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LANDR Sessions is a video chat app and streaming plugin for your DAW

Say goodbye to Zoom, Meet and Skype.

LANDR

Like almost everyone else, musicians have been forced to turn to remote collaboration to continue making music with their friends and bandmates through the pandemic. The only problem is that mainstream video chat apps like Zoom and Meet weren’t made with musicians in mind. Plugins like Cleanfeed allow you to sidestep problems like lackluster audio quality and missing features, but ultimately those are still band-aids.

A new video chat app from mastering service LANDR called Sessions promises to make online music collaboration almost as easy as it is to do in person. At the heart of Sessions is a plugin that pulls audio directly from the digital audio workstation (DAW) of your choice. LANDR claims there’s no compromise in audio quality since the software does away with a lot of the audio processing that apps like Zoom utilize to filter out things like background noise and echo. Sessions also allows you to share your screen, so the person or people you’re working with can see any changes you’re making in real-time.

The free version allows you and up to five other collaborators to join a call together and share 15 minutes of DAW audio. The Premium subscription, which will set you back either $8 per month or $50 annually, does away with the 15-minute restriction and allows you to video chat with up to 16 other people.

Sessions isn’t the first app to try and make remote production more practical. Last year, a company called Endless came out with an iOS and macOS app that turned the idea of working with other musicians into something of a multiplayer game. But where Endless Studio was more aimed at those just getting into the hobby, Sessions will appeal to professionals.