> It’s funny because broadcasters have normalized ads at +6 dB compared to the rest of the radio. In the US, the loudness rule was made by politicians who had

> It’s funny because broadcasters have normalized ads at +6 dB compared to the rest of the radio. In the US, the loudness rule was made by politicians who had no technical background. What they came up with was that the loudest part of the commercial can not be louder than the loudest part of the program surrounding it. Broadcasters were quick to compress and limit the commercial audio into a brick, and normalize it just below the "100%" of the programming. The end result was a much, much louder commercial, that was technically a lower peak volume (but much higher average volume). The law to lower the peak volume permits a higher average volume, and that has been exploited.