Built for anyone tired of dealing with dozens of apps and subscriptions, Yamaha Creator Pass covers writing, mastering, distribution and promotion in one place.
Making music shouldn’t be gatekept. For anyone just dipping their toes into the world of writing and producing music, it can feel like a pretty big dive, with no shallow water to tread in – and for those who are already deep in, the process is often more complicated than it needs to be.
Somewhere between the idea in your head and a finished track sits a pile of software, subscriptions and logins, and working out which ones you need and where to find them is half the battle. This is the kind of admin that stops people before they start, and the numbers back it up: a Yamaha Music Innovations survey found that 80% of people want to make music, but only 19% ever follow through.
Yamaha Creator Pass sets out to remove that friction, pulling more than 20 music and podcast tools together under one login and one subscription, with education and accessibility built in. As our digital lives become more cluttered, there’s something to be said for having everything you need in one place.
Catch up on all the latest features here.
Having debuted at SXSW in March, Yamaha Creator Pass has since been refined with a group of artists on board, and it’s now available in Australia. The platform covers the whole production process, from first idea to release, rather than scattering it across a stack of separate subscriptions and apps. Yamaha Creator Pass brings access to services from more than 20 partners into one central account, with tools from Output, LANDR and Groover, DAWs including Cubase AI 15 and Ableton Live 12 Lite, and benefits and add-ons from partners including DistroKid, Adobe, Linktree and more.
The platform is designed mainly with emerging artists, songwriters and producers in mind – especially those looking for an easier way to start making, finishing and sharing their own music. It’s built to make that first step feel more approachable, without needing to have your whole setup figured out from day one.
It’s also built around a creator-led approach to making music. Rather than generating a finished track for you, it gives artists the tools to build their own – working in a DAW, shaping sounds, recording, arranging and refining ideas along the way. The creator stays in control from the first idea through to the finished release, with the platform designed to support the process rather than take it over.
Yamaha Creator Pass wants to meet artists and producers where they are and splits passes into four tiers – Starter, Growth and Pro, as well as a Podcaster Pass.
Starter Pass (US$9.99/month)
The entry tier comes with Output’s songwriting and idea-building software, plus more than 15 benefit-partner discounts. It’s built for someone starting from scratch with no production background, just trying to get a first song going.
Growth Pass (US$19.99/month)
On top of everything in Starter, Growth Pass offers two DAWs: Cubase AI 15, with Ableton Live 12 Lite on the yearly plan – however, if you already have a DAW you love, you can stick with it. Along with the two DAWs, you’ll get more than 80,000 samples from LANDR and Output Arcade, AI mastering and distribution to the major streaming platforms through LANDR, LANDR’s online courses, and four Groover credits to pitch tracks to curators, playlists, media and labels. It suits anyone ready to make, finish and release music.
Pro Pass (US$39.99/month)
Pro adds Output’s premium plugins and effects (Output One) and bumps you up to 10 Groover credits on top of the Growth line-up. This pass is for the artists releasing regularly and looking to build their fanbase and revenue, who want a fuller plugin set and more promotional reach.
Podcaster Pass (US$29/month)
Made for podcasters, this pass is built around Riverside rather than music tools. With this pass you can record at up to 4K video and 48kHz audio, 15 hours of multitrack, text-based and AI editing and publishing straight to YouTube and podcast directories with analytics to match.
Add-ons and benefits
Yamaha Creator Pass keeps everything in the one account, right down to the extras. Add-on services let you buy more tools to suit your goals, like Mogul’s royalty management add-on, without setting up a separate subscription. Benefit services cover discounts and free trials across design, mixing, promotion and distribution partners – from a year of Linktree Pro to 60% off a la carte purchases on Audioshake Indie and a two-month trial of Adobe Express.
Learning and accessibility
Yamaha is intent on building a more accessible way into creating music, with step-by-step guides and video tutorials on ideation, DAW and samples, plugins, arrangement, mastering, release and promotion. Production has long been a bit of a secret club – if you know, you know – so having everything you need laid out in one place is not only convenient, but essential for beginners.
Producer and artist Max Frost points to the convenience of having everything on one page. Being able to try tools without buying each one blindly, or needing someone to show you the ropes first, is a huge benefit to the platform.
For anyone who’s been put off making music because of the sheer admin of it all, there’s a new place to start that won’t make you dizzy. You won’t need to have fifteen tabs open, with payments leaving your account left, right and centre from a whole slew of accounts.
Yamaha Creator Pass gives you one account, one login, and everything you need to create, without all of the distractions. To get started, head here.
