The question is will we be able to convert these files? i like the idea of this site but i dont like the size and quality of these files. they take up to much space and when you play them ouside of SSL they sound horrible. any help somebody?

No, you cannot convert these files. You will have to wait for them to come out and buy them.

o ok thanx

would these files ever be able to be played outside of serato in a high quality sound. (in the future) or they will remain this way

I don't understand why people don't get it that Serato is the key here. They are designed FOR Serato. Playing outside of Serato in a previewable format is a courtesy that doesn't even need to be there.

its a RECORD POOL, what ever you use the files for is you own bizz, the purpose of a rcord pool is to deliver music. it just so happens that this pool has a big catch to it

The purpose of Whitelabel.net is to get new music to DJs for promotional purposes. The releases are free to DJs because the labels want you to promote them. That means playing the tracks out at gigs. If you want to use the tracks for purposes other than promotional then you will have to purchase them.

matt i understand that, but when you recieve vinyl from labels of course its for promotional use, but you can do what you want with it. you are not limited to anything, if u wanna do gigs with it ....you can, if u wanna do a mix cd... you can, regardless to what u do with it, as long as u use it it, its promotion for the artist

Listening to the record while you're driving, listening to it on your MP3 player, etc., is not promotion for the artist.

Clearly, the intention is to restrict playback to Serato only. It's fairly strict DRM no matter how you slice it...

You get what you pay for I guess...

My suggestion would be to unlock those tracks after a certain period of time (time where those tracks should not be published or spread via internet/illegal spots), either for free, or for money. Its just a lot of unneeded work to hunt them again, pay for them, get them to your library, delete the old wl.net track, not talking about lost cues+loops.

I would buy tracks which I really like and want to keep them in my DJ library. Maybe for the future without Serato. Who knows what will happen to Serato (knock knock on wood) in 10 years? All wl.net will be pretty much useless then. All the extra work you have put into your library sorting tracks, etc was then for nothing, cause you cant use those tracks in the -10-years-from-now-dj-application.

I like that idea too.

I think the more likely scenario 10 years down the line is that it will all be proprietary... We're entering a relatively new era within the music industry w these new digital formats and labels are starting to realize the hypocrisy of them suing people because of file sharing while they encourage it by sending out a universal format like mp3s. Single sales are becoming a dominant source of revenue for record labels and as that grows their protection over their singles will grow as well...we are just beginning to see how things like digital phones are going to revolutionize the music retail industry...

There's also an evolution w/ every new technology which can be applied to this format as well. There could be a chance that the music industry adopts this format as their promotional format.... If not for djs, vinyl would've been gone a long time ago.....

I think Jeff's right. We at Serato don't necessarily like DRM any more than you do, but it is the inevitable direction the industry is taking. Ultimately, in the long term, it's almost certain that all music releases will be wrapped in DRM, just as all movie releases are now wrapped in DRM.

My opinion, and this is just my personal (non-Serato) opinion, is that the fight we should be having as consumers is for DRM that respects our fair use rights and allows us to use the music in all the ways (within reason) that we want. The fight against DRM in general, I think, is already lost.

I guess while we're on the subject, Matt, was the decision to even allow playback outside of Serato a decision by you guys or by the labels? Compared to every other type of DRM I've had to deal with, this is unique in that it ISN'T completely locked out. I'm really interested in how this whole "multi-track" thing came to be (and how it works too, but I know THAT conversation isn't going to happen anytime soon.) ;-)

Sad, but I fear you are right. :-/

Anyway, with all the power I have (power in economics = money) I will not support DRM where possible, which means no itunes and such crap.

I wouldn't spend a red dime on iTunes. Totally and absolutely worthless if someone else gets to decide where and how I should listen to music.

Matt Hite you are so right. they want u to pay for it and then tell u what to with it... thats crazy, just do what i do, get in as many record pools as u can. they help. its just hard to maintaine after a while. i also buy music, but i just recently stopped when i completely stop using vinyl. thats mostly what i was buying althpugh alot of it was coming from labels anyway. i buy cds so i can rip them cuz i dont really use cds for gigs. not my style. but anyway the hell with itunes

cubicle, I'm also interested in how it came to be... I opened up a file in audacity and you can see a few interesting things:
1. One channel is music (I assume its the mono version) that is stretched out over 13 mins.
2. One channel is a digital signal. The digital signal looks to be in "packets" or "modulation" of all the same length of 0.1s.

