The long awaited arrival of Greta Gerwig’s live action take on Barbie –The Movie is finally upon us. As we celebrate its release, we are thrilled to share the role that Audiomovers has played in bringing the Barbie Dream World to life.
Ryan Gosling, who plays Ken, recorded his vocals in Abbey Road Studios alongside engineer Riccardo Damian and Senior Runner Sarah Meyz, as the seven-time Grammy Award-Winning Music Producer and Songwriter Mark Ronson tuned in from New York via LISTENTO.
Streaming high-resolution, multi-channel audio in real-time, Mark Ronson could share feedback, give direction and enjoy the seamless remote collaboration made possible with LISTENTO.
Abbey Road Studios was also home to the recording of several of the film’s orchestral parts which were penned by Ronson and Andrew Wyatt and arranged by Matt Dunkley.
Recorded in Abbey Road Studios’ iconic Studio One by engineers Geoff Foster, Peter Cobbin and Kirsty Whalley with recordists Dan Hayden and Chris James Parker, alongside engineers Neil Dawes, Tom Ashpitel and Joe Wyatt, senior runner Sarah Meyz and runner Mack Kniese.
Using multiple audio devices in a DAW session can be a gruelling back-and-forth process, as DAWs will only support one audio device as their playback engine.
When you need to switch between devices for bringing in or sending out audio from your DAW and external audio devices, the experience can be frustrating.
Our recent update to OMNIBUS now allows you to utilise both virtual and hardware inputs from any audio device connected to your Mac.
In this article, we’ll be discussing using multiple USB audio microphones and audio interfaces within your DAW using OMNIBUS. This context is a great use case for anyone getting started in podcasting or recording with a DAW but who may also be struggling with not having enough audio inputs from their audio interface.
As mentioned earlier, OMNIBUS supports hardware audio inputs, allowing you to connect any audio device to your DAW of choice through OMNIBUS.
1. First, navigate to audio settings in your DAW of choice and select one of the OMNIBUS drivers as your DAW’s playback engine. Once set up, all audio travelling in or out of your DAW will have to be routed through OMNIBUS. For this example, OMNIBUS B is selected.
2. Once you’re set up with your playback, you’ll need to route your DAW’s output to your designated monitor outputs in OMNIBUS. For this example, we’re using external headphones.
Simply scroll along the routing matrix until you find your audio destination device and route your DAW’s audio to your output destination. In this case, OMNIBUS B channels 1 and 2 are travelling to channels 1 and 2 to our external headphones output. Now we can hear our DAW’s audio through the external headphones. This doesn’t have to be for just one audio device. You can route to as many audio output destinations as you see fit.
Step 2: Routing in the application
Now it’s time to move on to routing inputs into your DAW. Combining multiple audio devices has never been easier. For this example, we’ll combine our Macbook Pro’s built-in microphone, a UAD Apollo Interface audio interface, and two virtual inputs from OMNIBUS from an incoming LISTENTO stream.
To simplify navigating the OMNIBUS routing matrix, hide audio devices with the toggle on the device list, freeing up space in the routing matrix by removing unwanted devices.
As OMNIBUS B is our DAWs playback engine, any audio input routed to a designated OMNIBUS B channel will now show up on that channel in your DAW.
1. Let’s start by routing the audio interface into our DAW. Navigate to your designated audio interface on the audio inputs side of OMNIBUS’ routing matrix and locate channels 1 and 2. Route channels 1 and 2 from this interface into channels 1 and 2 of OMNIBUS B. Now channels 1 and 2 of our audio interface will travel through OMNIBUS into channels 1 and 2 of our DAW.
2. As mentioned earlier, we have a LISTENTO stream coming in through the LISTENTO app that we also want to record. The LISTENTO app’s output is set to OMNIBUS A channels 1 and 2. Now audio being received from the LISTENTO app will travel into OMNIBUS A’s channels 1 and 2. Now in OMNIBUS, route channels 1 and 2 from OMNIBUS A into channels 3 and 4 into OMNIBUS B.
