Pictures move people; music finishes the job. Soundtrack: Inspector → Audio and the Timeline music lane — not the Library.
Wedding song, paid playlist — bring it in:
- Toolbar + → Music…, or File → Import Music…
- Drop audio onto the window
- ⌘V with audio on the clipboard
- Audio tab → Add Music…
Formats: .mp3, .m4a, .aac, .wav, .aiff / .aif, .flac, .caf, .ogg / .oga, .wma, .opus
Only import tracks you have the rights to use.
No clearance hunt — pick a mood. Toolbar +, File, or Audio → Royalty-Free Library….
The sheet title is Royalty Free - No Attribution Required. Subtitle: Tracks from the YouTube Audio Library. Built-in tracks need no attribution; your own imports are not owned by MemoryString.
Sort: Catalog · Title (A–Z) · Genre (A–Z) · Duration (shortest / longest first).
Each row: checkbox, title / artist, style (e.g. Quiet ballad) or In project if it is already on the playlist, duration, and a play button to audition (does not move the show playhead). Check tracks, then Add. Cancel dismisses. Add stays disabled until at least one unused track is selected.
Match Look Soundtrack on by default. Empty projects start quiet. After the first photos or videos land, MemoryString soft-seeds bundled mood track(s) — the current Look’s pool, or Would It Matter when no Look is selected. Mute or remove anytime. Saved projects with an empty playlist are left alone.
While the playlist is still that untouched auto bed (empty, or only auto-seeded and auto-ordered):
- Clicking a Style Look chip retargets the bed to a fitting track from that Look’s mood pool at random (Energy can lean the pool calmer or brighter)
- Longer shows stitch more tracks from the pool before repeating
- Dropping or importing your own audio replaces that bed
Auto-adding / retargeting stops on any manual soundtrack change: royalty-free picks, reorder, trim, remove, or your own files. After that, Look clicks do not swap the bed; new imports append. The app notices when you take the wheel.
Turn Match Look Soundtrack off to keep the playlist when changing Looks. Library picks, reorders, and your own imports stay either way.
Listen without moving the show — shop while the slideshow stays paused.
- Royalty-free sheet — play on a row (does not move the show playhead). The slideshow bed stays paused while you preview
- Audio tab — local play/pause + position on each playlist row (gold fill is already heard; does not move the show playhead)
- Timeline — select a soundtrack clip on the music lane, then scrub the playhead (or nudge ← / →). You hear that track at the playhead; the mixed bed and video buses stay silent while you scrub. Audition stops shortly after the head sits still. Clicking without dragging does not start it
- Trim grips on a music clip audition the cut edge in the source song
Line up tracks on the music lane (drag clips). Audio tab also has up / down arrows per row.
On import, MemoryString auto-skips silent lead-in and run-out. Trim with edge grips or Set Start Here / Set End Here / Reset Length (returns to that auto window, or the full file if no quiet edges).
Mute Track / Unmute Track — music-lane context menu, Audio tab (click the time readout for mute and track volume 0…100%), or the Inspector clip footer when a soundtrack is selected.
Remove from Project — royalty-free catalog tracks remove immediately (file stays in the app). Your imports ask Remove from project? first. ⌘Z either way.
Audio tab: local play/pause preview (does not move the show playhead), Reset music duration(s) to clear trims, Add Music…, Royalty-Free Library….
Fades and ducks so speech wins the toast. Neighbouring tracks butt with short tapers (no designed silence between songs). Waveform narrows at the fade edges. Ease-in ~1.5 seconds at the start; final 2.5 seconds ease out with the closing fade. Music ducks under video sound. Loudness ~−14 LUFS. Per-track volume (0…100%) and mute apply in preview and export, on top of ducking.
The Audio tab’s local play/pause does not move the show playhead (gold fill is already heard).
While a soundtrack decodes, the stage may show Loading music…. Photos stay usable; Export and soundtrack edits wait.
Only import tracks you have the rights to use. MemoryString does not claim ownership of imported audio. Rights notice on the import panel and royalty-free sheet. Bundled tracks suit personal movies without attribution.
Clip audio ≠ soundtrack. On import, MemoryString listens to each video: speech keeps clip audio; silence or noise is muted. Same in Essential and Studio. Decline speech detection and mute still runs from loudness only. How it decides: Auto detection.
Unmute or mute anytime: right-click Mute Video Sound / Unmute Video Sound, the Library / Timeline speaker badge, or the Inspector clip footer. No toast. See Library.