radio stations and TV networks have been around longer than streaming platforms, and they have way more format rules.

Broadcast BWF (Broadcast Wave Format) specs:

• Format: BWF (WAV with metadata fields)
• Sample rate: 48kHz (industry standard for video sync)
• Bit depth: 24-bit
• LUFS: -23 LUFS for EBU R128, -24 LUFS for ATSC A/85
• True peak: -1 dBTP or -2 dBTP depending on region

Notice how quiet -23 LUFS sounds compared to streaming? That's intentional. Broadcast has strict loudness standards to prevent jarring volume changes between programs and commercials.

If you're delivering to a network, ask for their spec sheet. They'll have exact requirements, and missing them means your file gets rejected and you lose time.

Vinyl Mastering: Analog with Digital Exports

Vinyl is having a renaissance, and cutting plants are busier than ever. But before your audio hits the lathe, it needs to be prepped digitally.

Vinyl pre-master requirements:

• Format: 24-bit/96kHz WAV (some plants accept 48kHz)
• Stereo width: Reduced low-end width to avoid groove skipping
• High frequencies: De-essed and tamed (sibilance causes distortion on vinyl)
• Limiting: Gentle—vinyl has natural compression from the cutting process
• DDP or WAV: Some plants want DDP images, others want WAV files with PQ codes

And here's the kicker: you can't just send your streaming master to a vinyl plant. The bass will rumble, the highs will sizzle, and the grooves might skip. Vinyl mastering is a specialty. If you're serious about it, hire someone who cuts vinyl regularly.

CD Mastering: Not Dead Yet

CDs are niche, but they're not extinct. Band merch tables still move them, and some audiophiles prefer the physical format.

Red Book CD specs (the only ones that matter):

• Sample rate: 44.1kHz (no exceptions—this is the CD standard)
• Bit depth: 16-bit
• Format: WAV, with DDP or CUE sheet for track markers
• Peak level: -0.1 dBFS (true peak limiting to avoid clipping on cheap players)
• Gaps: 2-second silence between tracks (or crossfades if it's a continuous mix)

If you recorded at 48kHz, you'll need to convert your audio to 44.1kHz. Use a high-quality sample rate converter (SRC)—cheap ones add artifacts.

Archival Formats: Future-Proof Your Work

Your streaming master will be obsolete in 10 years when loudness standards change again. Your archival master? That's forever.

Best archival formats:

• 24-bit/48kHz WAV — Universally compatible, lossless, huge files
• 24-bit/48kHz FLAC — Lossless compression, 40-60% smaller than WAV, well-supported
• DSD64 or DSD128 — For ultra-high-end archival, but niche and huge

Store your archival masters on at least two separate drives (one offsite) and verify them annually. Bit rot is real.

Lossy Formats: When and How to Use Them

MP3, AAC, OGG—these are delivery formats, not mastering formats. You create them from your lossless master, never the other way around.

When to export lossy:

• MP3 320kbps: DJ promo pools, Bandcamp downloads, email previews
• AAC 256kbps: Apple ecosystem, podcasts, iTunes Store fallback
• OGG Vorbis: Game audio, web streaming, Spotify's internal format (they convert from your WAV)

Never encode lossy from lossy. If you need a 128kbps MP3, create it from your WAV master, not from a 320kbps MP3. Every lossy generation adds artifacts.

And if you're converting between formats frequently, tools like KokoConvert's audio converter handle batch exports cleanly without re-encoding artifacts.

Real-World Workflow: One Master, Multiple Versions

Here's how most pros actually work:

1. Mix and export a pre-master: 24-bit/48kHz WAV, no limiting, peaks around -6 dBFS

2. Master the pre-master: EQ, compression, limiting to -14 LUFS / -1 dBTP

3. Export versions from the mastered file:

• Streaming master: 16-bit/44.1kHz WAV
• CD master: 16-bit/44.1kHz WAV with PQ codes
• Broadcast master: 24-bit/48kHz BWF at -23 LUFS
• Archival master: 24-bit/48kHz FLAC

4. Create lossy versions from streaming master: MP3, AAC, OGG as needed

This workflow keeps one source of truth (your pre-master) and generates all delivery formats from it. If specs change or you need a new version, you go back to step 2, not step 1.

The Loudness War Is Over (Mostly)

For years, mastering engineers crushed dynamics to make tracks louder than the competition. Streaming platforms ended that by normalizing everything to a target LUFS.

Now, if you master too loud (say, -8 LUFS), Spotify just turns you down. And if you master with no dynamic range, you sound worse than the track next to yours that has punch and space.

So what's the sweet spot?

• -14 LUFS: Safe for most genres (pop, rock, indie)
• -10 to -12 LUFS: EDM, hip-hop, aggressive genres
• -16 to -18 LUFS: Classical, jazz, acoustic (preserve dynamics)

But don't just hit a number. Listen. If your master sounds lifeless or squashed, back off the limiter. Dynamics are back in style.

Common Export Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them)

Mistake 1: Upsampling from 44.1kHz to 96kHz

You tracked at 44.1. Converting to 96 doesn't add information—it just makes files bigger. Master at your tracking rate.

Mistake 2: Dithering every bounce

Dither once, at the final bit-depth reduction (24-bit to 16-bit). Dithering repeatedly adds noise.

Mistake 3: Normalizing to 0 dBFS

0 dBFS (full-scale) can cause intersample peaks that clip on cheap converters. Aim for -1 dBTP or use a true peak limiter.

Mistake 4: Forgetting metadata

ISRC codes, album art, track titles—embed them in your master files. Streaming platforms pull metadata from your uploads, and missing info looks unprofessional.

Mistake 5: Using one master for everything

Your -8 LUFS club banger will sound crushed on vinyl. Your -16 LUFS jazz record will sound quiet on Spotify (until it gets normalized, but still). Create versions.

Tools That Actually Help

You don't need expensive software to export properly, but a few tools make life easier:

• Loudness meters: Youlean Loudness Meter (free), iZotope Insight (paid)
• True peak limiters: FabFilter Pro-L2, Ozone Maximizer
• Sample rate converters: iZotope RX, Weiss Saracon (pro-level)
• Batch converters: KokoConvert for quick WAV/FLAC/MP3 exports
• DDP creation: Sonoris DDP Creator, HOFA CD-Burn.DDP.Master

And if you're dealing with obscure formats or need to quickly convert between sample rates without opening your DAW, browser-based tools like KokoConvert handle it without installation hassles.

Mastering is the final step before your music reaches ears. Get the export wrong, and months of work sound worse than it should. Get it right, and your tracks translate cleanly across every platform, device, and medium.

Start with a clean 24-bit/48kHz pre-master. Master to your target LUFS with true peak limiting. Export versions for each platform. Archive everything lossless.

And when someone asks why you're not mastering at 192kHz? Just smile and send them this article.