Comparison of Remote Music Performance Software

When playing music remotely, musicians must reduce or eliminate the issue of audio latency in order to play in time together. While standard web conferencing software is designed to facilitate remote audio and video communication, it has too much latency for live musical performance.[1][2] Connection-oriented Internet protocols subject audio signals to delays and other interference which presents a problem for keeping latency low enough for musicians to play together remotely.[3][4][5] Software created specifically to minimise or eliminate some of the issues with Internet-related audio latency enables musicians to perform live music together over domestic broadband connections. The use of various compression and other techniques, together with affordable low-latency audio interface hardware (which most of the systems listed here are also optimised to work with), has reached a state in which it is practical for even large numbers of musicians to play or sing together without experiencing significant problems.[6][7][8]

The following table compares key features of software written for the expressed purpose of allowing musicians to perform music together over the Internet. It does not attempt to cover subjective features such as sound quality or ease of use. However, some software on the list may address different aspects of remote collaboration better than others, or may be more suited to certain musical genres.

Name  | Licence  | Charge  | Architecture  | Platforms  | Session type [a] | Max. participants  | Synch. [b] | Video  | Codec  | Sample rate  | Bitrate  | First release  | Current release  | Date

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Koord | GPL  | Freemium  | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android  | Closed  | Up to 75  | None  | Yes  | Opus  | 48 kHz  | 132-894 kbit/s  | 2021  | 1.4.47  | 2023-01-28
Jamstud.io | Proprietary  | Free  | P2P  | Win, Mac, Linux  | Open & Closed  | 6  | None  | Yes  | Uncompressed  | 44.1 kHz  | 16-bit  | April 2021  | 1.24  | 2021-11-9
Sublive | Proprietary  | Free/donationware  | P2P  | Win, Mac  | Open & Closed  | 5  | Audio track[9] | Yes  | Opus  | 48 kHz  | 32-384 kbit/s  | May 2021  | 0.42  | 2021-09-21
Groovesetter | Proprietary  | Free plan or Free Trial  | P2P  | Win, Mac  | Closed  | 8 Locations  | Mixed[10] | No  | Uncompressed  | From 44.1kHz to 192kHz  | 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit  | May 2021  | 1.2.13  | 2021-08-08
4D Jam Connect | Proprietary  | Freemium  | P2P  | Win, Mac, iOS, Android  | Open & Closed  | Up to 16 locations  | Tracks possible  | Yes[11] | Opus & Uncompressed  | 48 kHz  | At least 16-bit  | 2021  | 2.5  | 2021-10-01
Jamulus | GPL  | Free  | Client/Server[3] | Win, Mac, Linux, Android  | Open & Closed  | 100+ [12] | None  | No[13] | Opus  | 48 kHz  | 132-894 kbit/s[14] | 2006 [15] | 3.9.0[16] | 2022-07-29
JammerNetz | AGPL and MIT available  | Free  | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, Linux  | Closed  | ? [12] | None  | No  | Uncompressed  | 48 kHz  | dep. on # channels  | 2019  | 2.0.0  | 2021-03-21
