Collaboration

Share your DAW live

Stream your DAW's audio and tempo into a song session with the Lyric Genie Session plugin for Mac and Windows, so co-writers hear the track at full quality.

The Lyric Genie Session plugin sends your DAW's output into a song session. Your co-writers hear the track at full quality, without the voice processing a microphone gets, and see your DAW's tempo and position, such as ▶ 92 BPM · bar 17.

Only the person sharing their DAW needs the plugin. Everyone else just uses the web app.

Coming soon

What you need#

• A Mac with macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later, Apple silicon or Intel, or a PC with 64-bit Windows 10 or later. On a Mac the installer adds the VST3 and AU plugins; on Windows it adds the VST3 plugin. Windows on ARM can only use it in a DAW running in x64 emulation. The Windows installer isn't signed yet, so if Windows says it protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway.
• A DAW that loads VST3 or AU plugins. Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Cubase, FL Studio, Studio One, Reaper, Bitwig and GarageBand all do, as does any other software that loads VST3 or AU. Pro Tools is not supported, because it only loads AAX plugins.
• Lyric Genie open in Chrome or Edge, on the same computer as the DAW. The plugin talks to the browser tab directly on your computer. Safari may block that connection.

Installing the plugin#

1. Download the installer. Click Get the plugin in a song's Session section or on the session check, or Connect on the Your DAW row once you are in a session. Then click Download for Mac or Download for Windows in the Share your DAW live window. The installers are also at app.lyricgenie.app/downloads/LyricGenieSession-0.1.1-mac.pkg and app.lyricgenie.app/downloads/LyricGenieSession-0.1.1-windows.exe.
2. Open the installer and follow it.
   • Mac: the .pkg puts the VST3 and AU versions in your Mac's plug-ins folders, so every DAW on the Mac can find them.
   • Windows: the .exe puts the VST3 in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3, where Windows DAWs look. If Windows says it protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway. It can be removed from Installed apps.
3. If your DAW was open, restart it or rescan its plug-ins so it sees Lyric Genie Session.

Adding it to your DAW#

Insert Lyric Genie Session as an effect on your master bus. That way co-writers hear the whole mix. You can put it on any other bus or track instead if you only want to share that part.

The plugin does not change your own sound. Audio passes through it untouched, and a copy goes to Lyric Genie.

The plugin window#

Open the plugin in your DAW to see what it is doing.

Two controls change only what the session hears:

• The knob sets how loud your DAW is in the session, from −24 dB to +12 dB. Your own output is not affected.
• Mute send silences the session copy while your DAW keeps playing for you.

Connecting it to Lyric Genie#

The first time, tell the web app to look for the plugin:

1. With the plugin loaded in your DAW, open the Share your DAW live window. It opens from Get the plugin in the Session section, from Connect on the Your DAW row in Audio inputs, or from Connect your DAW… in the Add audio input menu.
2. Click Check for the plugin.
3. Chrome or Edge may ask to let Lyric Genie access other apps and services on this device. Allow it. That is the connection to the plugin on your own computer. Nothing goes over the internet until you share in a session.

If you are not in a session, the window says Found it. It'll share when you start a session. If you are, it starts sharing straight away.

After that first time, this browser on this computer looks for the plugin by itself. The session check names your DAW, for example Steinberg Cubase is ready. It shares when the session starts. (or Your DAW is ready when the DAW does not give its name), and once you are in, your DAW is shared without you doing anything.

Sharing it in a session#

In a session, Your DAW sits right under your mic in Audio inputs.

• Shared. The row has a meter, a volume slider for everyone, a mute button and an × to stop sharing. Your DAW's transport shows on the row: ▶ or ■, the tempo, and the bar and beat while it plays. Co-writers see the same on your row in their list.
• Not shared yet. The row says your DAW is ready to share. Click Share.

The plugin does not share itself when a co-writer is already sharing audio in the session, so two tracks do not play over each other. Click Share on the row when you want yours in.

If you stop sharing your DAW with the ×, it stays off until you leave and rejoin the session, or click Share again.

Using it in another tab#

The plugin connects to one Lyric Genie tab at a time. If another tab has it, the row says In use in another Lyric Genie tab and the button reads Use it here. Click it to move the plugin to this tab. The other tab shows Your DAW moved to another Lyric Genie tab and does not take it back by itself.

When sharing stops#

The session shows why:

• The plugin stopped (closed in the DAW, or the DAW quit). Open the DAW and the plugin again, then click Share.
• Your DAW's sample rate changed. Share the plugin again. Changing the project's sample rate breaks the stream. Click Share to start it again at the new rate.

If the plugin is not found#

Check for the plugin says Not found with the usual reasons:

• The plugin is not installed. The message links to the installer.
• The DAW is closed, or the plugin is not loaded on a track or bus. The plugin only answers while it is running inside your DAW.
• The browser was not allowed to reach this computer. If you said no when Chrome or Edge asked, click let Lyric Genie access apps on this device in the message. It copies the address of this site's settings. Paste it into the address bar, set Apps on device to Allow, and check again.

Lyric Genie also has to be open on the same computer as the DAW. A browser on another machine cannot see it.

If the plugin cannot open its connection#

Each copy of the plugin needs a free connection on your computer, and there are five. A second copy, in another track or another DAW, takes the next one. If the plugin window says Can't open its connection, all five are in use. Remove copies of the plugin you are not using. After a DAW quits, its connection can stay taken for about a minute.