Most DJ software now flaunt their own streaming offerings. DJ’s who are looking to embrace the music streaming revelation should consider Rekordbox DJ as a serious option. Rekordbox might just steal your hearts (bit dramatic) with its Beatport Link streaming integration.
Rekordbox is a special type of DJ software that has been created by DJ equipment specialists Pioneer. This makes it possible for DJs to play and create sets for both professional and casual use to really get the party started. Time to Hit the Decks. Please visit the rekordbox site for all information. This software includes open source software codes licensed under GNU General Public License 2 and / or GNU Lesser General Public License 2.1.
Now choosing your set up has become a 2 stage process. Is this software right for me? And is the streaming service attached to it going to fulfil my needs? First let’s look at the numbers and do the pros and cons..
Skip to:
The Software
The integrated streaming services
Software release: Rekordbox 5.8
DJ software price: $14.90 per month or $129 purchase (or free with compatible DJ controllers)
Free trial available: ✓ 30 days
Streaming Services & price:
– Soundcloud Go+: £9.99 per month (Recommended package)
Free trial available: ✓ 30 days
– Beatport Link: $39.99 or $59.99 per month (recommended plans)
Free trial available: ✓ 30 days
- Software includes many features others don’t have
- Industry standard brand in DJ equipment
- “Locker” storage for offline playback
- Great selection of DJ controllers available
- A few library organisational issues need improving (Rekordbox 6 hopefully coming soon!)
- Beatport streaming service can seem a bit pricey to non Pros.
Rekordbox Software Cost
If you think you are not going to use streaming, well… think again. If not now, then in the future you probably will. And you may as well get attached to the right software from the start.
I have split this review into 2 parts; The DJ Software and The Streaming Integration. Let’s kick things off…
The DJ Software
Software release: Rekordbox 5.8
Starting its life as THE solution for preparing and organising your music on a USB for use with Pioneer DJ equipment, Rekordbox has evolved very quickly over the past few years. Now with Recordbox DJ it competes with the giants in live DJ Software.
Firstly, it needs to be said that Rekordbox comes from Pioneer DJ, who are the leaders in all DJ equipment. So being a Rekordbox user you know your are a VIP in the DJ software / hardware integration relationship.
Rekordbox Software For Windows
Rekordbox DJ offers some great features such as an ability to preview tracks in your headphones without loading them into the decks. This “Preview waveforms” feature is incredibly useful when quickly scanning through your music libraries and playlists. There is also a great function to help with track selection and choosing the best track to play next. Both of these are features not found in any other DJ Software.
As Rekordbox is really the only option for preparing USBs for DJ’ing with Pioneer DJ equipment, we have to also take this advantage into account. An easy export of your library onto a USB drive is useful for many scenarios. Perhaps your laptop laptop is playing up, or you’re DJ’ing somewhere a laptop set up is not suitable; you’re covered. You can plug your USB drive into any supported Pioneer equipment (found in most DJ booths). Pioneer CDJs are also becoming far more advanced and far more accommodating for the “USB DJ”. So the leap from Laptop to USB might become inevitable and with Rekordbox DJ you’re ready for it.
A few minor criticisms…
However, during my conversion from Serato to Rekordbox (v5.8), I encountered a few issues in the library set up within the software;
You cannot mix video files with MP3 files. If you previously Video DJ’d, or you DJ and VDJ and you want to organise all your music in the same playlists then this can not be done. So if you used to VDJ this would be the time to convert all their Video files to MP3 and re organise your collection, at the same time saving on a ton of hard drive space! But if you still VDJ then Rekordbox might not be the one. * UPDATE- This has now been fixed in Rekordbox 6 along with full library management for all integrated services. More info here
The other issue with the library is with how you view playlists inside folders. Tracks can only go into playlists and only playlist go into folders. However, you can not view all the music inside a folder. This means that viewing the contents of a collection of playlists together is impossible. Perhaps you have a collection of different warm up playlists and when playing out you want to view them all together and sort by key or bmp. You would not be able to do this. *The same issue still remains in Rekordbox 6.
These library issues may be due to Rekordbox’s dual capability with exporting to USB, so therefore your library organising is limited to the capabilities of a Pioneer CDJ.
Perhaps a future update will fix these issues*
Rekordbox DJ has moved very swift since its release a few years ago. At this rate it seems it will be a flawless DJ software solution very soon.
The Integrated Streaming Services
Rekordbox and Beatport Link streaming service.
Now this is where Rekordbox DJ wins it. With Beatport Link they provide a streaming service that is actually suitable for Pro DJs. You have the ability to download up to 100 tracks for “offline locker storage” But it does come at a price. For a 50 track offline locker it is $39.99 per month, for the 100 track offline locker it is $59.99 a month. It might seem pricey but for House and underground DJs, where DJ Record Pools just don’t cut it, Beatport is an expense they are used to and this solution might just work out cheaper.
This ability to store tracks offline brings a few major benefits. It could mean that you can basically “audition” tracks in venues before purchasing them if you want to keep them in your archive. Or, for example if you are a resident DJ at a venue 4 days a week you can rotate your tracks in your locker to keep things fresh at no extra cost to you.
Rekordbox and Soundcloud Go+ streaming service.
The Soundcloud Go+ streaming service offers the biggest music library available to DJ’s. But it does not allow any offline storage. This may be good for DJ’s practising at home, but for the pro, Beatport Link is where it’s at.