3. Finally, you can route your built-in microphone into our session. Navigate to the built-in microphone in the device list and route channel 1 from the built-in microphone to Channel 5 of OMNIBUS B.
Now all of our devices are routed into our DAW, we can move on to setting up our DAW.
Step 3: Recording in your DAW
As our incoming audio is all mono microphone signals, we only need to create mono audio tracks.
1. Let’s create five mono audio tracks and cascade our audio inputs from inputs 1 – 6.
2. Now, all we need to do is arm the tracks (enable input monitoring) and start recording.
Make sure your DAW’s playback engine is the same OMNIBUS device you are routing audio to.
“OMNIBUS makes complex audio routing easy whether you’re an audio professional or enthusiast. Now with OMNIBUS 2.0, there is hardware input support and a new and much-improved user interface for greater flexibility. “
IGOR MAXYMENKO
AUDIOMOVERS COFOUNDER
In recent years, we’ve seen the rise of music producers live streaming on platforms such as Twitch and YouTube. Artists like Kenny Beats, Disclosure, and Ian Kirkpatrick regularly share educational and entertaining live streams that delve into their writing and music production processes.
Live streaming is an incredible way for artists, producers and engineers to create secondary revenue streams, and establish and nurture their online fan bases. It can also provide them with the opportunity to learn new skills, techniques and workflow hacks.
However, setting up your live stream can be a complicated process. Most opt for OBS (Open Broadcaster Software), a free, open-source software for video recording and live streaming.
Thanks to our newly updated OMNIBUS tool, it has never been easier to live stream audio from multiple applications using OBS. Below we break down how you can use OMNIBUS in conjunction with OBS when live-streaming sessions to an audience.
OMNIBUS is a software solution for seamless audio routing within your Mac. It allows you to route between applications and hardware inputs and outputs, split audio from one source to several destinations for easy A/B, combine audio input devices for DAW outputs and quickly sample audio from various sources.
It offers an intuitive interface and streamlines the audio routing workflow, making it accessible for all users, from beginners and absolute professionals.
OMNIBUS has an easy-to-use routing matrix, allowing you to simply click the connections between devices you want to make. It also allows you to save and recall complex routing setups with ‘snapshots’, which you can label for ease of finding in future and also has precise metering and support for hardware inputs and outputs meaning it can adapt to even the most demanding scenarios.
Let’s see how OMNIBUS makes capturing application audio easy with OBS.
OMNIBUS & OBS in action: How to live stream a music production session
For this example of using OMNIBUS and OBS, we are using the DAW Logic Pro. The same logic will also apply to your DAW of choice.
1. Set your DAW’s playback engine as one of OMNIBUS’ virtual drivers so that your DAW’s output will be travelling through the OMNIBUS application. For this example, we are using OMNIBUS B.
2. Before moving to OBS, you’ll first need to route your DAW’s audio to your designated monitor output so that you can hear your DAW. Simply drag channels 1 and 2 from OMNIBUS B to your chosen monitor output. In this case, a UAD Apollo interface.
3. In OBS, set up an audio input capture and assign it to one of the OMNIBUS drivers, here we’ve got it set to OMNIBUS A channels 1&2 as we’re only sending our stereo masters output to OBS.
4. Now let’s move to OMNIBUS and get started on our routing configuration. As we have our DAW’s playback set to OMNIBUS B, we’ll simply need to route OMNIBUS B’s channels 1 and 2 to OMNIBUS A’s channels 1 and 2. Once completed your DAW’s audio will be travelling directly into OBS
5. Now, let’s set up a microphone to use for our video commentary. As OMNIBUS 2.0 supports hardware inputs, we can utilise any channel from any of our hardware inputs and route them through OMNIBUS to another designated input for OBS. Doing this will allow you to adjust the levels between your microphone and your DAW audio.
If you’re just starting and don’t have a microphone yet you could always use your computer’s built-in microphone.
