I've had some disappointing results when aiming for 14 LUFS so, I've been trying to educate myself on that subject.
There are way too many opinions out there from, so called, experts, home studio folks like me and everybody in the middle.
I've just had a hard time accepting the -14 LUFS standard as gospel as a mastering target
What I'm landing on is -14 LUFS can be a good level but not for all types of music.
Also, even if the streaming services normalize at -14 LUFS, depending on the content, mixes that are mastered at a lower LUFS (meaning louder) may be perceived louder than others.
Anyhow, when we're talking about this stuff, it's good to understand what the term LUFS actually stands for and how it is measured.
Most of what I've seen & read tells me LUFS is = to average loudness.
A deeper dive suggests that it is not the average but, rather the difference between the average and the peaks.
At the same time, we don't want to exceed -1 peak level
If that's true, I'm thinking, a mix with less dynamic range can be turned up more while a mix with greater dynamic range will end up sounding quieter if turned down to meet the LUFS standard.
Therefore, to get a really dynamic mix to be perceived as loud, it must be highly compressed, squashing the dynamic range.
Said another way, a less dynamic mix can achieve the LUFS target easier because its average loudness is closer to its peaks requiring less compression.
Any of this make sense?