Summary
Rekordbox is really the only choice for Pro DJ’s who are looking to make the most of music streaming. This is due to Beatport’s offline “Locker” storage. The Rekordbox software has a few creases that need ironing out on the library side of things. But still, the benefits and added features this software brings puts it ahead of the other software and music streaming packages available. And of course, it is from Pioneer DJ, who is improving this software at a rapid pace. Rekordbox is a strong recommendation for any DJ.
You can do a free trial of Beatport’s most expensive subscription and try it out. You can also free trial the Rekordbox DJ software and see if it’s for you.
USEFUL LINKS
To download this software, you first need to agree to the Software End User License Agreement.
Software end user license agreement
This Software End User License Agreement (“Agreement”) is between you (both the individual installing the Program and any single legal entity for which the individual is acting) (“You” or “Your”) and AlphaTheta CORPORATION (“AlphaTheta”).
TAKING ANY STEP TO SET UP OR INSTALL THE PROGRAM MEANS THAT YOU ACCEPT ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT. PERMISSION TO DOWNLOAD AND/OR USE THE PROGRAM IS EXPRESSLY CONDITIONED ON YOUR FOLLOWING THESE TERMS. WRITTEN OR ELECTRONIC APPROVAL IS NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE THIS AGREEMENT VALID AND ENFORCEABLE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOU ARE NOT AUTHORIZED TO USE THE PROGRAM AND MUST STOP INSTALLING IT OR UNINSTALL IT, AS APPLICABLE.
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You may not use or otherwise export or re-export the Program except as authorized by United States law and the laws of the jurisdiction in which the Program was obtained. In particular, but without limitation, the Program may not be exported or re-exported (a) into any U.S.-embargoed countries or (b) to anyone on the U.S. Treasury Department’s Specially Designated Nationals List or the U.S. Department of Commerce Denied Persons List or Entity List. By using the Program, you represent and warrant that you are not located in any such country or on any such list. You also agree that you will not use the Program for any purposes prohibited by United States law, including, without limitation, the development, design, manufacture, or production of nuclear, missile, or chemical or biological weapons.
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The Program and Documentations are “commercial computer software” and “commercial computer software documentation” as those terms are defined in 48 C.F.R. §252.227-7014 (a) (1) (2007) and 252.227-7014 (a) (5) (2007). The U.S. Government’s rights with respect to the Program and Documentations are limited by this license pursuant to 48 C.F.R. § 12.212 (Computer software) (1995) and 48 C.F.R. §12.211 (Technical data) (1995) and/or 48 C.F.R. §227.7202-3, as applicable. As such, the Program and Documentations are being licensed to the U.S. Government end users: (a) only as “commercial items” as that term is defined in 48 C.F.R. §2.101 generally and as incorporated in DFAR 212.102; and (b) with only those limited rights as are granted to the public pursuant to this license. Under no circumstance will the U.S. Government or its end users be granted any greater rights than we grant to other users, as provided for in this license. Manufacturer is AlphaTheta Corporation, Yokohama i-Mark Place 6F, 4-4-5 Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama-city, Kanagawa prefecture, Japan, ZIP: 220-0012
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8.6 You agree that this Agreement shall be governed and construed by and under the laws of Japan
9. RESTRICTIONS TO INFRINGEMENTS OF COPYRIGHT PROTECTED DATA OWNED BY THIRD PARTY
When using the program, You must agree on the following:
(a) To follow copyright protection laws, rules and regulations designated in every country and international treaties;
(b) To legally obtain music data used in the Program;
(c) Not to bypass or decode Digital Rights Management technology implemented to the data.
In addition, you may not copy music data beyond the extent of private use. You may not give or transfer music data to third party. You may not share or intend to share the media or storage used to save music data with others. You may not save music data to media or storage which allows access to third party. You may not provide live distribution of such music data to third party.
System Requirements
OS
Windows 10, 8.1, 7 (64-bit, The latest service pack)
macOS Big Sur 11.2 (Updated to the latest version),
macOS Catalina 10.15 (Updated to the latest version),
macOS Mojave 10.14 (Updated to the latest version),
macOS High Sierra 10.13 (Updated to the latest version)CPU
Intel® processor Core™ i7, i5, i3
Memory
4GB or more of RAM
Hard disk
2GB or more of free space (not including space for storing music files, etc.)
Sound
Audio output to speakers, headphones, etc. (internal or external audio device)
USB port
A USB 2.0 port is used to connect a controller or a mixer, and export track files to a USB storage device such as a flash drive and a hard disk drive
LAN port
An Ethernet LAN adapter (RJ45 port) for communicating with the DJ player is required to transfer music files to a Pioneer DJ player (i.e. CDJ-TOUR1, CDJ-2000NXS). For details, check the operating instructions of the Pioneer product, etc.
Playable music file
ALAC, FLAC, WAV, AIFF MP3, AAC
Display resolution
1280 × 768 or greater
Internet connection
An internet connection is needed to create a rekordbox user account and to download and activate the software.
【rekordbox video】CPU
Minimum system requirements :
2.5GHz dual-core Intel® Core™ i5 or above
Recommended system requirements :
2.2GHz quad-core Intel® Core™ i7 or above【rekordbox video】Memory
Minimum system requirements :
8GB or more of RAM
Recommended system requirements :
16GB or more of RAM【rekordbox video】Video file formats
AVI, MPG, MP4, M4V, MOV (Windows)
MPG, MP4, M4V, MOV, QTZ (Mac OSX)【rekordbox video】Image file formats
JPEG, PNG, GIF (animated GIFs not currently supported)