6. Let’s repeat the same steps as before in OBS and set up an audio capture device but this time, let’s use OMNIBUS C.
If you have a USB audio microphone such as a Snowball mic, you could select this right here. However, for this example I have a microphone plugged into my audio interface that I wish to use as my commentary microphone. All I need to do is route channel 1 from my audio interface into OMNIBUS C channel 1.
As this is a mono channel, however, you will notice on the input level for our mic in OBS that it is only capturing audio from the left channel. We’ve selected a mono signal and OBS is thinking it’s a stereo input. To amend this, simply navigate to advanced audio properties in your audio capture device for your microphone OBS and navigate to the mic input capture you created and change it from stereo to mono.
7. Now we’ve got our DAW’s audio and mic’s audio we’re now ready to start streaming or screen recording.
Before you start streaming, it’s good practice to test out your stream. Simply start recording and pass some audio from your daw and your microphone. Now play this video back and see whether the audio is being recorded.
Once you’re happy with your setup, you can go back into OMNIBUS and save this routing configuration for later use.
“OMNIBUS makes complex audio routing easy whether you’re an audio professional or enthusiast. Now with OMNIBUS 2.0, there is hardware input support and a new and much-improved user interface for greater flexibility. “
IGOR MAXYMENKO
AUDIOMOVERS COFOUNDER
As of the latest release of the INJECT plugin, Audiomovers supports Pro Tools’ new channel layouts and expanded track widths.
Audiomovers INJECT Version ver1.52 – Released 5th July 2023 – boasts support for all of the new Pro Tools channel layouts. The new Pro Tools version 2023.6 offers support for track bus and IO widths greater than 7.1.2 (specifically up to 7.1.6 in Pro Tools Studio and 9.1.6 in Pro Tools Ultimate), opening up support for Atmos mixing setups.
As of the latest release of LISTENTO plugin, Audiomovers supports Pro Tools’ new channel layouts and expanded track widths.
Audiomovers LISTENTO Version v2.94 – released 26 June 2023 – boasts support for all of the new Pro Tools channel layouts. The new Pro Tools version 2023.6 offers support for track bus and IO widths greater than 7.1.2 (specifically up to 7.1.6 in Pro Tools Studio and 9.1.6 in Pro Tools Ultimate), opening up support for Atmos mixing setups.
The support for Pro Tools’ new expanded channel widths comes on top of the existing partnership between Audiomovers and Avid, who have partnered on a bundle to bring remote audio collaboration to new and existing Pro Tools users:
– New annual Pro Tools Studio subscribers get a free year of LISTENTO Basic, – New annual Pro Tools Ultimate subscription get a free year of LISTENTO Pro. – All existing Pro Tools Studio and Ultimate customers get 25% off either a LISTENTO Basic or LISTENTO Pro annual subscription. – This Pro Tools Audiomovers promotion will run from June 21 to July 26, 2023.
We are excited to announce that Audiomovers have partnered with Avid on a bundle to bring remote audio collaboration to new and existing Pro Tools users.
Whether mixing hip hop or recording orchestral sessions for major motion pictures, Pro Tools and LISTENTO have become essential parts of the audio engineer’s workflow for rapid client feedback.
What’s LISTENTO?
LISTENTO from Audiomovers is a remote collaboration plugin that allows users to share uncompressed audio straight from the DAW. Users create and share links with clients or collaborators, which can then be opened in the DAW, in a web browser window, or on Audiomovers’ own apps for iOS and Android.
Stream audio in real-time from Pro Tools in up to 32-bit PCM/96 kHz quality
Stream 16-channel multichannel audio, or spatial up to 7.1.4
Adjust latency from 0.1s and stream bit rate for ultimate stability
Listen to the stream via a link – open in your web browser, on your phone, or in Pro Tools via Receiver plugin
The offer to any new Avid Pro Tools Subscribers is twofold:
Those who opt for Pro Tools Studio will receive a free year of LISTENTO Basic, while those who opt for Pro Tools Ultimate will receive a free year of LISTENTO Pro.
In addition, all existing Pro Tools subscribers will be offered 25% off either a LISTENTO Basic or LISTENTO Pro annual subscription.
