AlphaTheta doubles down on AI and cloud technology with the release of Rekordbox 7, the first major Rekordbox update in four years!
Speed, functionality and user-friendly interaction are at its core, with all-new AI features designed to take the DJ’s music organisation and music discovery to the next level.
Efficiency improvements are the main focus of this generation, with a host of new features and killer functions creating a faster workflow so DJs can spend more time on their performance and less dealing with organising their tunes and tweaking settings.
These time-saving measures are so effective that music prep may become a thing of the past for future DJs!
In this article, we find out what’s new for Rekordbox 7 and take a look at its pioneering AI features and energy-efficient upgrades to see if this exciting new instalment lives up to expectations.
Rekordbox: The world’s leading DJ performance software
Rekordbox broke onto the scene as a music preparation software for the CDJ-2000 back in 2009.
It has since come a long way and overtaken both Serato and Traktor in popularity.
Rekordbox is now considered to be the DJ industry’s leading performance software and looks set to continue blazing its trail to new heights.
Each new release has taken it one step closer to becoming the ultimate go-to DJ software, and Rekordbox 7 is the next evolution towards cementing Pioneer DJ/ AlphaTheta as the club’s first choice for both DJ hardware and software.
Check out our video review below, where Jamie walks through all the new features of Rekordbox 7!
What’s new in Rekordbox 7?
A lot has changed since version 6 of Rekordbox dropped back in 2020 with its beautiful graphics refresh, giving Rekordbox a whole new look.
Version 7 takes the aesthetic further, making the overall look more streamlined, spaced out, and easier to navigate. Most of the changes make Rekordbox 7 much more user-friendly!
It loads faster, has better search options and enables DJs to find the perfect next track in a fraction of the time of the previous generation, giving DJs more time to focus on their mixes rather than searching through music libraries and system menus.
It’s the perfect solution for DJs who don’t want to be endlessly browsing their music collections trying to find the perfect next track to play!
Rekordbox 7’s key features
These are the main upgrades of Rekordbox 7:
- Collection Radar, Streaming Radar and Intelligent Cue Creation – Revolutionary AI features cut down your prep time by automating tasks such as adding cue points to multiple tracks at once and sourcing complimentary music files for your playlists with the use of two Software Learning functions
- Collaborative Playlists – Share playlists with other DJs and collaborators online, with playlists retaining all of your performance and metadata, such as hot cues, BPM and key
- Faster load times – Track load times and CPU use have been significantly reduced, meaning Rekordbox runs more smoothly than ever!
- Album Art Sort View – Browsing music from online streaming services has become more instinctive than ever, with an emphasis on album art rather than file names
- Expanded and improved platform graphics – The overall look has had a refresh, and organisation capabilities have been taken to the next level with a new panel view and more track sorting options
- Dual Player layout – Conveniently link decks together in Export Mode to test how two tracks sound together for mixes or mashups. In this mode, two decks virtually become one, with all operations, such as beat jumping, happening simultaneously!
- Owner registration – Unlock features in Rekordbox 7 by registering your hardware unlocking device. You can then continue to use those features on any device.
AI enhancements in Rekordbox 7
AI has been a buzzword in the tech industry for over a year now, and AlphaTheta is not missing a trick as they integrate powerful new capabilities brought by recent advancements in AI into Rekordbox.
To save you time, you can now get Rekordbox to do a whole lot of music prep for you! It can now find music options that are similar and compatible with what you’re playing.
This is achieved using two new functions designed to find you the perfect next track at any point in your set, even with only a moment’s notice! They are Collection Radar and Streaming Radar.
The functions use a smart new software learning technology to understand what’s playing on your Master Deck with several learning parameters that measure the music’s energy, key and BPM, amongst others.
The music suggestions are appropriate and organised well, with the best and most popular music choices being high up on the suggestion list and the less obvious suggestions further down.
Collection Radar
The first of the software learning technologies, Collection Radar, searches through your local music libraries according to your preset filters, helping you rediscover some past gems you may not have played in a while.
Streaming Radar
The second, Streaming Radar, simultaneously navigates all of your online streaming subscriptions, such as Beatport and Soundcloud, to help you quickly discover your future favourites!
Intelligent Cue Creation
As well as the radar features is the new Intelligent Cue Creation function which allows Rekordbox to analyse tracks you have already configured with cue and memory points so it can learn your style, create a Personal CUE Tendency Information Document and apply that to any un-processed tracks, saving you a ton of prep time!
Intuitive media browsing experience
The graphics of Rekordbox have once again been refreshed, but not as dramatically as when going from version 5 to version 6.
Music browsing has been given the most noticeable upgrade as its new default view is now a pane view rather than a tree view, so you get a better overview of all of your music at a glance.
This is an invaluable upgrade when searching through multiple music sources like online libraries and local USB storage, as it means you can always see which source you are searching through and quickly switch to another.
