Light that starts with the artwork
The ambient rim light takes its palette from the album art in Spotify or Apple Music. It travels around the edges of the display and follows the shape of the notch, so the effect feels like part of the screen. Change the song and the artwork can give the light a different character. This is an on-screen effect: the colour comes from your Mac display itself. A dim room and a comfortable screen brightness give the light space to work without needing a busy desktop.
Find the amount of light that fits
Some desks want a fine line around the bezel. Others suit a broader, softer wash of colour. Velour lets you adjust thickness and spread, and choose your own colours when you want a particular palette. Start gently and make one adjustment at a time. Look at the whole desk rather than just the settings panel. A little colour can be enough to connect a laptop, a monitor and the space around them. Your choice can change with the hour, the album or the work in front of you.
Let it move with the music
Travelling light adds a slow sense of movement around the screen. Optional beat sync brings the rhythm into the effect, making the glow pulse along with the music your Mac is playing. Beat sync needs system audio access. It analyses playback live on your device, with nothing from that analysis saved or uploaded. It never uses the microphone and does not record your screen. Leave beat sync off whenever you prefer a calmer scene; the album-coloured rim light is still part of Velour.
One display, or the whole desk
You can use just the glow on a display, or make it part of a larger scene with artwork and lyrics. On a MacBook and external monitor, each screen can show something different. Keep artwork on one and words on the other, or let the light quietly frame both. An immersive scene opens with a hotkey when you want the album to take over. The app lives in the menu bar, with no Dock icon to rearrange and no extra window demanding a place in your setup.
Before your first glow
You need macOS 14 or later on an Apple silicon Mac and the Spotify or Apple Music desktop app. Download Velour, move it into Applications, allow current-track access and press play. The glow stops rendering when nothing is playing, helping keep the app light between songs. Your scene and the number of active displays can affect power use, so choose the effect that suits your Mac as well as your room. The price is $14.99, paid once, with updates included and one Mac covered by each licence.