How to use Sinewav

Sign up using your email address or connect with Google or GitHub for one-click registration. No credit card required.

1. Click Sign Up in the top-right corner
2. Choose your sign-up method (email, Google, or GitHub)
3. Verify your email if signing up with email
4. Complete the onboarding flow to set up your profile

Your profile is how other creators find and connect with you. Set it up from the Profile page.

• Username — Unique handle used in your profile URL
• Avatar — Drag and drop or click to upload
• Bio — A short description about yourself
• Location — City search with autocomplete
• Artist Type — Producer, DJ, Audio Engineer, Vocalist, etc.
• Genre Preferences — Select up to 10 genres
• Social Links — TikTok, SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube, Instagram

The main navigation is at the top of every page:

• Feed — Tracks from people you follow
• Discover — Trending tracks, featured genres, and new uploads
• Search — Find tracks, artists, genres, and tags instantly
• Upload — Share your music (top-right button)
• Notifications — Bell icon for likes, comments, follows
• Messages — Direct messaging with other creators

Every upload is one of three types. Choose the one that fits your intent:

Go to the Upload page from the top navigation. The upload flow has four stages:

See the illustration below the help sections for a visual overview of the upload pipeline.

1. Select your file — Drag and drop or click to browse. Supported formats: WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC.
2. Fill in details — Title, genre, tags, cover art, and more (see next section).
3. Upload — A progress bar shows your upload percentage.
4. Processing — The system transcodes to 320kbps MP3, generates your waveform, and detects BPM/key. You'll see real-time progress updates.

Fill in as much detail as possible to help others discover your music:

• Title — Your track name. A URL-friendly slug is auto-generated.
• Genre — Select from the dropdown. Genres are hierarchical (e.g. Electronic > House > Deep House).
• BPM — Optional. Auto-detected during processing if not provided.
• Description — Tell listeners about your track.
• Tags — Up to 10 tags (30 chars each). Start typing for autocomplete suggestions.
• Cover Art — Square image (JPEG, PNG, or WebP), max 5MB. Two sizes are generated automatically (500x500 and 150x150).
• Privacy — Public, Unlisted, or Private (see Privacy section).
• Downloads — Enable compressed MP3, original file, both, or none.

After upload, your track is processed automatically:

1. Transcoding — Converted to 320kbps MP3 for streaming
2. Waveform Generation — Visual waveform data is extracted
3. Audio Analysis — BPM, key, loudness, energy, and mood are detected

You'll see real-time progress on the track page — no need to refresh. Processing typically completes in under a minute.

The waveform player is the centerpiece of every track page. Click anywhere on the waveform to seek to that point.

There are two types of comments:

• General comments — Overall thoughts about the track
• Timestamp comments — Click a point on the waveform, then write your comment. It will be pinned to that exact moment and shown as a marker on the waveform.

Comments support threaded replies (up to 4 levels). You can edit or delete your own comments.

On Feedback tracks, you can give targeted feedback on specific sections of the audio by dragging on the waveform.

See the waveform illustration below this section for a visual example.

Feedback ranges appear as colored overlays on the waveform. Click any range to view the full feedback and replies.

Show appreciation for tracks you enjoy:

• Like — Click the heart icon. Liked tracks appear on your profile.
• Repost — Share a track to your followers' feeds.

Play counts, likes, and reposts are shown on every track.

Share tracks via the share button or download them if the artist has enabled downloads.

Focus Mode is a full-screen experience designed for detailed audio review. Enter it from any Feedback track page:

• Click the Focus Mode button on the track page
• Or press F on your keyboard

Press Esc or click the close button to exit. Your playback position is preserved.

The Feedback panel is the default view. It shows all feedback as floating markers on the waveform and a list on the side.

• Create feedback — Drag on the waveform to select a time range, choose a category, and write your feedback
• Navigate — Click any feedback item to jump to its position. Use J/K to move between items
• Reply — Expand any feedback to view and add threaded replies
• Filter — Show/hide feedback by category using the filter buttons or keys 1 2 3

The heatmap overlays feedback density onto the waveform, helping you spot problem areas at a glance.

Toggle the heatmap with H or the toolbar button. Three color modes are available:

• Density — Areas with more feedback glow brighter
• Category — Color by Needs Work (red), Could Improve (yellow), or Great Job (green)
• Score — Overall feedback quality/helpfulness rating

The Comparison panel lets you A/B test two versions of your track. Switch between versions instantly to hear what changed.

