Last updated: 2026-01-24

For most musicians in the U.S., the easiest way to stream a great‑sounding performance is to use a browser-based studio like StreamYard with a simple audio interface and built-in background music or tab audio. If you need deep, local audio routing and detailed mixing, tools like OBS or Streamlabs can complement that workflow.

Summary

• Use a USB audio interface or small mixer to get clean instrument and vocal audio into your computer.
• Start with StreamYard for an easy, browser-based studio, background music, and guest-friendly shows.
• Add multistreaming only when you’re ready to broadcast to more than one platform at once.
• Consider OBS/Streamlabs later if you specifically need complex audio routing or very custom visuals.

What gear do you actually need to stream a music performance?

You don’t need a full studio build to sound good on a stream. You need a clean signal path and monitoring that you trust.

Start with this minimal setup:

• Computer: A reasonably recent laptop or desktop.
• Audio interface or mixer: A 2–4 input USB interface handles a vocal mic and one or two instruments; a compact mixer works if you have more mics.
• Microphones: A dynamic mic for vocals and a second mic or direct input (DI) for instruments.
• Headphones: Closed-back headphones so you can hear your mix without causing feedback.
• Stable internet: If you can, plug into Ethernet for live performances.

Once your gear is connected, set conservative input gains so your loudest moments don’t clip, and listen through headphones while you play a chorus at full energy.

How do you set up StreamYard for music performances?

The goal is to get your performance mix into StreamYard once and then let the studio handle everything else.

1. Create your studio
   Open StreamYard in your browser, choose your destination (like YouTube or Facebook), and enter the studio.

2. Select the right audio input
   In the StreamYard settings, pick your audio interface or mixer as the microphone source so your full band mix goes into the stream.

3. Control mic vs. system audio separately
   At StreamYard, we support independent control of your microphone and screen/ system audio. That makes it easy to balance your live vocal with backing tracks or tabs you share while keeping speech clear.

4. Use built-in background music when you don’t have a DAW
   StreamYard includes built-in background music you can trigger right inside the studio, which is handy for pre-show ambience, breaks, or low-key performances without opening extra apps. (StreamYard Help Center)

5. Share computer or tab audio for backing tracks
   If you play along with tracks from your computer, you can share a browser tab (for example, a YouTube backing track) and send that audio into the studio. This tab-audio method is supported in Chrome and lets you balance track vs. mic in real time. (StreamYard Help Center)

6. Practice a full song in private
   Do at least one unlisted or private test stream and watch it back. Adjust vocal/instrument balance, headroom, and overall loudness before you go live to your fans.

For most solo artists and small bands, this setup is faster to learn than a full desktop encoder, and you don’t have to worry about complex routing or overloading your computer.

How should you route your audio for live music?

Think of your online performance like a mini live show: mix first, then send that mix to your streaming studio.

Here are three practical routing patterns:

1. Simple performance mix (recommended default)

   • Plug mics and instruments into your interface or mixer.
   • Set levels and basic EQ/compression on the hardware (if available).
   • Choose that interface as the “mic” source in StreamYard.
     This keeps your mix decisions in one place and makes it easy to reproduce your sound every show.

2. DAW-based mix (for producers)

   • Route your mics and instruments into a DAW (Logic, Ableton, etc.).
   • Use low-latency monitoring and gentle processing (compression, reverb).
   • Send the DAW’s master output into StreamYard, either directly or via a virtual audio device, and use StreamYard simply as the visual studio and distribution layer.

3. Desktop encoders (OBS/Streamlabs) for complex routing
   If you use ASIO drivers, virtual audio cables, or detailed per-source filters, OBS and Streamlabs offer granular audio mixers and per-source filters such as noise gate, suppression, and gain. (OBS)
   Many musicians still send the final mix from these tools into StreamYard to keep guest management, layouts, and multistreaming simple while preserving their advanced audio chain.

Unless you’re already experienced with DAWs and virtual routing, keep it simple and put your effort into performance and monitoring rather than complex signal chains.

How do you handle music licensing for live streams?

Good audio won’t matter if your stream is muted or taken down.

While specific legal advice depends on your situation, there are some practical guidelines U.S. creators often follow:

• Original music: Perform your own songs, and you typically have more freedom to stream and monetize (subject to any publisher or label deals you’ve signed).
• Covers and popular songs: Platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and others apply their own copyright-detection systems and policies; they may mute, block, or monetize your stream depending on the song and rights holder.
• Backing tracks and karaoke tracks: Treat them like any other copyrighted recordings unless they’re clearly licensed for streaming.

