← Part of: How to open an AAF in Ableton Live
Premiere Pro → Ableton

How to import a Premiere Pro timeline into Ableton Live.

Premiere edits the picture; you score or sound-design in Live. Premiere can’t write a Live Set and Live can’t read Premiere — here’s the clean bridge between them.

Short answer: Export an AAF from Premiere Pro (File → Export → AAF — its sample-accurate route out, not the XML), then convert it into a native Live Set with AAF Bridge. Clip positions, fades, clip gain and markers arrive intact, with the picture on its own video track.
Why not just drag it inStep by stepWhat transfersFAQ

Why you can’t just drag a Premiere sequence into Live

Ableton Live has no AAF or Premiere import of any kind, and Premiere can’t save an Ableton project. The two never speak directly. The bridge is the AAF: Premiere writes one, and AAF Bridge turns it into a native .als.

One thing worth getting right up front: use Premiere’s AAF export, not its XML. Premiere’s XML is a format meant for coming into Premiere; the sample-accurate way out for audio is File → Export → AAF.

Premiere Pro to Ableton, step by step

  1. Export an AAF from Premiere Pro

    In Premiere: File → Export → AAF. Embed the audio (or send the linked media along). This is the sample-accurate route — skip the XML export here.

  2. Open AAF Bridge and choose AAF / XML → Ableton

    Pick the import direction. The free demo does everything and just caps output at the first 120 seconds — enough to check a real sequence.

  3. Drop in the AAF, set tempo & time signature

    AAF Bridge shows the tracks, clips and markers it found. Set the project tempo and time signature — AAF carries neither.

  4. Click Create Live Set

    A complete Live project folder is written next to the AAF, plus a plain-text report of what transferred.

  5. Open the .als in Ableton Live

    It opens in Live 11 or 12 with clips placed sample-accurately, fades, clip gain, markers as locators, and the cut on its own muted video track.

Both directions. When you’re done, AAF Bridge exports the Live Set straight back out — see the export guide.

FAQ

Should I export AAF or XML from Premiere?

Export AAF. Premiere’s XML is meant for importing into Premiere, not out of it; the AAF export is sample-accurate and carries fades and clip gain. AAF Bridge accepts Premiere XML only as a fallback.

Does the video come across so I can score to picture?

Yes — the picture cut arrives on its own muted video track in Live, so you can write and mix to image.

What won’t transfer?

MIDI, plugins and bus routing — AAF is an audio-only exchange format, so no tool carries them. The conversion report lists anything left out.

Try it on your own file first.

The free demo is the full app — it converts the first 120 seconds of any timeline, so you can open the result in Live before spending anything. $49 one-time, no subscription, runs offline. macOS.

Download the free demo Back to the overview