Ever finished a great stream, gone to clip it for YouTube, and realised the copyrighted background music is baked into the recording alongside your voice? Multiple audio tracks solve this. OBS can record your mic and each audio source onto separate tracks, so you can mute or swap any of them later without touching the rest.
Why multiple tracks matter
By default OBS mixes everything, mic, game, music, alerts, into a single audio track. That is fine for the live stream, but for editing it is a trap: you cannot remove the music without also losing your commentary. Recording to separate tracks keeps each source isolated, so your VOD editor can drop the music track, boost just the mic, or export a music-free version for platforms with strict copyright detection.
How OBS tracks work
OBS supports up to six audio tracks. In Advanced Audio Properties, each source can be assigned to one or more tracks. You might put everything on Track 1 for the live stream and separately route mic to Track 2, game to Track 3, and music to Track 4 in the recording, giving you a clean multitrack file.
Track assignment example
| Track | Contents | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Full mix (all sources) | Live stream + quick playback |
| 2 | Microphone only | Isolated voice for editing |
| 3 | Game audio only | Balance separately in post |
| 4 | Music only | Remove for copyright-safe uploads |
Setting it up
Open Settings, Output, set it to Advanced, and in the Recording tab tick the audio tracks you want the file to contain (for example 1 through 4). Then open Advanced Audio Properties from the mixer, and for each source tick which tracks it belongs to. Finally, choose a container that supports multitrack, such as MKV, since MP4 can lose extra tracks if OBS crashes mid-record.
A workflow for copyright-safe uploads
Multitrack recording pays off most when you repurpose streams. Record the full mix on Track 1 for quick reference, isolate your mic on its own track, and keep music on a separate track. When you edit a highlight for YouTube, you drop the music track entirely and export voice plus game audio, sidestepping automated copyright claims that would otherwise mute or demonetise the clip.
It also rescues bad audio balance after the fact. If your game was too loud over your commentary during the live stream, the mixed track is stuck that way, but with isolated tracks you simply raise the mic and lower the game in your editor. Adopting this habit from the start means every stream becomes flexible source material, and you will never again lose a great moment to baked-in music or a lopsided mix.
Frequently asked questions
Does recording multiple tracks use more CPU or disk space?
The CPU impact is minimal because audio encoding is light. Disk usage rises modestly since each track is stored, but audio is tiny compared with video, so a few extra tracks add little to file size. The editing flexibility is well worth it.
Can I edit multitrack recordings in any video editor?
Most modern editors import multitrack MKV or MP4 files and let you access each audio track separately. If your editor only sees one track, remux the file first (OBS has a Remux Recordings tool) or export tracks individually. Recording to MKV then remuxing to MP4 is the safest workflow.
Bottom line
Separate audio tracks turn your recordings into flexible source material: mute the music for copyright-safe clips, isolate your mic, or rebalance game audio in post. Enable the tracks in Output settings, assign sources in Advanced Audio Properties, and record to MKV. It is the single best habit for anyone repurposing streams into VODs and highlights.
