- Apple launches DJ with Apple Music alongside leading DJ software/hardware
- Unlike Spotify's AI DJ, this helps DJs build and mix sets using Apple Music
- It adds to Apple's first integration with Algoriddim's djay Pro software
If you read this headline and thought: 'Great! Apple Music has finally got an answer to Spotify's AI DJ! Come on Apple, vocalise what I listened to after that big breakup in 2017 and make it snappy!' this isn't going to be the news you wanted.
No, despite Spotify's apparent plans to let you talk to its AI disc jockey, Apple Music is going in a different direction – and it's one I wholeheartedly approve of. (I actually don't want to be reminded of that time I didn't get out of bed or eat a meal for three days Spotify, thanks all the same… )
Apple Music has today launched DJ with Apple Music. Note the title; you'll be using Apple Music to become a DJ yourself – or to help you hone your craft and build sets on the way to a gig if you're already a working DJ.
Thank you for coming out tonight, Weymouth…
Yes, I am now imagining my epic set and my DJ name—but there's also a DJ name generator if you want to waste a few minutes working on your brand.
Anyway, let's get granular: DJ with Apple Music (launched today, March 25) is an integrated experience with leading DJ software and hardware platforms AlphaTheta, Serato, inMusic’s Engine DJ, Denon DJ, Numark, and RANE DJ.
Its purpose? Enabling Apple Music subscribers to build and mix sets directly from Apple Music’s catalog, and adding to a first integration with Algoriddim's djay Pro software.
This integration – free to Apple Music subscribers – means that budding DJs or seasoned pros can easily and intuitively access Apple Music’s catalog of over 100 million songs to create and rehearse their sets on any of the aforementioned DJ software and hardware platforms.
“Apple Music is committed to supporting DJs,” said Stephen Campbell, Global Head of Dance, Electronic & DJ Mixes at Apple Music. “With this latest integration, we’re taking that commitment even further – seamlessly connecting Apple Music with the industry’s leading DJ software and hardware. This innovation brings the full power of Apple Music into the creative workflow, making it easier than ever for DJs to access, play, and discover music in real time.”
Starting today, users can also access a new dedicated DJ with Apple Music category page, spotlighting a series of DJ-friendly editorial playlists. There are also new curator pages for each DJ software and hardware platform showcasing mixes or sample playlists that can be used as a starting point for practice.
DJ with Apple Music also builds upon the success of Apple Music’s DJ Mixes, a program announced in September 2021 (but available in Apple's immersive Spatial Audio with Dolby Atmos in 2022) to put you in a virtual dance club experience – oh, how I would've loved that during the first London lockdown in 2020.
In December, Apple Music also launched Apple Music Club, a live global radio station where mixes from prominent DJs are curated to offer fans a never-ending set, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
You may have guessed that I am not a DJ (my area of expertise is solely the dancing part), but I have been a loyal Apple Music subscriber since 2016. If you are a DJ, or even if you're mildly DJ-curious, why not check out DJ with Apple Music now? There's a list of platform partners, mixes to whet your creative appetite, and playlists to get you started, including titles such as 'Melodic Techno,' 'Club Floor Fillers,'' and 'Afro Diaspora.'
Again, I'm no expert on mixing a slick set of cold cuts, but in an age when it seems AI is muscling in on our music (and our best-loved musicians), encouraging human input and creativity seems a wholly positive endeavor.
It certainly adds weight to Apple Music's bid to be the best music streaming service around.
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