“Dive deeper”: rekordbox 7 promises to give DJs a smarter, leaner and faster way of managing their music
New features include an overhauled interface, intelligent track matching and lower CPU load
rekordbox is very much the DJ music management software du jour, and version 7 promises to provide the smoothest, most intuitive workflow yet, while also enabling you to “dive deeper” both into your own track collection and those available on streaming services.
Now falling under the AlphaTheta brand (previously Pioneer DJ), rekordbox 7 has a refreshed GUI and a new Media Browser. This now has an icon view rather than a tree view for faster access to tracks in your music collection.
The browsing experience when using streaming services has also been improved - you can now see artist images and album artwork - and songs can be filtered by date, genre, artist or album.
The Collection and Streaming Radar features, meanwhile, enable you to find ‘matched’ songs using various filters, helping you to locate forgotten or previously undiscovered tracks that work well together, both from your own collection and streaming services.
Other new features include intelligent, automatic cue creation when you add a track, a Dual Player layout so that you can assess the compatibility of tracks, and a Column View that gives you a hierarchical method of searching folders and files and selecting and navigating through playlists and tracks. Collaborative playlists - which can contain BPM, grid and cue point information - are now a thing, too, so DJs can share their thinking/working with others.
AlphaTheta also wants to let it be known that, despite all of these new features, rekordbox 7 imposes up to 56% less CPU processing load in comparison to version 6, so the software should run smoother. Power consumption during startup has also been reduced - by 38% - which should give you longer battery life if you’re away from the mains.
rekordbox 7 can be downloaded now for free, and subscription plans - which add more features and cloud storage space depending on how much you pay - start at £7 a month. The Dual Player layout, Collection Filter, Column View, and other paid features added in this update are available free of charge when DJ equipment eligible for owner registration is registered to an AlphaTheta account via rekordbox 7.
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Find out more on the rekordbox website.
I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.
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