The song plays both versions above in Audaicty... so I don't know if thats a bug but it doesnt sound pretty to the human ear. Don't worry Serato I'm not trying to reverse eng. this thing as specified in the agreement. Just curious as to how this was implemented.

I was thinking of how one would make this and I thought that instead of using the second channel to encode the high quality version I would just use a custom serato tag and place the encoded version in there.

This sounds like a bug of audacity. All the audio information is stored as an ID3 tag, as stated in the FAQs. My assumption is that it is probably encrypted in such a way, that you cant simple extract the ID3tag and use it.

Hmm.. could be, I'll try opening it up with something else to see how it looks like.

That's definitely an audacity bug. The previews are mono. Why a program would make up a second channel out of random stuff is beyond me.

Odd... let me try with a different program.

Tell DJ Drama that. :-/

I wish that were true......... but that could be further from the truth. You are supposed to get permision/pay royaties for any song that you put ona mix cd that you make... no matter if you give it to friends for free or sell it for $100 a cd.

there is a very simple way to get them file sin 320kbs mp3. but im not goin to say cause i dont wan get banned. just put it like this if it can be played it can be manipulated.

holy crap, do you know about the analog loophole? amazing.

www.iht.com

I'm sorry, i dont wanna say something against someone, but what you guys are trying seems very stupid to me.

Rane developed an audio-format that makes it possible to use the audio-files only in tha DJ-applcation (for promotional purposes). So some labels agreed to offer their songs bofre release for the DJs FOR FREE. Because they can be shure that the promos they hand out will not land on filesharing services, on private MP3 players... for free and before release.

What you guys are trying is to break the system. Accordingly, those recordlabels wouldnt give anymore records to whitelabel and to you.

So what you are trying is to interrupt getting free records to play and for others too.

I hope you recognize the purpose of this service.

Best wishes
Chris

Indeed brother!!

I think bypassing the protection on the files would be very rude. These days it isn't often we get given free tracks for promo. If you don't like it then don't use it, but don't ruin it for the rest of us who appriciate free tracks.

Thats what I'm saying :)

amen

you guys are missing the point. it doesn't matter if its rude or not to break through a code...the problem is that if whitelabel.net puts music up that can be decoded to high quality open source music, someone is going to write a conversion program eventually to do it. i know you guys think that if we are all good little boys and girls we might impact the feaibility of this site, but the music industry is probably having a hard time predicting whether something like this will hurt or help music sales.

i am surprised digiwaxx has lasted as long as it has seeing how you can consitently get high quality mp3s before songs come out, and there is no protection from 100 people all sharing one user ID on the service. but i guess they have figured that the promotional benefits still outweigh any lost revenue. i would hate to be the accounting guys who have to try to estimat the risk vs. rewards ratios of finding ways to promote music and then sell it too...

I was thinking the same as I am a Digiwaxx member and thought Whitelabel.net could have been the same. I can move my Digiwaxx files around to any DJ software without breaking a sweat.

Think about it, before the whole breakthrough of mp3 in the computer and music world, wasn't it always been the case that the labels were sending DJ's physical 12's and CD singles with standard industry quality?
I never received vinyls or CD's that expired or encoded high for Technics 1200's and play low on Vestax or vice-versa (that doesn't stop the hardware companies from competing neither). So, that's my only problem with this delivery from Whitelabel.net (which I'd hate to see being a version of iTunes for DJs); other than that, I hope the service gets better and able to attract all labels from different genres of music.
I'm a proud Serato user and I support their effort; however, they have to take into account how we, the DJs using their products and services can have a sense of freedom and not being tied up without alternative.

if you are that tight to buy the tune and clueless on how this site works maybe you should visit iTunes !!!

if you really want to have a 320 rip of it ... play it through serato and hook up an external soundcard to an output from your mixer and record it at 320kbps Job done ...

