3 Critical Dolby Atmos Delivery Mistakes Johannesburg Artists Must Avoid.
By Des Grey – South Africas Music-First Atmos Mastering Engineer South African producers are finally waking up to Dolby Atmos. Amapiano drops hit harder. Hip-hop vocals float above the beat. Apple Music playlists pay more. But here’s the truth:90% of first-time Atmos submissions get rejected — not for mix quality, but technical delivery errors. I’ve seen it in my Johannesburg studio: talented artists lose weeks because their ADM files fail Universal or Warner specs. This guide saves you that pain. Mistake #1: Wrong Integrated Loudness (-18 LUFS Target) The Problem We are not used to headroom, most pre masters are running at around -9lufs 🙁 The Fix Too hot? Lower the Output Trim in Renderer before export. Mistake #2: True Peak Over -1 dBTP The Problem Your binaural preview sounds clean.But true peak hits +0.9 dBTP → automatic rejection. Why It Happens Atmos metadata + downmix = inter-sample peaks in stereo. The Fix I keep a -1.2 dBTP ceiling on all Johannesburg Atmos masters — zero rejections. Mistake #3: Wrong Downmix Settings (Default = Disaster) The Problem You render with “Standard L/R” downmix.Result? The Fix This keeps your spatial mix intact when folded to stereo — no surprises. Tags: Dolby Atmos Johannesburg, Atmos delivery mistakes, Apple Music spatial audio SA, Amapiano Atmos mastering