Dangling the idea of one library in front of DJs is a bit like dangling the idea of one word processor file format in front of office workers 20 years ago. Imagine not being able to open a Word file on Google Docs, Apple Pages, or OpenOffice without using a converter program. Madness, right? Yet that’s how it was back in the day. You couldn’t even open a Word file on a Mac that had been made on Windows without it messing up! Yet that’s DJ software right now. So this announcement from AlphaTheta that OneLibrary aims to fix that seems like huge news.
The company is unequivocal and its aims are nothing if not bold:
“We’re working with other brands to create a world where you can use your music libraries – your creative assets – freely on any type of media or device (file-based music, cloud, streaming, USB, PC, mobile, etc.) and hardware, regardless of the DJ software you use.”
So no one could blame any of us for getting excited about this. But if you wonder whether it’s for you, whether you should try the first iteration right now or wait, and if there’s other stuff you can do that isn’t immediately obvious from the initial coverage, then this article and accompanying video are for you.
Watch the show
Prefer me to talk you through this? In this video, a recording of a live show from the Digital DJ Tips YouTube channel, I talk you through everything in this article, and we take questions from our community on the subject.
Before you go any further, if you haven’t already seen it or you’re not crystal clear about what this announcement is all about, we invite you to first read our news piece and secondly watch the video we’ve added to that piece made by Mojaxx who, in uncharacteristically excited mode (no offence Mojaxx!), explains clearly what OneLibrary is as of launch day.
5 Things You Need To Know
1. It’s not really a “library”
OneLibrary is not one library that you can work with in all your DJ software. What it really is one export and import. It’s a way of taking your music library from one piece of software and putting it onto a USB drive which you can then plug into Pioneer DJ or AlphaTheta DJ standalone equipment and DJ from, but also plug into any computer running other compatible software and import the contents.
Your DJ software maintains its own library of tracks, cues, playlists and so on. (And actually, if you do what I just said, you’d end up with two copies of your playlist and tracks should the software you’re importing to already have those tracks on it.) So think of it more as a format for moving your music from one piece of DJ software to standalone gear or to another piece of DJ software.
2. It’s not actually new
It’s a rebrand of what AlphaTheta and Pioneer DJ’s Rekordbox software already does in order to take playlists and music cue points and so on off of your laptop and put it onto a USB drive so you can use it in the club without the laptop. (It was called Device Library Plus before.)
The makers of VirtualDJ software have already figured all this out on their own without any help from AlphaTheta, and their software has been able to export USBs like this for years. So this is really AlphaTheta making it easier for others to do it too and giving their blessing to other software exporting and importing in this format.
3. It’s definitely not “one”
At least not in the sense of “all of us” – because for that, you need everyone on board, and currently we’re far from that point. As I write this, the only DJ software that can do this apart from Rekordbox is Algoriddim’s Djay Pro, with Traktor already committed but not yet functional, and Serato not on board (without whom you’re nowhere near the whole DJ industry).
You really need VirtualDJ to come out of the cold and be officially welcomed to the party too, and somehow, you’ll need to convince inMusic, the makers of Engine DJ equipment, which is a complete rival system, to come on board too. I imagine that the pressure from the users of all of these platforms means that it’s not a question of if this is going to happen, but when. But it’s currently far from a certainty, with some of these brands likely to be more stubborn than others.
4. It may have a crucial flaw
Of course, there are likely to be teething problems, that’s to be expected, but there’s one fundamental issue that we feel deserves raising separately – and I’m honestly not being alarmist here. Recently, our tutor DJ Jazzy Jeff – in a state of panic – asked me to help him figure out why all his cues, loops and beatgrids appeared to be just slightly off when he moved his music collection from one piece of DJ software to another using a popular conversion tool. I put him in touch with Mixmaster G (the maker of the DJCU conversion tool) because I knew he’d seen this before. Luckily, he solved it for Jeff.
The issue was something that Mixmaster G calls “encoder drift”. It’s where MP3 files are encoded into that format using any of the countless MP3 encoders out there, and decoded from that format by different DJ software in slightly different ways. When this happens, all the timings of grids, cues and loops can drift by up to 30ms which is plenty enough to throw a good DJ’s mixing off. What’s more, if you continue to move these files around, it can get worse. As far as we can tell there is no provision in OneLibrary to fix this. This means potentially a very unwelcome genie might be let out of the bottle here. Initial user reports will show us if we’re right…
5. But yes, this could still be great news!
This is something we’ve wanted along with so many other DJs for so long, and it feels within reach. That’s why we feel now’s the time to convince AlphaTheta and the rest of the industry to get their heads together and finally make this happen.
