BeatStars provides a platform for music creators to sell and distribute tracks globally. Choosing between its “Starter” and “Professional” plans depends on your needs.
As a former Professional plan subscriber, I valued its custom Pro Page with a domain for branding. However, I transitioned to WordPress for greater design control, flexibility, and SEO capabilities, making the Starter plan more suitable for me. Here’s my advice:
Website Usage: If you manage a dedicated website (e.g., WordPress), the Starter plan may suffice.
Branding: For beginners without a website, the Professional plan’s custom Pro Page boosts professionalism and visibility.
Budget: Weigh the cost of the Professional plan against your goals and resources.
Choose the plan that aligns with your priorities for success.
BeatStars has recently introduced a change concerning the Marketplace service fee at checkout – an update that was teased last month and has now been successfully integrated.
BeatStars Publishing is a publishing management service provided by BeatStars. In 2020, it partnered with Sony Music Publishing. By joining BeatStars Publishing, your copyrights are effectively registered and collected. In addition to global royalty collection, being a member of BeatStars Publishing provides opportunities for placements, and the chance to work with established and emerging artists. BeatStars Publishing can be considered an important next step in your music career.
What are the benefits of using BeatStars Publishing?
AI Opportunities: Use AI for unique vocals and full creative control.
Conclusion Leaving lease beats allows you to fully pursue your artistic vision, experiment freely, and grow as a producer. Take the leap and unleash your potential.
Yes, you can register your music with BeatStars Publishing and distribute it to streaming platforms via Soundrop simultaneously. These two services handle different aspects of your music career:
BeatStars Publishing: This service focuses on collecting publishing royalties, including performance and mechanical royalties, through its partnership with Sony Music Publishing. You can register your tracks on BeatStars Publishing to ensure royalty collection from global PROs and societies. The registration process involves providing detailed information about your tracks, collaborators, and splits.
Soundrop: This is a music distribution platform that enables you to release your music on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube Music. It also supports cover song licensing and provides transparent royalty reports. Soundrop handles the distribution side but does not manage publishing royalties.
Using both services together allows you to distribute your music widely while ensuring you collect all applicable royalties. There is no conflict between these platforms since they serve complementary purposes.
From Ableton Live 11.2 onwards, especially on Apple Silicon Macs, you can now use certain AUv3-compatible iPad and iPhone apps as Audio Unit (AU) plugins directly within Ableton Live on your Mac. This opens up a wide range of creative possibilities by integrating mobile music apps into your desktop production workflow.
Requirements
Apple Silicon Mac: Only Macs with Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, etc.) are supported. Intel Macs are not compatible for this feature.
macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later: You need macOS 11 or newer.
Ableton Live 11.2 or later: AUv3 support is officially available from Live 11.2.
App must support AUv3 and Mac (Apple Silicon): The iPad/iPhone app must be labeled as AUv3-compatible and also support Mac (Apple Silicon). If the App Store indicates Mac compatibility, you’re good to go.
How to Use AUv3 Apps in Ableton Live
Install the App from the Mac App Store
Search for the desired AUv3 app on the Mac App Store and install it.
If you already purchased the app on iPad/iPhone, you can usually install it on your Mac at no extra cost (as long as the app supports Mac).
Enable Audio Units in Ableton Live
In Live, go to Preferences > Plug-Ins and enable “Audio Units”.
Verify the App Appears in Live
The installed app should now appear in Live’s plugin browser under Audio Units (AUv3).
If it appears, you can load it onto a track like any other plugin.
Important Notes
Only Mac-compatible AUv3 apps work: Not all iPad/iPhone AUv3 apps are available or functional on Mac. Always check the App Store for Mac compatibility before purchasing or installing.
Some apps may have incomplete UI or limited functionality: Depending on the app, certain features or the user interface may not work perfectly on Mac.
AUv3 MIDI effects are not supported in Live: Only audio effects and instruments are supported. MIDI output from AUv3 plugins may be limited or unavailable in Ableton Live.
Not all features are guaranteed: Some AUv3 plugins may have restricted features (such as MIDI output) or may not work as expected due to differences between iOS and macOS environments.
For Audio-Only Use (Non-AUv3 or Non-Mac-Compatible Apps)
If you want to use the audio from an iPad/iPhone app that doesn’t support AUv3 or isn’t Mac-compatible, you can stream audio from your device to Ableton Live via USB using apps like Studiomux. This method allows you to capture audio from virtually any mobile app, even if it can’t run natively on your Mac.
Summary Table
Item
Requirement/Note
Supported Macs
Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3, etc.) only
Supported OS
macOS 11 or later
Ableton Version
Live 11.2 or later
App Requirement
AUv3 support and Mac (Apple Silicon) compatibility
Setup
Enable Audio Units in Live preferences
Notes
Not all apps supported, some may have limited features
Conclusion
Both iPad and iPhone AUv3 apps can be used as Audio Unit plugins in Ableton Live on Mac, provided they are labeled as Mac (Apple Silicon) compatible. Always check the App Store for Mac compatibility before installing, as not all AUv3 apps are available for Mac.
Soundrop stopped approving my releases and became unresponsive from around February to April this year. That alone made me lose trust in them, but recently, my releases have also been frequently removed from automatic claiming and curating services. On top of that, they now require you to fill in the names of contributors like “producer,” “engineer,” and “composer” when entering track metadata. I assume this is a measure against AI-generated music. In any case, regardless of whether I use AI for music or not, I don’t want to use a distributor with an anti-AI policy.
If you look at this help page, you can see the following statement.
A note about AI content:
Soundrop is unable to distribute any content generated by artificial intelligence. Even if the AI generator you’re using allows commercial use of what you made, there’s no way to ensure unique sounds or rights compliance.
