Top Productivity Tools for Music Professionals in 2024
As a music professional, your workflow is your lifeblood and a huge time saver when you’re in the middle of large projects. The right productivity tools can make all the difference by streamlining your processes, improving the quality of your work, and freeing up time for your creative flow. Here are six essential apps that should be on your radar in 2024 to help you stay organized, efficient, and focused on what matters most: the music.
1. A Better Finder Renamer
This is a great bulk file renamer that is customizable and easy to use. You just drag and drop your files, folders, or a combo of the two and this app can create a numbering system, do find and replace, and format your files across your computer so things are easier to locate, label, and find. Especially when you’re in the middle of a project, you want to be able to find, identify, and understand what the files are you are using for projects. If you have “vocal 3 final part 2”, it becomes quite ambiguous as to what exactly it is. A Better Finder Renamer is the perfect solution for batch renaming files, making it an essential tool for anyone who works with large libraries of audio tracks. With just a few clicks, you can rename thousands of files based on a custom pattern, saving hours that would otherwise be spent manually renaming files one by one, and it’s more robust and flexible than Apple’s Finder renamer.
This app is especially helpful if you're organizing session files, stems, mixes, or archived versions of tracks. You can add metadata, set up numbering systems, and automatically add the date or other identifiers to your file names, making it easier to locate specific versions or mixes when you need them. It helps keep your audio files organized and clearly labeled, so you never lose track of your work again, no matter how many versions or revisions you have.
2. YouLean Loudness Meter
When mixing and mastering music, loudness is everything. But getting it right, especially in terms of broadcast standards or streaming platforms, requires precision and an understanding of acoustics in the digital world. YouLean Loudness Meter is a professional tool that offers in-depth loudness analysis based on industry standards, including LUFS (Loudness Units relative to Full Scale), and peak and true-peak values. It’s great to be able to spot areas in your mix that needs more attention. The meter’s real-time monitoring lets you see exactly how your track measures up to the required loudness levels for different platforms (like Spotify, YouTube, Netflix, radio, etc…). This is crucial for ensuring that your music not only sounds great but also adheres to the technical specifications that streaming services demand.
3. Metadatics
Proper metadata is essential for managing music libraries, sharing music with collaborators, and ensuring that your tracks are properly credited and tagged. Metadatics is an intuitive and powerful metadata editor for macOS that lets you quickly edit tags and information for your audio files. You can modify track titles, album names, artist info, genre, and more, all in bulk. I find it very useful when registering my works and embedding the ISRC, ISWC, and Copyright information within each file. This is a must-have tool and supports the standard audio formats like MP3, FLAC, and WAV, and it’s easy to use, making it a great option for both beginners and seasoned pros alike. You can keep your music library organized and ensure accurate metadata for distribution, saving time and preventing mistakes when it’s time to release your music.
4. MacUpdater
If you’re like me, you have hundreds, if not thousands of plugins, third-party apps, and software on your computer. Keeping track of which apps are out of date and which ones need more attention is a pain, but with MacUpdater, the process is simplified as it checks for updates across all your apps and informs you of what has new updates. You can update all the apps at once or one at a time with the MacUpdater. It’s so important especially with the changing tech landscape and constant new updates to keep up with MacOS releases. It supports a vast range of software, from popular DAWs like Logic Pro and Ableton Live to more niche plugins and utilities. MacUpdater makes sure your software is always up to date, so you never have to worry about missing out on important bug fixes, performance improvements, or new features.
5. Moom
Music production often requires having multiple windows open at once—your DAW, plugin windows, file browsers, etc… With Moom, you can take control of your workspace by customizing window positions and sizes. You can easily snap windows to predefined positions or assign keyboard shortcuts to rearrange your workspace with a single click. It’s perfect for maximizing screen real estate and ensuring your workspace is as efficient as possible and flows smoothly. If you find yourself constantly resizing windows or struggling with cluttered screens during long production sessions, Moom can save you a lot of time and frustration.
6. Loopback
Loopback is a powerful and intuitive audio routing tool for macOS that allows you to route audio between applications, devices, and virtual audio channels. I find it very helpful when demoing certain DAW audio to clients over Zoom or sharing certain audio with a new YouTube video for the channel. Loopback makes it easy to mix and route your audio streams together from different apps to a single input without the use of external hardware. It’s a great tool for complex audio setups that require flexibility.
In 2024, staying organized and efficient is crucial to success in the music industry. The right productivity tools can help you manage your audio files, ensure your music is sonically polished, streamline your workspace, and keep your software and metadata in top shape. These apps are designed to save you time, boost your productivity, and make your work more enjoyable and can help you maintain focus in your creative endeavors while the organization takes care of itself!