Soundcloud Go+ Rekordbox
To access SoundCloud's extensive catalogue within Rekordbox, you will need a SoundCloud Go+ subscription, as well as a Rekordbox subscription. New users to SoundCloud Go+ and Rekordbox are eligible for a free 30-day trial. If you are an active user to SoundCloud Go+, you could start mixing SoundCloud's millions of tracks using Rekordbox. Download or update to rekordbox ver. 5.6.1 to enable compatibility: Bring infinite new sounds to your sets with rekordbox ver. The SoundCloud or TIDAL checkbox can be selected to display only the SoundCloud Go+ or TIDAL tracks. With the tracks selected, select Analyze Track from the right-click menu to analyze the tracks. 6 communicates with the rekordboxAgent application running on the same computer.
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.
Soundcloud Go+ Rekordbox Offline
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.
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
Because our mission is to provide you with the best tools to create and share your work, we’ve partnered with major DJ apps like Serato, Virtual DJ, DEX 3, Native Instruments and Pioneer’s WeDJ so you can build sets using your SoundCloud tracks. Today we’re giving you even more ways to level up your workflow by integrating with Pioneer DJ’s rekordbox.
Compatible with all Pioneer hardware from controllers to CDJs to media players, rekordbox is the go-to DJ performance software for Pioneer fans and pros. Now DJs using rekordbox can start mixing SoundCloud’s millions of tracks within their DJ app using a SoundCloud Go+ subscription. Here’s how:
- On Wi-Fi, download and log in to rekordbox.
- Enable SoundCloud within the app and sign in to your account (you need to be a SoundCloud Go+ subscriber).
- Restart your rekordbox app to pull in tracks from your SoundCloud playlists, and to search, mix and stream from SoundCloud’s catalog of official releases, emerging creator content, and everything in between – directly from the app, in real time.
In addition to accessing this growing list of DJ integrations, SoundCloud Go+ gives you offline and ad-free listening to SoundCloud’s entire catalog and the ability to stream in high quality audio. If you haven’t upgraded yet, that’s okay. There are a few different (and discounted) ways* to get SoundCloud Go+:
Soundcloud To Rekordbox
- Looking for the best value for DJs? Get our premium creator subscription Pro Unlimited and then add SoundCloud Go+ for half the cost; this option gives you industry-leading creator tools to grow your career, plus the ability to mix with select DJ apps.
- Are you a college or university student? Get SoundCloud Go+ for 50% off here.
- Just want to keep it simple? You can purchase a standalone subscription here.
We’ll be rolling out integrations with other leading DJ applications later this year, so stay tuned. If you’re a label or distributor that doesn’t have a deal with us yet and would like to be involved in partnerships like this one, reach out to licensing@soundcloud.com.
*Note, offers cannot be combined.