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Earlier this week, I posted a teaser for whatever Algoriddim were unveiling for their djay product line. The tease was vague, with no indication of whether it was for desktop or iOS devices. Some of you got a tad carried away, but most were bang on the money, for djay 2 now has full Spotify integration, as well as a solid range of effects from Sugar Bytes available as in-app purchases.
A lot of words from Algoriddim and Spotify:
Algoriddim partners with Spotify for next generation intelligent DJ experience
Award-winning app djay 2 for iPhone and iPad introduces integration with Spotify
Introducing Match: a unique track recommendation tool for DJs powered by The Echo Nest
Automix Radio: automatically plays personalized DJ mixes liveAlgoriddim and Spotify today announce a major update to djay for iPhone and iPad, the world’s best selling DJ app with over 10 million users on iOS. This new version lets Spotify Premium subscribers mix millions of tracks using their iPhone and iPad, as well as hook up their professional DJ hardware to a massive library of music – being a DJ has never been easier or more fun!
- Find the perfect next track with Match. Finding the next track to mix has always been one of the biggest challenges for DJs, and it doesn’t get easier when you’ve got millions of tracks to choose from. So today we’re introducing Match, an innovative feature that recommends tracks that go well with what the DJ is currently playing – allowing users of any skill level to create professional sounding mixes. Match, powered by Spotify’s recent acquisition The Echo Nest, provides unprecedented track recommendations based on danceability, BPM, key, music style, and how well the song mixes with the currently playing track.
- Introducing Automix Radio. For people who simply want to lean back and have a continuous music mix at their next party, the all-new Automix Radio in djay 2 not only picks tracks that go well with each other, but also automatically mixes these tracks for them with beatmatched, DJ-style transitions. This means users can step away and enjoy live DJ mixes based on their personal musical taste. All with the simple tap of a button.
“Having more than 20 million songs instantly at your fingertips is a DJ’s dream come true. It gives djay 2 users endless creative possibilities and elevates the artform of DJing to a new level,” says Karim Morsy, CEO of Algoriddim. “The power of The Echo Nest driving track selection brings a new tool to the DJ that I could not have ever imagined possible. It truly helps to discover, explore, and find great new music that sounds amazing together.”
“Not only can Spotify Premium users DJ millions of songs, but they’ll also enjoy real-time, intelligent suggestions on what to play next, powered by The Echo Nest’s analysis of all the music on Spotify,” says Sten Garmark, VP of Product at Spotify. “Djay 2 will help DJs and regular music enthusiasts, regardless of their skill level, select the perfect songs for their set – or simply lean back and let djay 2 turn any Spotify playlist into a slick DJ set for parties or private listening.”
Other feature highlights include:
- TIGHT SPOTIFY INTEGRATION: Spotify integration in djay 2 includes all of the user’s existing playlists, starred tracks and Inbox (to send real-time song requests to the DJ), powerful search capabilities, top lists, browse (by genres, moods, DJs), and Match (for song recommendation). Users can seamlessly switch between Spotify and their existing local iTunes library, as well as mix tracks from both of these sources.
- PROFESSIONAL HARDWARE INTEGRATION: djay 2 supports a wide range of professional DJ gear allowing users to mix tracks from the cloud using tactile knobs, buttons and jog wheels. Algoriddim’s djay 2 app is powered by exclusive hardware from Pioneer, Numark, Vestax, Reloop, Philips, Casio, and Griffin.
- CUTTING-EDGE STREAMING ENGINE: Powerful audio streaming technology, ultra-low latency, advanced effects, on-the-fly analysis (key, bpm, beat grids, colored waveforms), all processed and streamed from the cloud, with no noticeable difference to local files.
- SOCIAL SHARING: djay 2 allows users to share their set lists as Spotify playlists via SMS, Email, Facebook, and Twitter, so the rest of the world can listen to the tracks instantly or recreate a great set.
