Q: Can you explain the concept of the loudness war to me? Aren't you supposed to mix songs as loud as possible as long as it's not distorting?
A: yes. the challenge is to make sure it's not quieter than everyone else, and still not have it sound strange. so over time, everyone starts to get better at sneaking everything up tighter against the ceiling and finding new tricks to keep it sounding ok while sounding louder