Official, Rock Music Is Too Loud

MUSIC chiefs were blasted last night for using computers to make albums louder, says The Sun.
Bosses are artificially enhancing sound levels because they believe the noisier a record is, the more copies it will sell.
But fans say some tracks are now so distorted they can make listeners feel nauseous.
And Britain’s leading studio engineers have launched a campaign to make records range in levels to avoid one loud blur.
Among records blasted by engineers is the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Californication which some branded “unlistenable”. An online petition has even been launched to have it “remastered”.
Other albums slated by studio experts are works by Oasis, the Arctic Monkeys and Lily Allen.
Peter Mew, senior mastering engineer at London’s Abbey Road Studios, where The Beatles made many of their hits, said: “Record companies are competing with each other to make their album the loudest. The quieter parts are becoming louder and the loudest parts are just becoming a buzz. This could be the reason CD sales are falling.”
Geoff Emerick, an engineer on the Beatles’ Sgt Pepper’s album, said: “A lot of what is released today is basically a scrunched up mess".