Time for Upgrading: Is Rekordbox 7 Really Worth It?

Oh, you heard that Rekordbox 7 dropped, and that it has a slew of new and enhanced features, including an integrated AI? Sounds pretty sweet. But is it really worth upgrading from Rekordbox 6? The short answer is…

Not unless you plan on springing for a monthly subscription.

Let’s take a look at what Rekordbox 7 has to offer, and why it may not be worth the upgrade without paying for a subscription.

Artificial Intelligence

Let’s address the AI thing first: Rekordbox 7 does have some AI-esque features that are pretty damn impressive, but we are a far cry from playing B2B with Jarvis. What AlphaTheta has done is integrated software learning into various features that speed up and enhance workflows for track preparation, library management, and track selection. 

Software learning is a loose term that encompasses a plethora of approaches to software improving or adapting itself based on user interaction, input, and “experience.” It is a core part of how AI works. Machine learning – a term I’m sure you’ve heard at some point – is a narrow, intense type of software learning aimed at developing models for software to learn from data, and use that data to solve problems. Major advances in this type of process have led to the advent of the Large Language Models (LLMs) that are freaking out all the old folks these days.

Rekordbox 7 isn’t that. It’s significantly smarter than Rekordbox 6, and it uses AI-related approaches to learn from input and apply what it learns to some tasks, but it’s not like there is a GPT-4 class model integrated into the software.

Now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at what type of intelligence boost AlphaTheta and Pioneer DJ have given their flagship software. 

Smooth Operation

A big improvement in Rekordbox 7 isn’t a visible feature at all, but rather how it works under the hood. According to Pioneer DJ, Rekordbox 7 operates with a 56% lighter CPU processing load as compared to Rekordbox 6. This means a smoother experience for a DJ using Rekordbox 7 for performance.

Additionally, they claim a 38% reduction in power consumption on startup, “…allowing your PC/Mac to run on battery power for longer periods of time.” Playing a DJ set on battery power is a huge no-no for me, but I suppose emergencies and fluke situations do arise once in a while.

New, Super-Smart Features

The first area you’ll notice software learning’s impact is in its track suggestion capabilities. Rekordbox 7 has a new feature called Radar which can be applied to your collection, or to various streaming services you may have integrated, such as BeatPort, SoundCloud, or Tidal.

Collection Radar

Collection Radar is a track suggestion tool that scours your collection – or specific playlists – for similar types of tracks to the one you have loaded. It’s a really cool feature that uses software learning to cherry pick tracks that share a vibe or sound. 

The way it works is Rekordbox 7 will reanalyze your tracks and add a new analysis layer to them. This new analysis layer is what Radar will refer to when it tries to match your vibe within your set parameters.

In practice, this is a neat feature for rediscovering tracks or finding suggestions you wouldn’t have thought of yourself. After reanalyzing my tracks in a single genre, I played a quick mix for myself just to hear what Rekordbox thought went together. Rekordbox’s picks were surprisingly appropriate. Still, while this is definitely a cool, next-gen type feature, it just isn’t such a game-changer if you’ve worked on organizing your library the way we discussed in a previous article. 

Streaming Radar

Streaming Radar is the same as collection radar, but instead of matching tracks from your collection, it will match tracks available on your linked streaming services.

The reason this is so much more impressive is that instead of scouring your collection (which I’m sure is also very big and impressive), it scans all the tracks available from your streaming services. In Pioneer DJ’s own words,  “[Streaming Radar] pulls results from among tens of millions of songs and can even search for tracks across multiple streaming services…”

Tens of millions? Okay, that’s really impressive.

Personally, I don’t do streaming services for my DJ library. For several reasons, I prefer to purchase tracks and keep them with me on a hard drive – not the least of which is preferring not to have access to my music mid-gig dependent on Wi-Fi. That being the case, I wasn’t able to try out the Streaming Radar for myself. However, I can definitely see it being a much bigger deal than the Collection Radar.

