Music Career Finder

Start Here:

1. 1. Are you a Musician/Performer or are you just looking for a career in the Music Business? *This question is required.
2. 2. What are you most interested in? Select as many as you like. *This question is required.
Female DJ using mixer during live DJ set

DJ

Asian female singer in studio with mic

Singer

Music Director with headphones around her neck in the on-air studio at the radio station

Music Director

Closeup on an Orchestrator's hand writing notes on sheet music

Orchestrator

Young Black male Drummer playing the drums

Drummer

Young female Audio Engineer with soundboard in recording studio

Audio Engineer

Young female Pianist at piano

Pianist

Young black male Music Producer in recording studio

Music Producer

Mastering engineer using mixing console in recording studio

Mastering Engineer

Record Producers working in a music studio

Record Producer

Female Guitarist in recording studio

Guitarist

Songwriter with acoustic guitar writing lyrics in notebook

Songwriter

Lyricist listening to music and writing ideas in her notebook

Lyricist

Ceiling of opera theatre with crowd taking their seats

Opera Singer

Personal Manager in the recording studio with the band he manages

Personal Manager

Young female Bassist with her band

Bassist

Music Teacher showing bass to young male music student

Music Teacher

Concertmaster playing his violin

Concertmaster

Close up on a Composer's hands playing the piano

Composer

Director of A&R wearing headphones

Director of A&R

Online music recording has become more and more popular in recent years.

Technology continues to improve at a super fast rate.

And on the one hand, this is good because it allows more musicians access to music-making tools.

But are the online digital audio workstations (DAWs) the right fit for you? Let’s talk about the good, the bad, and the different online DAWs you can check out.

How To Record Music Online

Online music recording is when you use a website as your digital audio workstation. You would still use an audio interface, and all of the work you do is saved to the cloud (i.e. the website’s hard drives). Then you can download the final song when you’re done. This is opposed to using a piece of software as your DAW, like Logic, Pro Tools, or Ableton.

There are some free online music recording services that are free, but they also have limited features unless you pay a subscription.

As you might be able to guess, you could run into some problems with recording music online. But there are some interesting benefits too.

What is the meaning of music recording?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

“Music recording” simply means putting music into a physical or digital format that can be saved as an audio file that can then be played and/or reproduced.

The Benefits of Recording Music Online

Let’s take a look at some of the good things about recording music online…

  • Convenience: you can create and edit music from anywhere with an internet connection using almost any computer. This can be useful for musicians who are on the road and also don’t have a computer with recording software.
  • Cost: many online recording platforms are available for free or at a low subscription cost.
  • Collaboration: several online music recording platforms have built-in collaboration tools that allow you to work with other musicians in real-time. This can be a great way to immediately share ideas and get feedback on your music.
  • Flexibility: you can experiment with different sounds and effects without the need for expensive equipment. You can also save your projects without worrying about taking up storage on your computer.
  • Distribution: once you’ve finished recording your music, many of these platforms make it easy to share your music online directly from the online DAW.

How can I record my own music?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

Anyone can record music at home nowadays. You can either use a piece of software called a digital audio workstation (DAW) or an online DAW through one of the many music recording platforms.

Hey, what do you think about trying our new Music Career HelperMusic Career Helper really quick? It’s totally free and could help get your career moving fast! Give it a try. It’s totally free and you have nothing to lose.

The Disadvantages of Recording Music Online

Okay, now let’s talk about the disadvantages of online music recording. Some of these may be obvious to you…

  • Dependence on technology: this is probably the biggest issue. Recording music online requires a stable internet connection and a device with sufficient processing power to run the website. If there are technical issues, like an interruption to your WiFi, it can disrupt your recording process and you could lose your work.
  • Limited control: you may have less control over the sound and mix compared to recording with a software DAW. This is simply because many of the features of a software DAW may not be available with an online DAW.
  • Collaboration challenges: while collaboration can be a great advantage with online recording, it can also lead to some problems. All parties need to have a stable internet connection, and there could also be lag.

Online Music Recording Platforms

If recording music online sounds like something you’d like to try, here are a few websites to check out…

Where can I record music for free?

Caleb J. Murphy (CareersInMusic)

You can either get a free digital audio workstation (DAW), like Reaper, or use a free online DAW, like BandLab. Either way, you don’t have to have any money to start making music at home.

Soundtrap

Recently acquired by Spotify, Soundtrap is probably the best-known cloud-based DAW. The price ranges from a limited free account to an $18/month (paid monthly) account.

With the free account, you get:

  • Unlimited projects
  • 4960 loops
  • 440 instruments and sounds
  • 150k+ sound effects from freesounds.org
  • Soundtrap Originals sound packs every second week

Here are some of the main benefits:

  • Virtual instruments included
  • Plenty of basic effects, like reverb, delay, and EQ
  • Collaboration tools, like the ability to collaborate on the same project with someone at the same time and use video or text chat
  • Tons of royalty-free loops and samples
  • Educational resources for teachers, like lesson plans and tutorials

BandLab

In addition to their online DAW, BandLab offers other resources, like online mastering, song idea tools, gig opportunities, and more. And it’s all 100% free.

The most compelling reason to use BandLab is that, on top of the online DAW and royalty-free sounds, you get extra stuff to help you promote your music, earn money, land gigs, and enter contests.

Audiotool

Audiotool is a totally free online DAW with a ton of features. Here are some of the things you get:

  • Over 1,000,000 samples
  • Over 200,000 device presets
  • 5 synth sounds
  • 3 drum machines
  • A bunch of effects and editing tools for mixing and production
  • Collaboration tools that let you work in real-time with others

Amped Studio

AmpedStudio is a free online recording site that runs on Google Chrome, Opera, or Vivaldi. The free account gives you:

  • Unlimited Projects
  • 400+ Audio & Midi files
  • 5 Virtual Instruments
  • 10 Virtual Effects
  • Demo recording and desktop imported audio (cannot export your project)

While the Premium account for $4.99/month gives you:

  • Unlimited Projects
  • 10,000+ Audio & Midi files
  • 9 Virtual Instruments
  • 10 Virtual Effects
  • Save and export recording and desktop imported audio
  • Automation of Device Parameters
  • Project Sharing

Recording Software Is Better Than Online Music Recording

In my opinion, using a piece of recording software is a much better option than online music recording. And there are DAWs you can use for free, like my personal favorite Reaper.

Here’s why I believe software DAWs are better than online DAWs:

  • Sound quality: some DAWs can produce higher-quality audio than online recording platforms. This should be the only reason I list, but I’ll continue.
  • Offline access: software DAWs and the work you do with them are stored on your computer and your external hard drives. So you don’t need any internet access to create music. But with online DAWs, you’re limited to when and where you can create.
  • Speed: because online DAWs rely on high-speed internet access, a DAW on your computer will be faster than an online DAW. You’ll be processing and editing and working with large audio files, so you need to have reliable power and speed.

That all being said, online music recording platforms can be a great introduction for beginner producers who don’t have a computer that can handle a software DAW.

Site Search
We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. This includes personalizing content and advertising. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies, revised Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.