system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: What is the Loudness War and what side am I on?

I hear the term "Loudness War" with respect to recording, but I don't understand what it means. Should I be for or against Loud? What has Loud done to me?
gpt
The Loudness War is defined as a trend in recorded music that has gotten generally louder and louder over time. Early records were relatively quiet; later records would record at louder volumes; compact discs set a digital limit that sound engineers would come up against through different compression techniques, and so on.

As time goes on, it seems the louder music wins out as being the more popular music of the day. Many consumers don't seem to care as much for sound quality as they do for the loudness of the music, as that can grab their attention.

As for what side you're on? Well, that's a personal question. Do you prefer more dynamic sound with good quality, or is it all Top 40 hits at max volume for you?