“With TIDAL music streaming gaining popularity I'm wondering whether they would ever bring lossless streaming to DJ software like Traktor, Serato or rekordbox.” A DJ can play seamless music for hours straight that fits the audience. What’s the best source for DJs to get DJ music? Tidal is the answer! TIDAL is the latest streaming service to be supported by rekordbox, which also integrates with Beatport LINK, Beatsource LINK, and SoundCloud Go+. If you have a Hardware Unlock device, you can use Performance mode with any subscription plan, including the Free plan. Not happy with soundcloud go? Want to be like the cool kids and use Tidal. Here is a DJ tutorial that could change the way you DJ. #tidal #rekordbox #serat. Streaming with Tidal, using Soundiiz to convert Spotify Playlists; DJ Danny James’s Music Library. Danny is using Rekordbox for the majority of his music management. A user of CDJ players, his library is organised in a way to make it easier to navigate without the use of a keyboard and laptop.
Part 1. What DJ Apps Are Compatible with Tidal
Can you use Tidal to DJ? Yes and no.Since Tidal doesn't offer an in-built DJ software, you will have to use third-party DJ apps compatible with Tidal. Luckily, there a few great options to choose from.
Here, we have rounded up the top 3 Tidal DJ apps. Read ahead and take your pick.
1. Tidal | SERATO DJ
Out of the few DJ apps compatible with Tidal, Serato DJ takes the lead. If you are a beginner just starting your DJing career, this is your best bet. With a practice mode that makes the DJing process easy and intuitive, Serato is an excellent choice for amateurs.
You can easily add song from Tidal to Serato DJ and never run out of songs to mix. Serato also allows two tracks to be mixed at the same time using pitch bend, scratch, nudge, etc. The cue points tools allow easy and quick access to specific parts of the audio.
Audio loops can also be created. You can further enhance your listening experience by adding sound effects and unique transitions. The Serato Sync feature can lock the tracks together to give perfectly harmonious grooves.
2. Tidal | ALGORIDDIM
A great tidal DJ tool is Algoriddim that allows easy and powerful audio mixing. An intuitive interface coupled with an automix AI makes this Tidal DJ software highly favored among beginners. The colored waveforms in high-resolution further make the audio mixing process more seamless.
Algoriddim allows users to easily connect Tidal to DJ and stream a huge variety of songs. With the Hi-Fi sound option, Algoriddim ensures professional quality audio. There is also an in-built music video player. There are up to 4 decks, cue points, and FX effects to render your music experience flawless and refined.
Moreover, Algoriddim is compatible with various devices, including Android, Windows, Mac, and iOS.
3. Tidal | REKORDBOX
Rekordbox is a very intuitive Tidal DJ app packed with a multitude of powerful features. Among other apps compatible with Tidal, Rekordbox takes lead owing to the special effect library as well as the visual effects. The music and visuals can be optimally synced to give the best DJing experience possible.
You can work on various devices and sync your work through the cloud library management. The Related Tracks option displays the song that best matches the currently playing song, making it easier to maintain the rhythm. Adding tags can also help filter the tracks according to preference.
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.
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.
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 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.
Does Tidal Work With Rekordbox
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.
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