- NEW AUDIO EFFECTS: Over 30 new desktop-class audio effects powered by Sugar Bytes are available via In-App Purchase. These new beat-synchronized effects bring unprecedented creative expression to DJs on iOS and support real-time audio manipulation of both local tracks from iTunes and streamed tracks from Spotify.
djay 2 is available on the App Store:
djay 2 for iPhone and iPad with Spotify integration is available now as a free update to all existing users of djay 2. A Spotify Premium subscription is required to access the Spotify music catalog. A seven day free trial of Spotify Premium is available for all djay 2 users. djay 2 for iPhone is normally $1.99 but will be available as a FREE DOWNLOAD during launch week. djay 2 for iPad is normally $9.99, but will be available for 50% OFF at $4.99 for a limited time.
To see the new djay 2 with Spotify integration in action, click here for the official video.
Streaming is scary, but it works
I’m not going to spend time imparting my own djay experiences — that’s for the review. That said, any fears I had about not having so much as a music file on my iPad were put to bed. The tracks load and play instantly, and can be seamlessly organised via playlists in the Spotify app, and have those changes appear instantly. It’s also really helpful that track analysis is a one-time thing too, making the Spotify experience as instant as iTunes, especially if you find yourself playing the same music on a regular basis.
You are of course at the mercy of getting a decent wifi connection though, but I suspect that any DJ who earns a living from playing out will use a bullet proof workflow rather than hoping that they can connect to Spotify. It’s worth underlining that Spotify and iTunes libraries work side by side, so if wifi isn’t an option, you can still revert to actual files on your device.
Spotify is a big deal. According to this article in The Guardian, there are 40m Spotify users, 10m of which cough up for the required premium subscription. That’s a huge potential customer base for algoriddim to tap into. I think it’ll depend largely on how much of a deal Spotify make of it as to whether djay becomes the goto app for their vast user base. One thing is for sure — expect to see more of this type of thing happening on all platforms.
What’s new in djay?
There’s some cosmetic changes, but the big news is hooking up with Sugar Bytes to deliver a rack of new effects available via in-app purchases. Again, the detail can wait for the review, but they’re really good and worth every penny. And at £2.99, it’s a real no-brainer purchase.
But this is all about Spotify. Like many of you, I’ve had a free Spotify account for a few years. I used it occasionally, but not enough to warrant paying for it. But having invested in an annual subscription to do the video, I have barely been off it. It’s the most amazing discovery tool, and is delivering a wide range of genres whenever I want. For me, Spotify doesn’t interfere with my own ethics of owning music — I use it to discover and play music. And if I like it enough, I’m most likely to track it down in physical form for my collection.
So in doing this project, Spotify has become a permanent part of my music life. Admittedly I’m only about 4 weeks into my subscription, and in 11 months time I may not renew. But for anyone wanting to play out with over 20 million tracks at their disposal, and to have the ability to discover new music with the Echo Nest match, to be able to automix Spotify tracks, and share playlists via social media, the latest version of djay for iPad and iPhone just turned Spotify into your record bag.
To Recap
The djay 2 update is free to existing users, put for launch week, djay 2 for iPhone is free, and 50% off for iPad buyers. You need a Spotify premium subscription to get the full Spotify experience. But for 7 days, you can snag a free premium trial. Full review coming tomorrow.
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Be interesting to see if one of the big two of traktor or serato get in bed with Spotify. Huge repercussions but a massive opening up of the market.
IIRC the NI S2mk2 and S4mk2 work with Djay2… hmmmm… could this be the nextlevelness we’ve been waiting for? I think so. Imagine not having to carry around your laptop and update your tracks from pools. You simply stream as needed. Welcome to the future.
No, NI controllers work with Traktor DJ only (on iOS).
Have WeGO will try out! I haven’t used my WeGO to perform live in almost a year and keep it as a back up however this warrants trying this out. I have become a regular Traktor User after buying my S2 Mk2 at the end of October last year.
