15 years. still no fix.
Upload your .als file. Download a MIDI file with every tempo change, time signature, and marker intact. Open it in Pro Tools or Logic. Done.
The problem
Create a MIDI track with a Drum Rack and a single percussive hit
Manually extend a clip across every tempo change in your session
Export that clip as audio (not MIDI, because Live strips tempo data from MIDI exports)
Import the audio into Pro Tools or Logic
Use Beat Detective or Smart Tempo to reconstruct the map from audio transients
Pray it's close enough. Manually fix the rest.
"I usually get a tempo map that is either just slightly off all the way to wildly off, both becoming a manual process."
— r/ableton
What you get
Every tempo change in your session, including gradual ramps and sudden jumps, written as proper MIDI tempo meta-events. No beat detection. No guessing.
All time signature changes preserved. Whether you're switching between 4/4 and 7/8 mid-song or doing anything in between, the MIDI file carries it all.
Your arrangement markers (Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge) come through as MIDI marker events. Pro Tools and Logic read them natively.
Outputs a proper Type 1 SMF with the right meta-messages. Not a hacky workaround. A file that any DAW knows how to import correctly.
Compatibility
priority
Pro Tools
Import MIDI → Tempo Map
priority
Logic Pro
Native MIDI tempo import
Cubase / Nuendo
SMF tempo support
Studio One
SMF tempo support
Every film composer, mixing engineer, and producer who works between Ableton and Pro Tools knows this pain. Unableton exists to kill it.
.als in → .mid out → session synced