Essential Mac Apps

Background Music

Free per-app volume control for Mac that also auto-pauses your music and records system audio.

Alternative toSoundSource
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Background Music is a macOS audio utility that sits in the menu bar. It gives every app its own volume slider, pauses your music when another sound starts, and adds an audio device you can record system sound from.

Auto-pause works with iTunes, Spotify, VLC, VOX, Decibel, Hermes, Swinsian and GPMDP. When a video or call starts, the music player pauses, and it resumes when the other sound stops. Version 0.5.0 added a per-app mute button and adjustable auto-pause delays. App volumes can go past their normal maximum to lift quiet apps. To record system audio, pick Background Music as the input device in QuickTime Player or another recorder.

When it starts, Background Music makes itself the default output device and switches back when you quit. macOS asks for microphone access because system audio comes in through its virtual input device; the app does not listen to your microphone. You can add it to Login Items to start it with your Mac.

Background Music is free and open source under GPL-2.0, developed by Kyle Neideck and contributors. It needs macOS 10.13 or later and installs on Apple Silicon without Rosetta 2. The project still calls itself alpha software.

Frequently asked questions

Is Background Music free?

Yes. Background Music is free and has no paid version.

Is Background Music safe and open source?

It is open source under GPL-2.0 with the code on GitHub. Each release package lists its SHA256 hash and a PGP signature so you can check the download. The project still labels itself alpha, so expect some rough edges.

How do I install Background Music?

Download BackgroundMusic-0.5.0.pkg from the GitHub releases page and run it, or run brew install --cask background-music in Terminal. Then open Background Music from Applications.

What macOS version does Background Music need?

Background Music needs macOS 10.13 or later.

How does Background Music compare to SoundSource?

SoundSource is a paid menu bar app from Rogue Amoeba with per-app volume, per-app output routing, a 10-band EQ, Audio Unit effects and AirPlay support. Background Music is free and covers per-app volume and mute, auto-pausing music and recording system audio. If you need EQ or routing apps to different speakers, SoundSource does more.

What do I do if my sound stops after Background Music crashes?

Open System Settings, then Sound, and choose a different output device than the Background Music device. If another device is already selected, switch to a different one and back again.

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