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Keep the music in a persistent OBS audio source instead of attaching it to each video clip. For one repeating track, use a Media Source with Loop enabled and Close file when inactive disabled. For a playlist, use OBS’s VLC Video source, configure its playlist and loop behavior, and make sure the source stays active as your scenes change.
Set up music that continues across video clips
- Add a source: In the OBS scene collection, select the scene where you manage the stream. In the Sources panel, choose + and add Media Source. Select your audio file. OBS documents MP3, AAC, OGG, and WAV as supported audio formats.
- Choose whether it repeats: Enable Loop if you want a single file to start again after it finishes. If you want several tracks in sequence, use the VLC playlist setup below instead.
- Keep the file loaded: Turn off Close file when inactive. When this option is on, OBS can unload the file when the source becomes inactive; loading it again can cause a delay.
- Keep the source available to the scenes that play clips: Use the same music source in the relevant video scenes, or arrange the scene collection so the music source remains active while clips change. Avoid creating a separate copy of the same music source in every scene; overlapping copies can play together.
- Check what happens when the source becomes active: OBS documents Restart playback when source becomes active as on by default. If the song starts from the beginning after you return to a scene, inspect this setting and how the source’s visibility or activation changes. The right combination depends on the scene layout, so verify it in your own project.
- Check the mix: Watch the OBS audio mixer and listen using Audio Monitoring while adjusting levels. OBS’s Audio Mixer Guide recommends keeping background music in the green zone as a starting point.
These labels and defaults are documented in OBS’s Media Sources documentation, published January 11, 2022. OBS’s Audio Mixer Guide is dated April 3, 2026. If a label differs in your installed OBS version, check the options available in that version.
Use a playlist instead of repeating one file
OBS’s VLC Video source can play a playlist and provides Loop Playlist and visibility behavior settings. Add VLC Video as a source, select the playlist, and configure whether it should loop. If the playlist must continue while its source is hidden, choose visibility behavior that allows playback to continue when not visible, then test it with your actual scene changes.
The VLC source requires VLC to be installed. If you use 64-bit OBS, install 64-bit VLC. See OBS’s Media Sources documentation for the source’s behavior settings.
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Why music stops when you switch scenes
Changing scenes can hide or deactivate a source; depending on its settings, OBS may also unload a media file. A Media Source can restart playback when it becomes active, while a VLC Video source has configurable behavior when it is no longer visible. These are the first settings to inspect when music stops or starts over. Without seeing the scene collection and source settings, there is no single cause that applies to every project.
A device capture source is different from a file-playing source: OBS captures an audio device when that source is active. A scene-specific capture should not be assumed to continue through scenes where it is inactive. Also avoid capturing the same device both globally and as a scene source; OBS warns that duplicate capture can cause echo. See the OBS Audio Mixer Guide.
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Make sure the music is cleared for a YouTube live stream
Successful playback in OBS does not establish that you have permission to use the track on YouTube Live. YouTube says all live streams are scanned for matches to third-party content. If it detects such content, it may replace the stream with a placeholder and warn you; if the content remains, the stream may be temporarily interrupted or terminated.
Confirm with the licensor or rights holder that your permission covers live streaming and the territories where your stream is available. A license alone may not prevent a Content ID interruption: YouTube says the rights owner may also need to add your channel to its Content ID allowlist. Check YouTube’s current Copyright issues with live streams guidance and resolve rights for each track before going live.
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Fix common continuity problems
- The music stops at a clip or scene change: Check whether the music source is still active in the new scene. For a Media Source, make sure Close file when inactive is off. For VLC Video, inspect its visibility behavior. Keep the music source available to each relevant scene.
- The music starts over after returning to a scene: Inspect Restart playback when source becomes active and the source’s visibility and activation behavior. OBS documents that restart setting as on by default.
- The playlist stops when hidden: Review the VLC Video visibility behavior and select an option that allows playback to continue when the source is not visible if that is what your scene arrangement needs. Test the transition.
- You hear an echo or doubled music: Look for duplicate sources or device capture—for example, the same audio device captured both globally and within a scene. Remove the duplicate route and listen to the OBS mix again.
- The music is too prominent in the stream: Watch the mixer while the video audio is playing, listen through Audio Monitoring, and adjust the music level. OBS recommends the green zone for background music.
- VLC Video is unavailable or will not play the playlist: Confirm that VLC is installed and that its bitness matches OBS; 64-bit OBS requires 64-bit VLC.
- YouTube interrupts or replaces the stream: Treat this as a possible rights or Content ID issue, not an OBS looping setting. Review YouTube’s live-stream copyright guidance and contact the rights holder about the specific track and channel allowlisting.
Or let it run in the cloud
If your goal is a YouTube channel that keeps uploaded videos playing around the clock, StreamNeo is a different option from configuring OBS to handle scene transitions. Upload a recording or build a playlist, add your YouTube stream key once, and go live. StreamNeo loops the uploaded video from the cloud, so no computer or home connection has to stay on. It does not stream from a camera.
- Any uploaded quality up to 4K 60fps streams as made, at one flat price per slot, with no re-encode or quality tiers.
- Automatic recovery is included if YouTube drops the stream.
- The first day is free with no card; it is one free day per account.
- Each slot includes one always-on stream, 10 GB storage per slot pooled across active slots, 24/7 looping and playlists, and StreamNeo team support.
- Choose daily, weekly, monthly, six-month, or yearly billing and cancel any time. UPI and cards are available in India; card checkout is available worldwide. For five or more slots, contact support.
Plans differ only in billing length; the product is the same on each plan. Monthly billing is $9.99 per month. See StreamNeo for details, or start your free first day.
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