The numbers are in and yes, music is gradually getting louder each year. According to a study done by the Echo Nest, a music intelligence company based out of Massachusetts, the average loudness of music has been slowly increasing since the 1950’s. Analyzing the top 5,000 songs since 1950, the Echo Nest was able to determine how exactly the loudness of music increased throughout the years and what they found, is very surprising.
Starting in 1990, the average loudness of music dramatically shot up and over the next 20 years, increased by a staggering 39%. This means that between 1990 and now, music has exponentially become louder than it ever has before. When we speak of average loudness, we aren’t talking about new speakers or turning the volume up, we are talking about how loud the track is when it’s created and published. Instead of soft complimenting sounds, we have filled music with significant amounts of bass while also kicking up the general output of any given track. 
Maybe this is associated with EDM’s rise over the last 20 years, or maybe we just need music to be louder to resonate with us. Either way, make sure to take your earplugs to your next show because it’s only going to get louder!
Source: Fast Company
This is largely because producers, of every genre, over-compress EVERYTHING.
The cool kids wear earplugs!
Or we’re going def from all our technology and need it to be louder to hear it!
It’s worth noting that you can still “feel” quieter tracks… just turn your stereo up.
When things get “louder” on a recording, you lose dynamic range for the sake of being “louder” than the competition when the playback device is set for the same level of output.
It’s nuts, though, because modern playback systems are capable of high output with low noise. It’s time to reel back the loudness wars. Listen to Daft Punk’s “Random Access Memories.” Go to “Doing It Right” and turn the stereo way up. Guess what… it’s loud.
While this is true, quieter tracks with intricate sound design still exist. Take for example Burial, Four Tet, Asa, Stumbleine, Sorrow and Pretty Lights. While Pretty Lights has “louder” music compared to most of the other producers I’ve listed (and also a fairly random addition to the list while the other acts are in the same vein of atmosphere and production styles), I think he works up to the line of being loud(ish) for the sake of providing energy in the track while keeping a stellar production value. While over-compression and tasteless noise as loud as possible still are a major issue in EDM, the quieter and more subtle music is still out there and it’s maybe even better now than it used to be.
All I’m thinking in my mind is “its gunna get-its gunna get-its gunna get louder!”
the loudness war needs to end. Dynamic range is what really makes a track shine, and pull a listener in, it has to have space and atmosphere. What people forget is media players have a level option standard, like spotify to level all songs equally, so even if you export it at a staggering volume, that track with a lower volume will still be equally as loud.