Features
LISTENTO Pro
LISTENTO Basic
Simultaneous listener count
150 listeners
10 listeners
Up to 32-bit/96 kHz streaming quality
✓
✓
Adjustable latency and bitrate
✓
✓
Stream in up to 7.1.4 surround
✓
✓
Up to 16 multi-channel audio transmission
✓
✓
Stream MIDI
✓
–
Custom backgrounds
✓
–
Watch how you can record a LISTENTO stream directly into your Pro Tools session in three easy steps.
Set up an aux track and add the receiver plugin.
Send the output of the receiver aux to another aux track and set up an audio track with the input source set as the previous aux track.
Paste the streaming link you’ve been sent into the receiver plugin and record your audio track
“That’s one take, it’s the live vocals, the whole thing is live.” – Vance Powell
Maybe it’s working or jamming with a childhood hero or hearing a vocal that made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. This is #PinchYourself.
This time around, we hear from seven-time Grammy Award-winning producer, engineer, mixer and co-owner of Sputnik Sound Vance Powell (Chris Stapleton, Elle King, The White Stripes) lifts the veil and gives a behind-the-scenes look at the recording session of the iconic Chris Stapleton track Tennessee Whiskey.
Watch to discover his #PinchYourself moment.
Create your own once-in-a-lifetime moments with an extended one-month trial of LISTENTO, when you use the code PINCH at checkout.
It’s a cover. It was a cover of a George Jones song, so it was so different from George Jones version. That now nobody knows the George Jones version.
I’ve got quite a few of them with Chris Stapleton, we had a session called ‘Jams’ where it was just the band jamming and I walked in and our assistant Soral, she had the session open, but it wasn’t recording, but it was open and they were playing Tennessee whiskey. And I was like, oh, that’s cool, hit record.
So she hits record and was like, oh my gosh, that’s great. And went out and talked a little bit and we cut it and then we cut it again. And that’s the master.
And the thing is crazy is we just thought, oh, that’s it. That’s cool. Great. Next song. And then we played it for, uh, the background singers and the band, the band we were recording and they all freaked out and they were like, oh my God. And we were like, Well, we know it’s good, but they’re like, play that again. Play it again. Play that part again. You know,
That’s one take is live vocals. Live. The whole thing is live, so that’s pretty cool. Tennessee Whiskey, by the way, is the most played song at Waffle Houses in America. It’s the most played song just by the way.
“It’s all about creating an environment where you feel happy, safe and creative.” – Alina Smith
#WhereIWorkis where we visit the sacred spaces of producers, songwriters, engineers and artists to uncover how the world’s biggest records come together.
In this week’s episode, number-one-selling songwriter, record producer, and co-founder of LYRE Music, Alina Smith (ITZY, Red Velvet, Fall Out Boy), invited us into her LA home studio, a space adorned with treasured items, music memorabilia and unique furnishings that breathe positive energy and creativity and into her workflow.
WATCH FULL VIDEO
TRANSCRIPT
I would definitely say this space is a reflection of me and my husband because he built a lot of the things here like this desk.
I do everything here. I am very much like a homebody producer. A lot of the times they get invited to really nice studios and I’m like, can I not just do this at home?
Because I have all my gear that I like. I have the mics that I like. Everything is kind of set up for me and personalized, so that works really well for me.
I have a few fun things here in the studio. I have some signed records by groups like ABBA, Fleetwood Mac, Carole King, who’s one of my favorite songwriters and Aretha, who is one of my favorite singers.
You know, it’s just nice to have things here that I enjoy. I have this big, giant crystal on my desk, amethyst.
It’s all about creating the environment where you feel happy, safe and creative.
In the world of remote music collaboration, maintaining creative flow can be challenging, but is essential when producing high-quality music. This article aims to help those in creative fields to maintain their creative flow and continue producing high-quality work while working remotely.
Here we will provide insight into the challenges of remote collaboration and how to overcome them, including tips on communicating effectively, staying focused and organized, and staying motivated and engaged in the creative process.
