How to Split Audio Tracks in OBS to avoid Copyright Music getting in your VOD

 If you're a Twitch streamer, and like to save your VOD's or repost them to Youtube, you know that having copyrighted sounds or music in your replay VOD will get you muted, or even banned from the platform.

Fortunately, OBS has a way to work around that.  You can specifiy in OBS what tracks to send audio to.  Here's a quick explainer on how to split audio sources in OBS and route them to different tracks.

First, Disable Desktop Audio

 

Open the Sources for your Scene, find desktop audio and click the eyeball to disable it.  Or simply delete it.

Why?  Desktop audio plays all sounds from the computer through the stream.  If you have something playing that's copyright, it'll go on the main stream and the VOD, which is what we want to avoid.

Also, if you have both Desktop Audio and an audio source for your game or alert, you'll hear it twice - it's doubled or echoing in the stream. 

 

Second, Capture your Game Audio

 

Call it 'Game Audio Source' or something.  Select the game you are playing from the next window, just like you would do for the Game Capture source. Yes, you will have to update this each time you play a different game.  OR create one for every game you play.  Whatever works for you.

 

 Third, Create an Audio Source for your Copyright Sounds and Music

For instance, you want to use StreamElements with some sounds you ripped from a CD or DVD for alerts.  All copyrighted.  So double click on the StreamElements source (or whatever browser source you're using that may send copyright sound out) and check the  'Control Audio in OBS' box.  That creates a new item in the sound mixer. 

 

Fourth, Assign Tracks. 

Fourth-point-one: Ensure Twitch is using a VOD track

 

Open File-Settings.  Go to the Output  tab.  Choose 'Advanced' from the dropdown at the top. Choose the Streaming tab.  Look for the Twitch VOD line  Check that box.  And put a dot in radio button #2.  That makes all audio from Track 2 go to the VOD.  How do we do that?

Four-point-two: Really assign tracks now.

 

Hopefully you can zoom in on that one.  Here's a closer view of the setting. 

 

 

There's two things going on here.  First, the third track is my StreamElements browser source.  I'd not be able to hear it announce a follower or raid or bits, since it's playing in the *viewers* browser unless I set it to 'Monitor and output'.  All of the other sources I have set to Monitor Off, since they are playing on my local computer and I already hear them.

Second, you see the tracks.  Everything is getting played on track 1.  That's the Stream Track.  But the last two sources (StreamElements and the music program Tidal) do not have Track 2 checked.  That's the VOD track.  So, after your stream when you publish the stream to your VOD, Track 2 will NOT be present, and none of the copyright audio will be present, keeping the mute and strike boogyman away.

 

Fifth - Recording Locally

If you're recording while streaming to a local file, just jump over to File - Settings - Output - Advanced Dropdown - Recording tab.  You were just there a second ago.  Now, in the Recording Settings you see the line 'Audio Track'?  You can pick which (of 6!) tracks you want to feed to your local recording.  Choose "2" again.  Why?  Because as we set above, track 2 does not have any copyrighted sounds playing through it. So your local recording that you're going to edit and post to Youtube, TikTok or Insta won't have any copyright audio in it!

 

That's the long and short of it - hope it helps someone.

There's a much less verbose guide at OBS on their Twitch VOD Track Guide.