Searching through online music with Rekordbox 7 is also easier and more enjoyable, as you can now display tracks from streaming services with a focus on the artist’s image and album artwork for a more intuitive, visual browsing experience reminiscent of how vinyl DJs would sift through physical record sleeves in their crates!
To find more music in the style you like when DJing with online music, you can simply click on one of the links for an album or playlist, such as the artist’s name or label, to view a list of related songs.
Rekordbox 7 goes above and beyond to speed up the track discovery process so you can concentrate on your performance!
Improved energy and CPU efficiency
Rekordbox 7’s overall goal is to make your life easier by reducing the time it takes to do basically everything a DJ does with regard to prep work!
With a 56% reduction in CPU load, and a 38% reduction in power consumption, you’ll notice that the software boots more quickly, can carry out operations more effectively and draws less power, meaning you can run it on laptop battery power for longer, should you need to.
The software also now has a light mode, which inverts all the colours on the screen to accommodate daytime gigs, something first seen on the awesome AlphaTheta OMNIS-DUO, which is the company’s first battery-powered DJ device, designed to play in any location at any time of day.
Rekordbox 7’s New Functions
Alongside the AI, enhanced visuals, improved sorting options for easy and intuitive navigation, track loading and energy efficiency, Rekordbox 7 also has some killer new functions to assist with your DJing!
Dual Player Layout
If you like creating remixes and mash-ups on the fly, this feature levels up your workflow by allowing you to check the compatibility of tracks very quickly and find their best mix points.
When active, two decks effectively become one as all operations are mirrored, and the two tracks’ waveforms are spliced together, with one deck’s wave showing its left side and the other deck showing its right.
The waves are stacked on top of one another, so you can instantly see if the tracks will sound good together!
In this mode, if you beat jump, reverse, or skip to a cue point or memory point on one deck, the opposite deck will do the same!
Collaborative Playlists
If you DJ at events with other DJs, share DJ duties with a band, or want to share jams with your DJ friends, this feature could be game-changing for you!
Remote DJ collabs have become a breeze as you can share your playlists, including all their performance data, with other Rekordbox 7 users.
For this to work, all collaborating users must have the Professional Rekordbox licence and either be subscribed to the same streaming partners or own the same locally stored tracks.
User Registration
Many of the new features in Rekordbox 7 are accessed via a paid monthly subscription or are hardware unlocked by specific Rekordbox devices such as some DDJ controllers, XDJ all-in-ones and the CDJ-3000.
To learn how to mix like a pro on these Rekordbox devices, check out our industry-certified Rekordbox courses for beginner and intermediate-level DJs.
Until now, the hardware-unlocked features of Rekordbox have only been unlocked when used with a piece of Rekordbox hardware.
Now, users can register their Rekordbox hardware, so they no longer need to use that particular device to access the hardware unlocked features, they just need to sign into Rekordbox.
Very useful for DJs who have several bits of kit where not all devices unlock the same features.
Upgrading to Rekordbox 7
Existing Rekordbox users can simply update to the new version via a prompt when the software launches. Their workflow will not change drastically, but the new features will be useful for set curation and figuring out what to play next.
New Rekordbox users can head to the Rekordbox site to download the software. For more on what to do once you’ve installed Rekordbox for the first time, check out our beginner’s guide to getting started:
Is Rekordbox 7 the best DJ performance software?
We’ve loved Rekordbox 7’s overall upgrades. The new pane view is a big improvement for keeping on top of different music sources for quicker and easier track sorting.
The Collection menu is now laid out as it is on CDJs, so DJs have a consistent experience going from Rekordbox on a laptop to playing from a CDJ, and the track suggestion and smart Cue creation AI technology is really impressive and genuinely useful, with the technology promising to get better with future updates.
AI has simplified music discovery for DJs by bringing decent suggestions of complimentary tracks to your attention and reviving an important part of track sourcing legacy by encouraging DJs to associate music with label art rather than file names.
Despite all of Rekordbox 7’s improvements, there is one very prominent oversight with this long-awaited upgrade.
Stems audio quality hasn’t seen any improvement at all. But the groundwork for future upgrades has been laid here, and Rekordbox has now renamed the feature as simply Stems, in line with Serato DJ, where the technology really shines!
We’re confident a proper update to the sound quality of Rekordbox Stems is coming soon, and when it does, the platform will be so far beyond the competition that it’s almost not fair!
Learn to DJ on any Rekorbox Device
If you like the sound of this new-era Rekordbox, we can get you gen 7 ready with our industry-certified courses suitable for all DJs looking to grow their skills and get confident on any Rekordbox device!
We have courses for DJs using DDJs, CDJs and XDJs. Whether from a laptop or USB and for both beginner and intermediate DJs. Check out our range of Rekordbox courses here.
And to fast-track your success as a DJ, our Complete DJ Package includes all our past, present and future courses to keep your skills up to date on the latest DJ technologies, techniques, resources, and so much more!
See Rekordbox 7 in the mix with our performance video!
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