SessionCollab

Work on the same Ableton Live Set together, in real time.

Everyone has the Set open in their own Live, wherever they are. Add a clip or move a fader and it changes for everyone a moment later.

Launching soon for Windows and macOS.

Free to join. Hosting is $9 a month, after a 14-day trial. See pricing

For Ableton Live 12, every edition, on Windows and macOS. A Mac and a PC can share a session.

  • Mayahosting
  • SamBerlin
  • TheoTokyo
  • JunMontréal
In sync

Sam, Theo and Jun change Maya's Set at the same time.

A real recording of SessionCollab in Ableton Live 12, with Sam, Theo and Jun as a scripted demo session. Their mouse pointers are drawn on top to show who does what: SessionCollab doesn't share mouse pointers.

One person hosts. Everyone else joins with a link.

Each person who joins gets the host's Set in their own Live, samples included, and plays it through their own audio interface. Nothing is streamed, so playback stays as tight as Live on its own.

  1. Install SessionCollab on each computer. Then choose it once as a Control Surface in Live's settings.
  2. The host opens a Set and presses Start session.
  3. Send the invite link. It can be for editing or only for listening.

The SessionCollab window

Who's in the session, whether everyone is in sync, and each change as it happens, with who made it.

SessionCollab's session window: three people in sync, with each person's changes listed as they happen.
Sam's window while hosting Maya and Theo.
SessionCollab in a narrow window, with the session's activity in one column.

Narrow enough to sit beside Live

Make the window narrow and it folds into one column, so it fits beside Live. Close it and the session keeps running from the tray, or the menu bar on a Mac.

The whole Set stays in sync

Clips, notes, devices, the mixer, automation, tempo: whatever Live saves in the Set reaches everyone a moment after it changes. Two people can even work in the same clip at once.

Samples

Every sample goes to everyone, including the ones in Drum Racks and samplers, and is saved in their project. A plug-in's own sample library isn't sent.

Plug-ins

A plug-in someone adds shows up for everyone who has it, with the same sound. Whoever doesn't own it still hears it. More about plug-ins

Yes, VST plug-ins work

Add a plug-in to the Set and SessionCollab keeps its sound the same on every computer, even for someone who doesn't own it.

Sam turns the synth's own knobs, and a moment after Sam stops, Maya's copy sounds the same. It works the other way round too.

If you have the plug-in

It appears on the same track in your Live with the same sound, patch and all. Knobs follow as they're turned; changes made in the plug-in's own window, a moment after.

If you don't

You still hear it: a computer that has it plays the part and shares the audio. Install it later and it takes over by itself.

Plug-ins are never copied between computers: each person plays the ones they own.

Will I hear a delay?

No. Nothing you hear is streamed: your Live plays the song on your own computer, so it sounds exactly like working alone. Samples, and the sound of plug-ins you don't own, are copied to your computer first and play from there.

What travels are the changes. When someone moves a knob, the same knob moves in your Live a fraction of a second later.

Sam turns a knob and it turns in your Live along with it, usually well under a second behind.

When someone works offline

Take the Set on a train. When you're back, your changes merge in. If someone changed the same thing meanwhile, listen to both versions and keep yours, theirs or both.

SessionCollab's Conflicts tab: two offline changes collided, with buttons to compare them by ear and keep yours, theirs or both.
The Conflicts tab after a train ride.

Where your Set travels

Your Set goes to the people in the session and nobody else. Every session runs on SessionCollab's relay, which keeps the session's Set and samples for the people in it.

Before a session replaces the Set open in your Live, SessionCollab saves a copy of it.

Only the host pays

Joining a session is free, for as many people as the host invites. Hosting needs Pro.

Free

$0

For everyone the host invites.

  • Join any session you're invited to
  • Edit, or just listen, as the host allows
  • The whole Set, samples included

Available at launch

Pro

$9 a month, or $79 a year

For the person who hosts.

  • Host as many sessions as you like, with as many people
  • Invite links that can edit, and links that can only listen
  • On up to 3 computers

Available at launch

Starts with a 14-day free trial, no card needed.

Lifetime

$199 once

Pro, paid once.

  • SessionCollab 1.x and all its updates
  • Replaces a subscription you have, and refunds its unused time

Available at launch

Prices in US dollars. Checkout shows your currency and any tax, and every payment can be refunded within 14 days. All the billing details.

Questions

Do all of us need to pay?
No. Only the person who hosts a session needs Pro. Everyone they invite joins with a free account.
What does each person need?
Ableton Live 12, any edition including Intro and Lite, and SessionCollab, on Windows or macOS.
What if two of us move the same thing at once?
The first person to touch a control keeps it while they're moving it. The other person's move is undone, with a note saying who has it. Different things never collide: one of you can edit a clip's notes while the other moves its loop.
Can we work together over the internet?
Yes, from anywhere. Every session runs on SessionCollab's relay, which comes with Pro: nothing to set up, and people can join while the host is away.
Is it for other DAWs?
Not yet. Ableton Live comes first; other DAWs are planned.
Can I cancel, or get a refund?
Cancel any time from the app: Pro lasts until the end of what you paid for. Any payment can be refunded within 14 days. See the refund policy.

Something else? Write to [email protected].