How to remove background music from your stream

When you're streaming, it's imperative to have crystal clear audio for your audience to enjoy. But sometimes, life happens and you end up with interrupted audio, mic feedback, and (even worse) background music that could get you copyright-claimed.

• Live streaming is growing on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming, allowing real-time interaction and community building.
• Using copyrighted music in streams can lead to legal consequences, such as muted audio, strikes, or channel suspension.
• Removing background music improves audio quality, enhances viewer experience, and protects content monetization.
• Tools like Twitch's Advanced Audio Mixer, Streamlabs, OBS, and ElevenLabs Voice Isolator help remove or isolate background music for cleaner, professional-grade audio.
• ElevenLabs Voice Isolator uses AI to clean audio, ensuring compliance with copyright rules and improving viewer satisfaction. Try it for free here.

In this post, we'll discuss different ways to remove background music from your streams and explain more about ElevenLabs Voice Isolator, a powerful tool for isolating speech and eliminating unwanted background noise.

The perils of poor audio quality

Live streaming is a big part of the online world, with platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming at the forefront. These platforms allow creators to share live content with a large audience worldwide, creating lively communities and allowing real-time interaction.

However, when live streaming, it is important to be cautious about using copyrighted music. Platforms like Twitch and YouTube enforce strict rules on copyrighted content, and violations can lead to consequences like muted audio, copyright strikes, or even channel suspension. Avoiding copyrighted music keeps you out of trouble and makes your content more professional and enjoyable for your audience.

As well as copyright issues, poor quality audio results in a poor quality listening and viewing experience for your audio. No one wants to hear a mic crackling, or the roar of traffic outside. A professional gamer with a large audience needs clear, crisp audio to offer the best viewing experience.

One way to clean up your recording and remove background music is to use a Voice Isolator from ElevenLabs. This tool uses the power of AI to identify and eliminate music, mic feedback, and any other sounds your recording picked up, to deliver a crystal clear, professional-grade stream.

Why you may want to remove music from your stream

Let's take a look at some of the reasons why streamers may wish to remove music from their VODs.

Copyright issues

Using music you don't have permission to use can have serious legal consequences. When you use copyrighted music in your streams, the creators and owners of the music have the right to take legal action against you. 

Many streaming platforms have systems that automatically detect when copyrighted music is being used, and they can take actions like giving you a strike. Your channel can be closed down if you get three strikes on platforms like YouTube. 

On Twitch, repeated violations can lead to your account being suspended or permanently banned. These strikes not only put your channel at risk but can also harm your reputation in the community.

Viewer experience

When you're streaming, background music can make it hard for people to hear you and the game. Viewers often prefer clear audio without distracting music. Removing background music helps ensure a better experience for your audience.

Content monetization

Ensuring that you do not use copyrighted music is essential to protect your earnings. Platforms like Twitch and YouTube have different ways for you to make money, such as ads, subscriptions, and sponsorships. But if your content has copyrighted music, it can cause problems.

The use of copyrighted music significantly affects ads and sponsorships. Advertisers don't want their ads on content that breaks copyright laws, and they might stop supporting you if there are issues. Also, using copyrighted music can lead to demonetization, where the platform stops showing ads on your videos so that you won't earn as much.

Content without copyrighted music is more likely to be shared and supported. People who watch videos and other creators are more interested in content that won't get them in trouble for copyright. This can help your videos reach more people and earn you more money. By ensuring your content follows copyright rules, you're protecting and improving your streaming income.

How to delete music from your Twitch stream VOD

You can remove music from your Twitch VOD in a couple of ways. Let's take a look:

Twitch's built-in tools

If you need to delete background music from your Twitch stream VOD, Twitch offers some tools to help you with that. One way is to use the Advanced Audio Mixer. Here's a guide on how to do that:

1. Log in to your Twitch account and go to your Creator Dashboard.

2. Click "Settings" and "Channel" in the left-hand menu. 

3. In the "Channel" settings, go to the "Advanced Settings" tab.

4. Scroll down to the "Audio Mixer" section and click "Enable" to activate the Advanced Audio Mixer.

5. Once enabled, you'll see a list of your audio sources. Find the source you use for music and click on the cogwheel icon next to it.

6. Look for the option labeled "Exclude this source from VODs" and check the box next to it.

7. Click "Save" to apply the changes.

If you want to edit your VODs after streaming, you can use Twitch's video editor:

1. Log in to your Twitch account and go to the Creator Dashboard.

2. Click "Content" and "Video Producer" in the left-hand menu.

3. Find the VOD you want to edit and click on it.

4. Click the "Highlight" button to open the video in the Twitch video editor.

5. In the editor, you can trim and cut sections of your VOD.

6. Play through the VOD and identify sections with background music that you need to remove.

7. Use the editor's tools to cut out these sections or mute the audio during these parts.

8. Save your changes and publish the edited VOD, free from unwanted background music.

These tools can help you manage and remove background music from your Twitch VODs, ensuring your content complies with copyright regulations and provides a clear viewing experience for your audience.

