Ok, I must be honest- that title is a little misleading. It is the title I wish we could write if all the major dj software companies joined together to create a common standard for storing track information. Once you have been using one program for a while, a large amount of time and effort gets invested into adding loops, cue points and stripes to those songs. The thought of doing it all over again is enough to keep most djs firmly rooted in place, never venturing out to try new things. This might be good for a market leader but its terrible for the collective market place. If we create an atmosphere where djs can freely bounce back and forth to try out the merits of each system then competition and creative ideas will flourish. Both customers and the companies will win.
Such a system would mean you would never lose:
- Wave form overviews
- Cue points
- Loops
- bpm data
I realize this is not an easy task but its something that will be much easier now than 5 years down the road. Perhaps the existing software infrastructures are too prohibitive but its my hope that this may start the dialogue and really explore the possibility before discounting it. If anyone needs help mediating this process, we are happy to contribute.
In the meantime
People still need to switch between Traktor and Serato right now. I know there are lots of smart software developers out there that read this blog, so if you are interested in working with us to build a software translator that can do the job- drop me a line!
