Guides

Recording streams, music and video sound on a Mac

Updated 2026-09-03.

Recording streams, music and video sound on a Mac means capturing what the Mac plays, through Apple's ScreenCaptureKit, as one audio file. Three things decide whether it works and whether it is worth doing: DRM (Apple TV+ and Apple Music subscription content may capture as silence; YouTube, Spotify, SoundCloud, Twitch and radio capture normally), source quality (YouTube's best stream measured 130 kbps AAC, Spotify's app tops out at 320 kbps, so 24-bit adds nothing), and each service's terms, which mostly prohibit copying. Each guide below covers one platform.

Guides in this topic

1. How to record YouTube audio on a MacRecord YouTube audio on a Mac by capturing system audio or downloading with yt-dlp. The best stream measured 130 kbps AAC, so 24-bit adds nothing.
2. How to record Spotify on a MacSpotify captures normally on a Mac via ScreenCaptureKit. The app streams up to 320 kbps, the web player 128 or 256 kbps. Spotify's rules ban recording.
3. How to record internet radio on a MacRecord internet radio on a Mac by capturing system audio or saving the stream with ffmpeg. A 3-hour show is 0.42 GB as MP3 320; keep the Mac awake.
4. How to record game audio on a MacRecord game audio on a Mac as a clean 48 kHz system-audio file, or use OBS for video plus mic. No DRM on game sound; an hour is 0.14 GB as MP3 320.
5. Can you record Netflix or Apple TV+ audio on a Mac?Mostly no. Apple TV+ captures as silence under ScreenCaptureKit on macOS 26, and Netflix's terms forbid circumventing its protections. What works instead.
6. How to record SoundCloud or Mixcloud audio on a MacRecord a SoundCloud or Mixcloud mix on a Mac as one system-audio file. A 2-hour mix is 0.29 GB as MP3 320. Downloads only where the uploader allows them.
7. How to record a Twitch or live stream's audio on a MacRecord Twitch or any live stream's audio on a Mac by capturing system audio while it is live. No length limit, 0.14 GB per hour as MP3 320. VODs expire.
8. How to record Apple Music on a MacApple Music subscription tracks are DRM-protected and may capture as silence on macOS 26. iTunes Store purchases are DRM-free 256 kbps AAC files.
9. How to extract audio from a video file on a MacExtract audio from an MP4 or MOV on a Mac with QuickTime's Audio Only export, the Finder's Encode service, afconvert, or ffmpeg -vn -c:a copy. All tested.

Which streaming services can you record on a Mac, and which come out silent?

The dividing line is DRM, not price. In the author's testing on macOS 26.4.1, a system-audio capture through ScreenCaptureKit records YouTube, Spotify's app and web player, SoundCloud and Mixcloud, Twitch and other live streams, internet radio and game audio normally, at 48 kHz, with no virtual driver.

Protected video is the exception. Apple TV+ captured as silence, screen recordings of protected video are black, and Netflix's terms prohibit circumventing its protections. Apple Music sits in between: subscription tracks are DRM-protected and some capture silent, while iTunes Store purchases are DRM-free 256 kbps AAC files that need no recording at all. Nothing on this site describes a way around protection; the guides say what happens and what the service's own route is instead.

What quality do you actually get, and how big are the files?

A capture is a real-time copy of whatever the service decoded, so the source sets the ceiling. Measured with yt-dlp on 3 Sept 2026, YouTube's top audio stream for a public music video was 130 kbps AAC. Spotify's own page puts the desktop app at up to 320 kbps on Premium and the web player at 128 or 256 kbps AAC. A 24-bit capture of any of these is 16.5 MB per minute of file for a lossy signal; the sensible exports are WAV 16-bit (11.0 MB per minute) for editing or MP3 320 (2.4 MB per minute) for listening, figures from 45 real AirCheck recordings.

Length is the other dimension. A 2-hour DJ mix is 0.29 GB as MP3 320 or 1.98 GB as 24-bit WAV; a 3-hour radio show 0.42 GB or 2.9 GB; an open-ended live stream 0.14 GB per hour as MP3. There is no length limit in AirCheck (longest real take 2 h 5 min, 2.07 GB); the Mac must not sleep, and a watchdog restarts capture into the same file after a 5-second stall. For a file you already have, do not record at all: extract the audio with QuickTime, afconvert or ffmpeg.

Is it legal to record streaming audio, and when should you download or buy instead?

Not legal advice, and the honest summary is that most services' terms say no. YouTube allows personal, non-commercial viewing and prohibits downloading except where it permits. Spotify's User Guidelines list "recording" and "ripping" among things not permitted. SoundCloud allows copies only where the uploader enabled download; Mixcloud licenses you to listen to streamed audio and nothing more. Netflix and Apple both prohibit circumventing content protection. Copyright in the music sits on top of those contracts, and private-copy rules differ by country. Every guide states the relevant clause with a link to the page it was fetched from.

The practical decision is the same across platforms. If a download button exists (SoundCloud, YouTube's offline feature, Spotify Premium's downloads), use it; that is the permitted route. If you want a file to keep, DJ with or edit, buy it: the iTunes Store sells DRM-free 256 kbps AAC, and Bandcamp-style stores sell WAV or FLAC, both better than any capture of a lossy stream. Capture is for what only exists as playback: a live stream, a radio show, your own uploads, a mix a friend told you to grab. The YouTube, Spotify and Apple Music guides each have a terms section; the Netflix and Apple TV+ page is the honest no.

Recording streams and music on a Mac: what works, what it costs, what the terms say

Capture results are the author's observations on macOS 26.4.1. Terms as fetched on 3 Sept 2026; check the linked page before relying on a clause.

Other topics

• Screen recording with audio
• Recording internal and system audio
• Recording calls and meetings
• Virtual audio drivers and Audio MIDI Setup
• Recording with QuickTime, OBS, Audacity and GarageBand
• Recording DJ sets, vinyl and instruments
• Recording lectures, podcasts and interviews
• Audio formats, quality and file size
• Fixing Mac audio recording problems
• Choosing a Mac audio recorder