Toggle between versions with Tab.

The Insights panel provides AI-generated analysis of all feedback on your track:

• Feedback patterns and common themes
• Key areas of concern highlighted on the waveform
• Summary statistics by category
• Actionable recommendations

Focus Mode is designed for keyboard-driven workflows. Press ? anytime to see all shortcuts.

See the full keyboard shortcuts reference in the Keyboard Shortcuts section below.

Every track on Sinewav uses a version-based system. When you upload a track, Version 1 is created automatically. Each version has its own audio file, waveform, comments, and feedback.

This lets you iterate on your music while preserving the history and feedback from earlier versions.

To upload a new version of an existing track:

1. Go to your track page
2. Click Add Version
3. Upload the new audio file
4. Add a version name (e.g., “Mix v2”) and optional notes
5. The new version is processed and becomes the latest

The original version and all its feedback are preserved — nothing is lost.

Use the Version Switcher on the track page to jump between versions. Each version has its own:

• Audio file and waveform
• Comments and feedback
• Processing status and duration
• Play count

Create playlists to organize tracks by mood, project, or purpose:

1. Go to your profile and click the Playlists tab
2. Click Create Playlist
3. Add a title, description, and optional cover image
4. Start adding tracks from any track page using the Add to Playlist button

On your own playlists, you can:

• Add tracks — Use the “Add to Playlist” button from any track page
• Remove tracks — Click the remove button next to any track in the playlist
• Reorder — Drag and drop tracks to change the order

Click play on a playlist to start continuous playback. The global player at the bottom will play through all tracks in order. Use shuffle and repeat modes for variety.

The search bar in the header provides instant autocomplete across four categories:

• Tracks — By title, artist, or description
• Users — By name or username
• Genres — With full hierarchy path (e.g., Electronic > House > Deep House)
• Tags — By tag name with track count

Use arrow keys to navigate results and Enter to select.

The Discover page showcases trending and new music. Your Feed shows activity from artists you follow.

Browse by genre or tag to find music that matches your taste. Featured genres are highlighted on the homepage.

Start a conversation with any user:

1. Go to Messages from the header
2. Click New Message
3. Search for a user by name or username
4. Start chatting

You can also message someone from their profile page.

Messages are delivered instantly. You'll see:

• Typing indicators — See when someone is typing
• Read receipts — Know when your message has been read
• Unread badges — The bell icon shows unread message count

You'll receive notifications for:

• Likes — When someone likes your track or playlist
• Reposts — When someone reposts your track
• Comments — New comments on your tracks
• Follows — New followers
• Feedback — New feedback on your Feedback tracks

Click the bell icon for a quick preview of recent notifications. Click View All for the full notifications page.

Customize which notifications you receive in Settings > Notifications. You can toggle email and push notifications by category and set your email digest frequency (real-time, daily, weekly, or never).

Go to Profile to update your public information:

• Display name and username
• Avatar photo
• Bio / description
• Location (with city autocomplete)
• Artist type and skill level
• Genre preferences
• Social links (TikTok, SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube, Instagram)

Visit Settings > Notifications to control:

• Which notification types you receive (likes, comments, follows, etc.)
• Delivery method per category (email, push, or both)
• Email digest frequency (real-time, daily, weekly, or never)
• One-click unsubscribe from all emails

Organizations represent music businesses on Sinewav. They have their own profiles, can own tracks and playlists, and have multiple members with different roles.

When you belong to an organization, you can switch between your personal and organization identity using the identity switcher in the header.

All actions you take (uploads, comments, feedback, likes) will be attributed to whichever identity is currently active.

Labels have access to a Demo Inbox where artists can submit tracks for review. As a label admin, you can:

• Review incoming demo submissions
• Filter by status (new, reviewed, approved)
• Listen and provide feedback
• Accept or decline submissions

Every track has a privacy setting you can change at any time:

For unlisted tracks, you can generate private share links to share with specific people. Each link contains a unique token. You can:

• Generate multiple links
• Revoke individual links at any time
• Copy links to clipboard for easy sharing

Control whether listeners can download your tracks. Set per track during upload or editing:

• None — Downloads disabled
• Compressed — 320kbps MP3 only
• Original — Original uploaded file only
• Both — Listener chooses format

These shortcuts work anywhere on the platform:

These additional shortcuts are available inside Focus Mode: