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Originally Posted by 24-96 Mastering  Today, I believe, the wish for a very loud master in most cases originates from the artist themselves, wanting to "match or exceed" their idols and "outclass" their competitors. |
That's my experience too.
But when you read articles and forum threads, it is the mastering engineer, A&R, or record label that is vilified as the culprit. Sure as mentioned above there are exceptions, such as an occasional ME who for egotistical kicks n giggles pushes the envelope, but that's the exception.
Education has to be part of the solution.
When I'm working ITB, a very useful software tool is Wavelabs "smart bypass." With a single button click, smart bypass effectively eliminates any loudness change while keeping all other processing consistent. It has been helpful many times when demonstrating how loudness effects our bias.