I deliberately do not follow the dictates of the "Loudness War"

whichs primary goal is to make a track as loud as possible to be

as high up on the volume scale in the competition of radio playlists.

 

In my experience and belief the goal of mastering is

- to optimize the artistic idea, the effect, the atmosphere -

  in a word, the MUSIC -   

- to highlight and transport the ideas of the artist (if that's possible,  

  because in my experience mixes are often basically perfect and require  

  no further aural processing)

- to work out the overall sound which the artist imagines

- to intervene cautiously and deliberately when there are tonal problems  

  in the mix (which often are only audible during the mastering process)

- to work out the "space in the music" ... in other words:

  to shape a "3-dimensional sound image"

- to support the overall "musical story" of a production / CD -

  sometimes with unconventional tools

 

Basically mastering is, in my opinion, to do as little as possible and

as much as good ("mastering is the art of compromise") -

not to destroy again but support what has benn created in the mix.