Intelligent Cue Creation

This is the feature that really turned my head when I looked into Rekordbox 7. As Rekordbox 7 reanalyzes your track collection, it learns where you habitually set your cue points. Then, you can have Rekordbox automatically set your cues. Naturally, you’ll want to review those cues before a gig and make any adjustments you see fit. Still, the fact that Rekordbox can learn your habits and pick up some of the track prep workload is a huge advancement and a major boon to DJs everywhere.

In practice, this is a huge time saver – especially when it comes to adding compilations to the library. I used the feature on a handful of new tracks, and the spots Rekordbox marked with memory cues were pretty spot on – though there were a couple instances where I added or deleted cues. Between this feature and the Radar (especially for DJs with streaming integration), Rekordbox 7 is a tantalizing upgrade.

Other Additions and Enhancements

In addition to the AI integration centerpiece, Rekordbox 7 also made a slew of changes and enhancements. There are too many to address all of them here – you can visit this page on Pioneer DJ’s site for the full rundown – but here are some highlights:

Library Navigation and Management

The first thing users upgrading from Rekordbox 6 will notice is the Collection view is different. Rekordbox 7 automatically gives you sorting options by artist, genre, album, and date added. This kind of feels like iTunes, which is pretty neat and negates the need to make individual intelligent playlists for this purpose.

Next, is the sources menu. No longer a file tree, all of your sources – collection, playlists, track suggestion, streaming services, etc. – are now listed as a set of icons lining the far left of the library region of the GUI.

Finally, there are the file trees. While the classic tree is still available, you also have the option of navigating in column view, with which Mac users will instantly feel at home. A plus for some, but likely not for all. Personally, I like it. Your mileage may vary.

Collaboration

Rekordbox 7 also adds some sweet features for collaboration. This is neat stuff for DJ duos and B2B sets.

You can now share playlists with others. Sure, you could always have exported a playlist and done it that way, but this feature lets you share from within Rekordbox – and can also include all of your analysis data and cue points. The caveat here is that if your friend wants to play the tracks in your shared playlist, they will also need to own a copy or subscribe to the streaming service from which the track was pulled.

Dual Player in Export Mode

This is a great enhancement to export mode that helps with track selection for a gig. It allows you to sync tracks, isolate their frequency ranges, and play them side by side to check compatibility. Linking tracks in this mode allows you to manipulate both tracks simultaneously – jumping forward or backwards, or starting and stopping both tracks with one set of controls.

It’s All So Good – But Here’s the Catch…

Yes, Rekordbox 7 is an amazing piece of software available to Pioneer DJ users for free…

…Sort of…

…Not really.

In order to unlock the awesome power of Rekordbox 7, you will need one of their monthly subscription plans, which range from $19 to $30 per month (you can see the available subscription plans here). Without it, you will lose out on the vast majority of the enhancements that make Rekordbox 7 really worth it. 

Sure, there is a free option. And while it seems that the new Radar features are included, you won’t get intelligent cue creation, collaborative playlists, vocal detection, export’s dual player, or DVS control, among other things. You won’t even get the column view. Also, while hardware-unlock eligible devices will still unlock performance mode (thankfully), if you want to record and export your mixes with Rekordbox, you’re out of luck. You have to pay for a subscription for that. For me, at least, that’s a killer because I record all of my shows and post the underground stream sessions weekly. 

Looks like I’ll be sticking with Rekordbox 6.

So Is Rekordbox 7 Worth It For You?

I don’t know – maybe? Personally, I can’t justify springing for another subscription. I think the pervasiveness of the subscription-based business model is probably one of the most annoying things to come out of the supercharged digital landscape we live in today. 

I’m a huge fan of AI and I follow the unimaginable advances in the field, so I would love nothing more than to integrate the power of software learning into my workflow. But I won’t spring for another subscription to do so. Does that make me cheap? I don’t think so. Times are tough and just living life can be pricey. I get by just fine with my manual workflows and intelligent-enough playlists in Rekordbox 6. So unless 7 adds a couple features – specifically, set recording – to the hardware-unlockable free plan, I won’t be making the jump.

Will you?

-AudioMunk