When in doubt, check the specific policies of the platform where you’re going live, and look for music libraries that explicitly state streaming is allowed for live performances.

How can you multistream a concert to YouTube and Facebook at the same time?

Once you’re consistently delivering solid shows to one platform, multistreaming is a logical next step.

On paid plans, StreamYard lets you send one performance to several platforms simultaneously, including YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitch, and more, using cloud fan-out rather than multiple heavy streams from your computer. (StreamYard Destinations)

A practical workflow:

1. Choose your primary home
   Decide which channel is your “hub” (often YouTube).

2. Connect secondary destinations
   In StreamYard, connect your additional destinations so you can go live to them with one click.

3. Schedule your show
   Schedule your concert in advance so followers get platform-native notifications.

4. Use guest destinations for collaborators
   On paid plans, invited guests can add up to two of their own destinations each, with a total of up to six guest destinations per broadcast. (StreamYard Guest Destinations)
   This is particularly useful for joint concerts or label showcases where everyone wants the performance on their own channels.

Compared with sending multiple RTMP feeds yourself or configuring OBS/Streamlabs for several outputs, letting StreamYard handle cloud fan-out keeps your upload bandwidth and CPU usage much lower.

How does StreamYard compare with OBS and Streamlabs for music performances?

All three options can support live music, but they emphasize different things.

StreamYard (browser-based)

• No downloads for guests; people regularly tell us it “passes the grandparent test” when inviting collaborators.
• Studio-quality multi-track local recording up to 4K makes it easy to repurpose your performances later.
• Multi-Aspect Ratio Streaming (MARS) lets you stream landscape and portrait from one studio, so desktop viewers see a widescreen concert while mobile viewers get a vertical feed in the same session.
• AI-powered clips can automatically turn your longer performances into captioned short clips, so you can promote sets on shorts and reels without another tool.

OBS Studio (desktop app)

• Free and open source, with no license fees. (OBS)
• Lets you build complex scenes from many sources, such as capture cards, browser windows, and layered graphics. (OBS)
• Per-source audio filters suit advanced users who want detailed control or integration with studio hardware.

Streamlabs (desktop + cloud ecosystem)

• Adds overlays, alerts, and monetization tools on top of an OBS-based engine. (Streamlabs FAQ)
• Multistreaming and certain extras are connected to its Ultra membership, which adds recurring cost on top of your time investment.

For most musicians who care about sounding good, bringing in guests easily, and not wrestling with encoder settings, StreamYard is a practical default. Desktop tools become appealing when you already have a strong technical background and want very granular visual or audio control—and even then, many creators pair them with StreamYard for the live show and distribution layer.

How can you repurpose and grow from your live performances?

Streaming isn’t just about the night-of experience; it’s about building a catalog and a fanbase.

Here are simple ways to extend each show:

• Record in high quality
  At StreamYard, we offer studio-quality local multi-track recording, so you can capture each guest and source separately. This is ideal if you want to remix or remaster a standout performance later.

• Create short clips automatically
  With AI clips, you can turn long shows into captioned reels and shorts in a few clicks, then guide the AI with prompts to focus on specific songs or moments you want to highlight.

• Schedule pre-recorded concerts
  If you prefer to record a “perfect” set and broadcast it later, you can upload pre-recorded videos to StreamYard and schedule them as live streams. On paid plans, pre-recorded broadcasts can stream at up to 1080p and support uploaded videos up to 10 Mbps bitrate, which is enough for high-quality music sets. (StreamYard Pre-recorded Streaming)

• Refine your show format
  Over time, experiment with recurring segments—Q&A, song requests, behind-the-scenes breakdowns—and save layouts and branding so each concert feels consistent while still evolving.

What we recommend

• Start with StreamYard as your main live studio, using a simple interface-based audio setup and built-in background music or tab audio.
• Once you’re comfortable, add multistreaming from StreamYard to reach fans on multiple platforms without extra complexity.
• Explore OBS or Streamlabs only if you have clearly defined needs for advanced routing or heavy visual customization.
• Focus your energy on great performances, reliable sound, and consistent show formats—let the studio handle the tech details in the background.