Will this new feature come to the OSX version? I’d buy a copy for that.
Its a cool update for iOS Djay. But I’m really dissappointed that there is no mac update. I’ve moved to Traktor and Serato (depending on the party I’m playing) but Djay had a special place in my heart as a starter software. I’d hoped that they would bring the iOS features to desktop – a major update has been too long in the making.
We know you’ve been waiting patiently, but not to worry we have lots of big plans for djay for Mac in the future, and we think you’ll be blown away when you see what we’ve been working on. No date to give at this time, but rest assured we want it as much as you do. Stay tuned!
Say what ???
I though Djay for mac had died & gone forever.
“you’ll be blown away when you see what we’ve been working on”
I can’t wait!
“No date to give at this time”
Ummm……….. I guess I can.
Ultimately, this is great news though.
Since Spotify is not available in Canada, is this upgrade still worthwhile to users from the Great White North?
I just wouldn’t use it period. Another variable in the dj setup that could fail.
Still no update for Mac OSX version… anybody have recommendations as the best dj software to migrate to? Easy controller mapping is important and would love to have 4 decks. Anybody gone from Algoriddim Djay to Virtual DJ?
“Easy controller mapping”
Most dj software can map buttons & slides etc pretty easily, getting the lights to behave the way you want is something else though. For best mapping, I’d say Traktor. Best value for money, I’d say Mixvibes. Tightest controller integration, I’d say SeratoDJ. Easiest cracked software to find, I’d say VDJ. If you don’t have a Serato controller, I recommend Mixvibes. It has it all for a very fair price.
Thanks Ace, have previously created mappings for MIDI in & out for my Faderfox and Xone:K2 but I do enough programming 9 to 5 (my day job) that a nice GUI to do this is appreciated, and Djay have done that well. Well check out Mixvibes, had slipped under my radar.
don’t be a tease Frederik!! can you let us know if the mac update will be this year?
Sorry we don’t have an ETA to share at this point.
Anyone else downloaded this for iphone and found that there seems to be no way to actually integrate with Spotify? I’m a premium Spotify user, and I downloaded this app, and it is acting like I got the pre-Spotify-integration version. I even tried reinstalling Spotify (which was highly annoying).
When you open the music library in djay, you should be asked to choose between your local music and Spotify (tap the iTunes/Spotify icon in the upper-left corner to switch at any time):
http://www.algoriddim.com/spotify#library
If you don’t have that, please double-check you have the latest version of djay (2.5.1) in the “Updates” tab of the App Store app.
I’m not too sure about all the whole spotify thing.
What happens when you’re playing at a venue with a poor connection, or suddenly lose connection mid set? Seems very risky.
I guess it really all depends on who the target market for this is.
Virtual DJ has had an identical service since 2010, they advertise this as new? ATleast VDJ has HD music videos and for the mobile gigs karaoke (and MacOSX)
I don’t think they do advertise streaming as new. That would be foolish considering that the Pacemaker app had Spotify first.
As for VDJ’s identical service – it’s not on iOS, which is rather the point of djay.
Is there any improvement to the iOS beatgridding in this version? I’m really struggling with switching over to using djay because I can’t get my BPM’s sorted.. Also, could we please, for the love of god, get a way to control deck gain levels with a wego2 somehow? I’d gladly sacrifice and eq band or an fx slot from the controller surface to get physical gain controls – they are that important IMHO.
Revolution??? :/
Marketing! :-)
Having the software “match” of “recommend” sounds extremely limiting and narrowing. And what’s to stop it from becoming a modern form of payola, which lets be honest, is EXACTLY what it is. Just like paying for your link to show up higher in search results, every user around the planet will be getting the same stupid track recommended to them at the same time. There is a big difference in “digging” and “being. In a record pool” don’t let your software or hardware provider tell you what to play or like “give ’em an inch they’ll take a mile”