We believe that AlphaTheta genuinely wants this – they’re box shifters, they make great hardware. Software is hard, and they know it. If they can get something along these lines to work, then they sell lots of gear. The software companies get a good way of making their software work with that gear. And they also get a kick up the arse to work harder, because if us as DJs can move our music between software, we’re going to go with the software that does the best job rather than feeling locked into the one we’re using.
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For instance, we could use Algoriddim’s amazing Djay beatgrids when preparing our music and quickly flip it over to Traktor or Rekordbox, whatever we choose. Ultimately, the people who make the best software will be the winners, and we as DJs gain however that battle pans out.
3 Suggestions That Could Make This Work
1. Go further!
Let’s move from one import/export to true “one library”. Rekordbox software already has a pretty good way to do this built in, in the shape of the Rekordbox XML file. I won’t go into technical details here, but if this could be opened up to all DJ software makers as an easy way of moving libraries between platforms in the background alongside what’s already been announced, then we could have a situation where what I was describing earlier gets closer.
This is getting nearer to – as mentioned right at the start – any flavour of word processor being able to work with a single file format, and it’s surely what we’re looking for here ultimately. So, how about that, AlphaTheta (and the rest of the industry)?
2. Engage the experts
There are an awful lot of people in this industry who work tirelessly to make life easier for DJs, and an awful lot of talented coders, geeks, and thinkers who can contribute to the success of such a project. Some of you will know tools like DJCU and Lexicon DJ which already do excellent work in helping DJs hack their way around the current situation. There are great minds in companies such as VirtualDJ and the other software companies who probably haven’t been consulted so far on this. If this is a true attempt for a universal DJ library that will help everyone, there’s no reason why these people can’t pool their expertise to ensure this works out.
3. Certify the implementations
Looking through the FAQs on the OneLibrary website, I was struck by the way the language already starts to get vague when it comes to guaranteeing how this works. Indeed, it said something like “we can’t guarantee everything will work when you import and export using this format” – the absolute opposite of what DJs want to hear! You do not want to be in the situation DJ Jazzy Jeff was in 10 minutes before a gig feeling he’d lost his mojo because he couldn’t line up any of his cues and everything sounded rubbish only to realise it was a fault of some arcane bug in the system.
Because the truth is: if someone plugs a USB into AlphaTheta equipment in a DJ booth and it doesn’t work, they’re going to blame AlphaTheta whether AlphaTheta likes it or not and whether it was exported from Traktor, Algoriddim’s Djay…whatever.
Now just imagine if this whole project had not only engaged the experts as I said above but actually carried certification when an implementation was good enough. Everyone could agree on what that implementation would need in order to be reliable and trustworthy, and then with that certification, the DJ could be sure that it was going to work.
If AlphaTheta is genuine about wanting an open format that will help everyone, then why not make it open source or at the very least have a committee across the DJ industry helping to enforce a minimum standard for this? So that if it’s plugged into any DJ software, the DJ can be sure that when they press that button to transfer their collection or export a USB, it’s just going to work?
Finally…
To close off, back to the question: Should you try this out? Our recommendation if you use Algoriddim’s Djay Pro or (when it arrives) Traktor, is to export to a USB drive from one of those programs and have a go at playing in the compatible standalone equipment. We would caution against importing into other software at this point because you’ll be a guinea pig for some of the issues that we think might occur. But of course if it’s not mission-critical to you, have a go.
Another potential use case (which Mojaxx raised in his excellent talkthrough video) is if you’ve always been frustrated by how hard it is to get music into an iPhone or iPad to use with Algoriddim’s Djay. OneLibrary is potentially a great way of doing just that. Simply throw it onto a USB drive from the laptop, plug it into your phone, and import it. Job done.
Did you miss Mojaxx’s talkthrough?
Read this next: USB Drives For DJs – 6 Crucial Tips For Trouble-Free Use
Ultimately, this is all potentially really great news for DJs. Yes, it’s only the first step, and yes, there are many steps to go, and many problems that will need to be solved. But a solution to a problem that has dogged the DJ industry for so long does seem to be on the horizon in a way that it really has never been before. We would love to see the final push by everyone to make this happen. And we hope that this article and accompanying discussion video are received in this context. Fingers crossed for the future because it definitely looks a bit brighter today than it did yesterday.
Phil Morse