Manual editing

If you want to remove background music from your Twitch videos after streaming, here's how to do it manually using Twitch's video editor. Here's a quick guide:

1. Go to your Twitch account and go to the Creator Dashboard.

2. Click "Content" and "Video Producer" in the left-hand menu.

3. Find the video you want to edit and click on it.

4. Click the "Highlight" button to open the video in the Twitch video editor.

5. In the video editor, you trim and cut sections of your video. Play through the video and identify parts with background music that you want to remove.

6. Use the editor's tools to cut out these sections or mute the audio during these parts.

7. Save your changes.

8. Publish the edited video, which will be free from the unwanted background music.

Using Twitch's tools, you can effectively manage and remove background music from your videos, ensuring your content complies with copyright rules and the regulations Twitch imposes and giving your viewers a better experience.

How to remove music with Streamlabs

If you're using Streamlabs to stream, you might want to remove background music from your Twitch VODs. Here's how you can do it:

1. Open Streamlabs OBS and go to "Advanced Audio Settings."

2. Click on the Gear Icon next to your music source in the mixer to open the advanced settings.

3. In the "Tracks" column, uncheck the boxes next to the music source so it's not included in the VOD track.

4. Go to "Settings"> "Output" and click the settings gear icon at the bottom left of Streamlabs.

5. In the "Output" tab, change the "Output Mode" to "Advanced."

6. Under the "Recording" tab, find "Twitch VOD Track" and set it to a different track number (e.g., track 2).

7. Save your settings by clicking "Done."

By doing this, your stream will no longer include background music in your Twitch VODs.

How to remove background music with OBS

If you want to remove background music from your Twitch VODs using OBS, you can do so with a few simple steps:

1. Open GoXLR and go to "ROUTING." Then, uncheck the "Music" box from the "Stream Mix" row.

2. In OBS Studio, go to "File" then "Settings" and "Output." Change the output mode to "Advanced", check "Twitch VOD Track" and select a channel number different from your main audio track (e.g., track 2).

3. Add "Audio Input Capture" by clicking the "+" under "Sources," choose "Audio Input Capture," and select your music device.

4. Configure "Advanced Audio Properties" by clicking the cogwheel next to your music source in the mixer and selecting "Advanced Audio Properties."

5. Uncheck the box for the Twitch VOD track number you set earlier in the "Music" panel, then click "Close" to apply the changes.

How to remove background music using ElevenLabs Voice Isolator

ElevenLabs has an excellent AI-powered audio tool called the Voice Isolator. It's perfect for eliminating background noise, like music, from your audio recordings. Whether you're a streamer, podcaster, or video maker, Voice Isolator can help you isolate clear speech from any audio file.

How Voice Isolator works

The Voice Isolator tool is great for streamers who want to improve their audio quality. It removes any background noise or music, ensuring your content sounds clear and polished. This helps you follow copyright rules and ensures your viewers have a great experience.

For a detailed demonstration, check out this YouTube tutorial, where Omar gives a comprehensive demo of the ElevenLabs Voice Isolator API.

Practical steps for using ElevenLabs Voice Isolator

1. Upload Your Audio File:
2. • Visit the ElevenLabs Voice Isolator page.
   • Click on "Upload Audio" and select the audio file you want to clean.

2. Isolate the Voice:
3. • Once your file is uploaded, the tool automatically starts isolating the voice.
   • Depending on the file size, the process typically takes a few seconds to a couple of minutes.

3. Download the Cleaned Audio:
4. • After processing, you can listen to a preview of the isolated audio.
   • If you're satisfied with the result, download the cleaned audio file.

4. Use the API for Automation (Optional):
5. • ElevenLabs provides an API for more advanced users to automate the voice isolation process.
   • Integrate the API into your application to clean audio files programmatically.

Why use ElevenLabs Voice Isolator?

Accuracy: The Voice Isolator effectively isolates speech, ensuring your audio is free from background music and noise.

Ease of Use: With a user-friendly interface, anyone can quickly clean their audio without technical expertise.

Professional Quality: Enhance your audio content to a professional standard, making it more engaging for your audience.

Use the ElevenLabs Voice Isolator to enhance your streams and recordings, comply with copyright rules, and provide an excellent viewing experience.

Final thoughts

Live streaming is popular on platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook Gaming, but using copyrighted music can lead to issues. Removing background music helps follow copyright rules and makes content more professional and enjoyable for viewers.

The blog post covered different ways to remove background music from your streams. Using Twitch’s Advanced Audio Mixer and video editor helps manage VODs and remove unwanted music. Configuring Streamlabs settings ensures your VOD track is free from background music, and OBS Studio provides tools to handle audio sources effectively.

ElevenLabs Voice Isolator is a powerful tool to clean your audio and isolate speech from any unwanted background music. By following these methods, you can ensure that your content is free of copyrighted music, protecting your channel from legal issues and making your viewers happier.

Take control over your stream’s audio quality with ElevenLabs Voice Isolator. Clean your audio and isolate speech from background music to make your streams clear, professional, and compliant with copyright rules.   

Try ElevenLabs Voice Isolator now.