Remote collaboration is becoming increasingly popular as it allows for creative partnerships with people from all over the world, regardless of geographical barriers. It also will enable musicians to efficiently work at their own pace, in their environment, and share their work with others.
Maintaining creative flow while collaborating remotely is crucial because it can help to ensure that the project stays on track and that the creative vision is fully realized.
Here are a few reasons why it’s crucial to maintain creative flow while collaborating remotely:
Enhances productivity: When creative flow is maintained, it can increase productivity and allow the collaborators to produce more work in a shorter time.
Fosters efficient communication: Collaborators who maintain creative flow are more likely to communicate frequently and effectively, leading to a better end product.
Improves quality: Collaborators can build on each other’s ideas and create a more cohesive and polished end product by maintaining creative flow.
Boosts motivation: When creative flow is maintained, it helps keep collaborators motivated and inspired, leading to a more positive and enjoyable working experience.
To maintain creative flow while collaborating remotely, it is essential to establish clear goals and expectations, maintain regular communication, and use LISTENTO which allows for real-time collaboration and sharing of ideas.
Regardless of whether you’re producing music, a podcast, a film score or any other project that requires high quality audio, our remote recording software, LISTENTO, meets the high standards of audio professionals.
Regardless of geographical distance, you can expect low latency, high quality audio streaming and recording that makes remote collaboration feel as if you’re in the same room, with no delays.
Challenges of Remote Audio Collaboration
Communication barriers
Communication barriers can have a significant impact on remote audio collaboration. When working remotely, audio collaboration often relies heavily on effective communication between team members to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that the project is progressing smoothly.
Communication barriers can arise when there is a lack of clarity or understanding or when technical issues prevent team members from communicating effectively.
Technical difficulties
Remote music collaboration technical difficulties include latency, synchronization, incompatible software/hardware, low-quality audio, and issues with file-sharing or cloud-based collaboration tools.
Latency issues and low-quality audio are some of the most common problems encountered when collaborating on music remotely due to the nature of data transmission over the internet. However, one can quickly amend these issues by using Audiomovers’ unique software, LISTENTO.
Latency is the delay between the time a sound is played or recorded and the time it is heard or processed. In other words, it is the delay between the input and output signals. In remote music collaboration, this delay can cause synchronization problems and timing issues between collaborators. This is especially true when working with real-time audio, such as live performances or recording sessions, where even slight delays can be noticeable and disruptive to the creative process.
Low-quality audio can also be a problem when collaborating remotely. Audio data is typically compressed for efficient transmission over the internet, which can result in a loss of quality. This can be especially problematic for music collaboration, where sound quality is a top priority. Additionally, network issues such as packet loss and bandwidth limitations can also cause audio quality to degrade, resulting in distortion, dropouts, and other issues.
To overcome these challenges, remote music collaborators often opt for LISTENTO, designed to minimize latency and ensure high-quality audio transmission.
With LISTENTO, you can enjoy lossless audio up to 32bit PCM with just 0.1 seconds delay. Find out more below, or start your free trial now.
Creative block can be a problem when collaborating remotely because it can slow down the creative process and make it more difficult to generate new ideas and stay on track. It can be incredibly challenging when collaborators are in different locations and unable to interact face-to-face, thus breaking the natural flow of bouncing ideas back and forth in a conversational manner.
Encountering creative blocks when collaborating remotely can cause significant issues. It can be helpful to maintain regular communication and check-ins, brainstorm and idea-generation sessions, take breaks to recharge and avoid burn-out, switch up the work environment, listen to music or other creative works, and try new techniques or approaches.
Maintaining a positive attitude, open-mindedness, being flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances or challenges are also essential.
Time zone differences
For several reasons, working in different time zones can be an issue when collaborating on music remotely.
First, it can be challenging to schedule virtual meetings or work sessions when collaborators are in different time zones. This can lead to delays in decision-making and problem-solving, which can slow down the creative process.
Second, if there is a significant time difference between collaborators, it can be challenging to communicate in real-time, especially if urgent issues need to be addressed. This can lead to miscommunications and delays in the collaborative process.