Digital Stage  | Proprietary  | Free, restricted[17] | Various  | Win, Mac  | Closed  | 30  |  |  |  |  |  |  | Prototype testing[18][19] |
Sagora  | GPL  | Free  | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, Linux, Raspbian | Open & Closed  |  | None  |  | Opus  | 48 kHz  |  | May 2020[20] | 1.1  | 2020-08
LoLa | Proprietary  | Free/shareware | P2P  | Win  | Closed  | 3 locations  | None  | Yes  |  |  | at least 1 Gbit/s  | 2005  | 2.0.0b1  | 2019-10-18
JamKazam | Proprietary  | $0 - $19.99p/m[21] | P2P, C/S[22] [3] | Win, Mac[23] | Open & Closed  | Unlimited (for $10+ plans)[21] | Metronome  | Yes (paid plans)[21] |  | 48 kHz; 44.1 kHz  |  | 2014 (?)  | 1.0.3950  | ?
SoundJack  | Proprietary  | Free  | P2P, C/S[24] | Win, Mac, Linux  | Open & Closed[13] | ~60  | None  | β (OSX)[13] | Opus & Uncompressed  | 48 kHz  |  | 2006  | monthly updates  | 2022-03-26[25]
JackTrip  | MIT like[26] | Free  | P2P, C/S[3] | CLI: Win, Mac, Linux  | ?  | Unlimited  | None  | No  |  |  |  | 2000 (?)  | 1.3.0[27] | 2020-08-04
SonoBus  | GPL[28] | Free  | P2P via AoO[29] | Win, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android  | Open & Closed  | 10  | None  | No  | Opus & Uncompressed  | 48 kHz & 44.1 kHz  |  | 2020-08-31  | 1.5.1[30] | 2022-03-30
HPS Jam  | BSD[31] | Free  | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, Linux, iOS, Android  | Open & Closed  | 256  | None  | No  | 8/16/24/32-bit PCM and MIDI  | 48 kHz  |  | 2020-11-19  | v1.2.5  | 2022-10-12
Ninjam / Ninbot  | GPL (Server only)  | $60[32] | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, Linux  | ?  | ?  | Delayed Sync[33] | No  |  |  |  | ?  | REAPER 6.18  | ?
Jamtaba  | GPL  | Free  | Ninjam Client[34] | Win, Mac, Linux  | ?  | ?  | Delayed Sync  | Yes  |  |  |  | 2015-09-26  | v2.1.15  | 2020-06-30
Jammr.net  | GPL  | Free - $9.99p/m[35] | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, Linux  | Open & Closed  | 20  | Delayed Sync  | No  |  |  |  | ?  | 1.2.92  | 2020-09-13
Endless  | Proprietary  | Free - $4.49[36] | ?  | iOS  | Open & Closed  | ?  | Metronome  | No  |  |  |  | ?  | 1.1.2  | 2020-11-13
Ejamming Audio  | Proprietary  | $9.95p/m  | P2P(?)  | Win, Mac  | Closed  | 4  | ?  | No  |  |  |  | ?  | ?  | ?
Rehearsal Live Share  | Proprietary  | $14.99p/m (directors)[37] | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, iOS, Android[38] | Closed  | 30[39] | Audio track  | Yes  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?  | ?
Solocontutti[40] | Proprietary  | Free  | P2P  | Win, Mac, iOS, Android  | Open & Closed  | 12  | Metronome  | Yes (limited)  | Opus  | up to 48 KHz  | 100 - 500 kbit/s  | 2013  | 1.6.2  | 2021-11-20
FarPlay | Proprietary  | Freemium  | P2P  | Win, Mac, Linux  | Closed  | 6-8  |  | Yes  | Uncompressed  | 48 kHz  |  | 2021-11-18  | 1.0.6  | 2023-01-10
Elk Live | OS is open source  | $15.99p/m + $399 bridge  | P2P  | Elk Audio OS  | Closed  | 5 for now[41] |  | Yes  |  |  |  |  |  |
Ringing Room | Proprietary[42] | Free  | Client/Server  | Win, Mac, iOS  | Open  | 16  | No  | No  |  |  |  |  | 21.51[43] |

