Broadcast to RadioHost Studio with Audio Hijack

Audio Hijack is a Mac application that captures audio from anywhere on the system — a specific application, an input device, the whole system output — routes it through a chain of processing blocks, and sends the result somewhere. One of the places it can send it is an Icecast server, which makes it a direct route onto a Studio station.

It is the tool of choice for a certain kind of show: an interview recorded over a video call, a presenter who wants real processing between microphone and stream, or anyone who needs to capture an application's audio that no other encoder can see.

What you need first

An External DJ credential from Live → External DJs in Studio, plus the server, port and mount shown on the same page.

Building the session

Audio Hijack sessions are chains you draw. A working broadcast session is four blocks:

1. An input block — *Input Device* for a microphone or interface, *Application* to capture a specific app, or *System Audio* for everything.
2. A processing block or two — the built-in *Compressor* and *Limiter* are worth having on a voice chain.
3. A Broadcast block — the one that does the streaming.
4. A Recorder block — writing a local file in parallel.

Drag them left to right and connect them. Audio flows along the line.

Broadcast block settings

Select the Broadcast block and fill in the panel on the right:

The username field is the one to check twice. Audio Hijack defaults it to source, which is the server account rather than your credential.

Add the Recorder block

Put a Recorder block in the chain even when you have no plans for the audio.

A stream is not a recording. If the connection stutters, those seconds are gone. The Recorder writes from the audio engine, is unaffected by the network, and can be at a far higher quality than the stream — which is what you want when an interview turns out to be worth publishing as a podcast episode.

It costs nothing but disk.

Processing worth using

Audio Hijack's blocks are genuinely good, and a voice chain benefits from two of them:

Compressor narrows the gap between your loudest and quietest words, which is what makes a presenter sound present rather than distant. Modest settings are enough — heavy compression on a voice sounds like a bad advert.

Limiter stops the peaks. Put it last in the chain, after everything else.

What you should not do is push the level hard on the assumption that louder carries further. Studio measures loudness on everything it plays and lands it at a consistent target; a live source that arrives far above that is not louder to the listener, it is just the part of the schedule where the compression suddenly changes.

Going live

Press the run button at the bottom of the session window. The blocks light up, audio starts moving, and Studio picks up the source within a second or two — automation ducks out and the live banner appears with your DJ name.

Stop the session to end the show. Automation resumes from the current schedule position.

Frequently asked questions

Can Audio Hijack capture a Zoom or FaceTime call for broadcast?

Yes, and it is one of the main reasons to use it. An Application block pointed at the call captures its output directly, with no virtual cable and no echo path, and you mix your own microphone in alongside it.

Does it run on an Apple silicon Mac?

Yes. Current versions are native on Apple silicon, and the audio capture works with the system permissions macOS asks for on first run — grant them or the input blocks stay silent.

Can I schedule a session to start by itself?

Audio Hijack has timed sessions, so an unattended broadcast is possible. Whether it is a good idea is another question: for regular unattended hours, station automation is more reliable than a Mac that has to stay awake and unlocked.

Is there a free alternative on macOS?

BUTT is free, runs on macOS, and does the streaming part perfectly well. What it cannot do is capture an individual application's audio or process the chain on the way through — that is what you are paying Audio Hijack for.