Third, working in different time zones can also impact the distribution of work and responsibilities. If collaborators are in different time zones, it may be necessary to divide tasks in a way that allows for work to be completed around the clock, which can be challenging to manage and coordinate.
It is essential to establish clear communication channels and protocols, use tools and technologies that facilitate collaboration across different time zones, and be flexible and adaptable in how work is organized and distributed. It’s also important to be respectful of each other’s work schedules and to find ways to accommodate different time zones in the collaborative process.
How to maintain creative flow when collaborating remotely.
Establish a shared creative vision: Collaborators should have a shared vision for the project to ensure everyone is working towards the same goal.
Utilize technology: Use LISTENTO which allows for real-time low latency audio sharing to ensure that all parties can collaborate seamlessly.
Keep communication lines open: Regular check-ins and progress updates help to maintain momentum and allow collaborators to troubleshoot any issues in real time.
Encourage creativity: Be open to new ideas and approaches, and create an environment where everyone feels comfortable to experiment and contribute.
Embrace collaboration: Collaborators should be willing to share ideas, collaborate on arrangements and melodies and be open to inputting and receiving feedback, aligned in the goal of making the project the best it can be.
Real-world example of successful remote collaboration using Audiomovers
Audiomovers is a software tool that allows musicians to stream high-quality audio in real time over the internet. Here are two real-world examples of successful remote music collaboration using Audiomovers:
Grammy-Award-winning mixing engineer Jessie Ray Ersnter recounts how he was able to mix Burna Boy’s sixth studio album ‘Twice As Tall’ whilst moving between Airbnbs in LA.
Utilizing the LISTENTO plugin and remote desktop technology, he was able to tap into his studio set-up, sending mixes to himself and working on them remotely. Burna Boy was able to listen in and give real-time feedback from across the globe.
In a recent episode of #TheMakingOf, we caught up with the number-one-selling songwriter and producer Alina Smith to lift the hood on Elli Moore’s infectiously catchy single ‘Bathing Suit’ and how she used LISTENTO to remotely collaborate in real-time.
Maintaining creative flow is essential when collaborating remotely because it allows artists and musicians to collaborate effectively and produce their best work. Creative blocks and technical difficulties can be standard when working remotely, making it essential to establish clear communication, maintain a consistent schedule, and use technology to facilitate the collaborative process.
Collaborators can stay inspired, focused, and productive by maintaining creative flow, resulting in a successful remote music collaboration.
To maintain creative flow, one should:
Establish clear communication
Maintain a consistent schedule
Use technology to facilitate the collaborative process
Set clear goals and objectives
Take breaks and practice self-care to avoid burnout.
By following these tips, collaborators can stay inspired, focused, and productive, resulting in a successful remote music collaboration.
We’re uncovering the biggest pinch-me-moments that the world’s most esteemed producers, engineers and mixers have experienced, from working with childhood heroes to winning awards or landing their first hit record, hear the stories that make you #PinchYourself.
In the latest episode of #PinchYourself we sit down with number-one-selling songwriter, record producer, and co-founder of LYRE Music, Alina Smith (ITZY, Red Velvet, Fall Out Boy) in her LA home studio.
Alina spoke to us about the importance of staying grounded, appreciating where you’re at in your career, and knowing that what once made you #PinchYourself might not do so now. It might just feel earned and even normal.
WATCH FULL VIDEO
TRANSCRIPT
When you’re very young, you think you’re gonna feel a certain way about your successes.
You think, wow, I’m just gonna be so happy if this thing happens for me. But when that thing happens, the thing is you’ve been working toward that moment for so long that it, it isn’t anti-climactic for necessarily.
It just feels very like, Normal. So all of my successes, I’ve never been like, wow, I can’t believe this is happening, cuz I’ve been building toward it and you know, really going through the grind to get to that spot.
So when you’re there you’re like, okay, great, I’m so, I’m so glad I’m here. As long as I’ve been doing this, everything feels kind of calm and nice and honestly I prefer it that point.
