A pre-upload checklist to catch the most common export errors before they go live — audio levels, aspect ratio, and title card legibility.

Export Checklist: Clean Audio, Correct Aspect, Readable Text

Most export problems aren't discovered until after the video is live. A slightly too-quiet mix, an aspect ratio that adds black bars, or a title card that's unreadable on mobile — these are all fixable before upload if you check them first.

Run through this list before every upload.

Audio

Loudness (LUFS) Target: -14 LUFS integrated (YouTube's normalization point). Check with a free loudness meter (YouLean, Youlean Loudness Meter, or the LUFS display in your DAW). Beats that sit at -20 LUFS will be normalized up and may sound pumped; beats at -9 LUFS will be normalized down and may sound crushed.

Clipping True peak should not exceed -1 dBTP. Check the true peak reading, not just the standard peak meter. If you see any red on the true peak meter, reduce output gain and re-export the audio.

Sync Play back the first five seconds: does the audio start exactly where you intended? Is the visual loop timed correctly to the audio? Sync errors are much easier to catch on a 5-second check than to diagnose after upload.

Video

Aspect ratio YouTube standard: 16:9. If your export is 4:3 or portrait, it will display with black pillarboxing or letterboxing. Confirm your export settings before hitting export: 1920×1080 (or at minimum 1280×720) at 16:9.

Frame rate Standard for type beat videos: 24fps or 30fps. 60fps is fine but overkill for a static or slow-motion loop. More importantly — don't mix frame rates in the same export (your footage and your motion elements should match).

File size and codec YouTube recommends H.264 for upload. File size for a 3-minute 1080p video should be roughly 200–500MB depending on bitrate. If your export is 2GB for a 3-minute video, your bitrate settings may be set too high; YouTube will re-encode it anyway.

Title Card and Text

Legibility at small size Screenshot or take a photo of the video on your phone at full screen. Can you read the beat name without squinting? Can you read the BPM and key at a glance? If not, the font is too small or the contrast is too low.

Accuracy Check: beat name correct, BPM correct, key correct, producer tag correct. These are the fields most likely to carry over from a previous video when reusing a template. A typo on the title card stays on the video forever.

No residual template text If you're working from a template, confirm that no placeholder text ("BEAT NAME HERE", "BPM", "YOUR TAG") remains visible in the final export.

Pre-Upload

YouTube title matches the beat name on the title card
BeatStars link is the first line of the description
Description template is filled in (not a copy of last week's video)
Thumbnail uploaded (not left as the auto-generated frame)
End screen cards configured

Five minutes before upload is all this takes. It's worth it every time.

A tool that exports consistently to a fixed spec (same resolution, same codec, same settings every time) eliminates the codec and aspect ratio questions entirely. CoverCraft does this by design — export settings are part of the template, not a decision you make per video.