## Table Heading Notes

[a] \- Whether the system supports public or private performance or playing.
[b] \- Whether the system has a built-in mechanism for helping or enforcing the musicians to play together. For an explanation of "delayed sync" method see https://jammr.net/howitworks.html (or, more in depth, https://forum.cockos.com/showthread.php?p=2230659#post2230659)

## See also

* Networked music performance

## References

1. ↑ "Zoom: online rehearsals (vocal) | Making Music". https://www.makingmusic.org.uk/resource/zoom-online-rehearsals-vocal.
2. ↑ "Playing Music Together Online Is Not As Simple As It Seems" (in en). https://www.npr.org/2020/07/14/891091995/playing-music-together-online-is-not-as-simple-as-it-seems.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Rosen, Peter (2020-11-15). "Social Distancing For Musicians: A Quick Guide To Low-Latency Audio". https://ksltv.com/449043/socially-distancing-for-musicians-a-quick-guide-to-low-latency-audio/?.
4. ↑ Fischer, Volker. "Case Study: Performing Band Rehearsals on The Internet With Jamulus". https://jamulus.io/PerformingBandRehearsalsontheInternetWithJamulus.pdf.
5. ↑ Carôt, A.; Hoene, C.; Busse, H.; Kuhr, C. (2020). "Results of the Fast-Music Project—Five Contributions to the Domain of Distributed Music". IEEE Access 8: 47925–47951. doi:10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2979362. ISSN 2169-3536.
6. ↑ Wise, Brian (2020-09-07). "Long-Distance, Online Performances Without the Latency?" (in en-US). https://brianwise.net/long-distance-performances-latency/.
7. ↑ "Virtual Jamming: The Latest Tools for Playing Together in Real Time" (in en-US). 2020-05-15. https://acousticguitar.com/virtual-jamming-the-latest-tools-for-playing-together-in-real-time/.
8. ↑ "Networked Music Performance: An Introduction" (in en-US). 2020-09-25. https://medium.com/@mdessen/networked-music-performance-an-introduction-for-musicians-and-educators-d31d33716bd2.
9. ↑ Backing track with 'Sendahead' for synchronised output.
10. ↑ None under 400 miles. Delayed synch at longer distances.
11. ↑ Includes screen sharing and recording.
12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Limited only by server resources
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 "SoundJack: Real Time Online Music" (in en-US). https://www.ianhowellcountertenor.com/soundjack-real-time-online-music.
14. ↑ "Quality, Delay and Bandwidth – Jamulus Wiki". https://jamulus.io/wiki/Network-Requirements.
15. ↑ "June 2020, "Community Choice" Project of the Month – Jamulus - SourceForge Community Blog". https://sourceforge.net/blog/june-2020-community-choice-project-month-jamulus/.
16. ↑ "Jamulus/Releases/Latest" (in en). https://github.com/jamulussoftware/jamulus/releases/latest.
17. ↑ Free for members of artistic associations and project partners.
18. ↑ "Features". https://digital-stage.org/features/?lang=en.
19. ↑ Kurtz, Holger. "Noch ruckelt die digitale Konzertbühne | Ausgabe: 5/20 | nmz - neue musikzeitung". neue musikzeitung (5/2020). https://www.nmz.de/artikel/noch-ruckelt-die-digitale-konzertbuehne.
20. ↑ "Sagora - Agora Sonora". https://sagora.org/index-en.html.
21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 "What Are JamKazam's Free vs. Premium Features?" (in en-US). 2020-12-05. https://jamkazam.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/66000122535-what-are-jamkazam-s-free-vs-premium-features-.
22. ↑ Free version is P2P only, commercial chooses faster route.
23. ↑ Wilson, David. "What Gear Do I Need to Play on JamKazam?" (in en). https://jamkazam.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/articles/66000122533-what-gear-do-i-need-to-play-on-jamkazam-.
24. ↑ "Server - Soundjack". https://www.soundjack.eu/server-panel/.
25. ↑ "Dev Status - Soundjack". https://www.soundjack.eu/dev-status/.
26. ↑ "jacktrip/jacktrip" (in en). https://github.com/jacktrip/jacktrip.
27. ↑ "Releases · jacktrip/jacktrip · GitHub". https://github.com/jacktrip/jacktrip/releases.
28. ↑ "SonoBus License" (in en). https://github.com/essej/sonobus/blob/main/LICENSE.
29. ↑ "Audio Over OSC" (in en). https://github.com/essej/aooserver.
30. ↑ "SonoBus Releases" (in en). https://github.com/essej/sonobus/releases.
31. ↑ "hselasky/hpsjam" (in en). https://github.com/hselasky/hpsjam.
32. ↑ Requires purchase of a REAPER software licence.
33. ↑ Marraccini, Fabio (2020-04-06). "Best services for online music jam (2020)" (in en-US). https://audiogeek11.com/best-services-for-online-music-jam-2020/.
34. ↑ "elieserdejesus/JamTaba" (in en). https://github.com/elieserdejesus/JamTaba.
35. ↑ "Get premium! | jammr". https://jammr.net/payments/subscribe.
36. ↑ Includes in-app purchases for advanced features.
37. ↑ "Pricing/Ordering" (in en). https://www.rehearsalliveshare.com/pricing.
38. ↑ "Hardware Recommendations" (in en). https://www.rehearsalliveshare.com/hardware-recommendations.
39. ↑ "FAQs" (in en). https://www.rehearsalliveshare.com/faqs.
40. ↑ Redactie, Onze (2013). "Op afstand samen muziek maken". Klank Wijzer: 50-53. https://www.klankwijzer.nl/media/archief/klankwijzer_editie_02_2013.pdf.
41. ↑ "Elk.Live Brings Musicians Together to Play Online" (in en). https://geekazine.com/cool/interview/elk-live-brings-musicians-together-to-play-online/.
42. ↑ "Ringing Room". Apple Inc.. https://apps.apple.com/app/ringing-room/id1531929847?platform=ipad. "© 2021 Matthew Goodship"
43. ↑ "Ringing Room". https://ringingroom.co.uk/about.

0.00

(0 votes)

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Comparison_of_Remote_Music_Performance_Software&oldid=539227"