Jester, chill...read exactly what this discussion is about, don't rush trying to diss; "clueless" is the least I could be on this subject and I don't have to waist time trying to prove it. You are entitle to an opinion as I am but don't come out with dissing words. I'm not here for that. I don't have to type the 14+ years I've been gathering music from all types of media to show off or prove anything on here.
It's a simple discussion on the format delivery and quite faitly, some agree with it and some don't; debate is always welcome but keep the dissing factor away.

forunately you are corrrect ... then you come with your trying to prove to me with the "14+ years"blah blah blah .... The Discussion is titled "Converting wl.mp3 files" is it not ? .. thaught so therefore i expressed my opinion on this and on other comments from people trying to get a free source of high quality mp3's .. did i not ?

What part of my comment was a "Diss" because i dont see any of it... the concept of this site is simple it even states it in the "Read here" part on the start of the forum... Dont use me to big yourself up as its waisted on dull ears here, i dont care for egos or for how long who's done what and who can do what, its about what you are doing now, and if its not constructive i dont want to know....

Sorry if you felt i was dissing you but thats your problem to deal with, i just gave my honest opinion :)

Regards
/Jester

oh and err my grammer is terrible and my spelling .. Good thing im not an english professor !

" is it not ? .. thaught so therefore i " Shoud Read :
"is it not ? .. thaught so, therefore i"


Moderator please add an edit button !!!!!

/Jester

dont you mean.. "is it not?.. Thought so, therefore I

Maybe you should consider becoming one, so you can understand the meaning of what you are writing.

Anyway, I just gave myself a resolution a few days ago: stop debating in forums.... it's just a waste where common sense has little to no value; it's all the same wherever, everybody's rushing to agree or disagree on something, anything before they even take time to understand it.
So, here's your ticket: feel BIG my friend, you won't have to worry about my so-called "egos" anymore.

@DarkLight:
good idea, but that then defeats the point of a forum doesnt it !!!

Anyways back to the thread at hand !!

I can't wait for the music industry to come crashing down on it's ass. I personally think all music should be free to distribute how ever you wish. And I say that as a musician myself. The way things have been structured for the past, oh, 70 years or so is ridiculous if you really stop to think about it.(Payola??) It all centers on distribution. Radio plays a song, people hear and like the song, people buy the album, radio plays the song some more. It's a closed cycle. Now the tone deaf ceo's of the media world are freaking out because they no longer have an iron grip on the distribution of 'their' product. How will they stay rich?! A true tragedy. I find it amusing to watch them scramble to hold on to their money with both hands.

Musicians don't need to borrow thousands of dollars from a record company to make a quality product anymore. We no longer need to pay distributors. Computers have done away with all of that. Or will have very soon. If a musician makes truly good music, it will stand on its own merit. If you post it, they will listen. America is based on capitalism. Which makes us all hustlers by default. Corporate record labels/Big media has been hustling the musician for decades. Now a lot of people feel that downloading free music is hustling the musicians as well, but those same musicians are able to hustle right back. Just have to get creative. With enough people listening to you, it shouldn't be too hard to make a buck if you have any imagination at all - and in my opinion, thats one thing good artists never lack. Who knows, maybe if music is no longer a multi billion $ industry, the ones that are in it for the money will fade away and all that will be left are those that do it because they have no choice; because they simply have to make music. Imagine that-- a world with no pop music.

I guess my point is, everyone wants to gain as much as possible, while spending as little as possible. So why not quit bitching about the environment you're in and adapt. Use the tools available to you to get what you can.

If you've actually made it this far, thank you for listening to my rant.

the problem is.... if the music industry come crashing down... so does the DJ's hope to get new music for a while. But in the long runit wuld help out the dj's who stick with it b/c it would be the DJ's breaking the new stuff in the clubs that would controll whats good music again.

I really don't see that big of a difference from how we've been doing stuff all along with real vinyl; play back and sample if you really need the track. Am I right? It takes a little more effort than straight up ripping it, but those who want to work with it, mix it, remix it, and mash it will be willing to put forth the extra effort, as opposed to those who just want fresh tracks for free.

These tracks aren't for us to jam to on our comute to work, or jog to on our iPods, it's for DJs and aspiring DJs to to get a curb on the competition.
--------

Dj Traxxx/ actually u can convert files , use db poweramp music convertor will do the trick

Like all standard mp3 programs, db poweramp music convertor would be accessing (and in this case, converting) the low quality audio - the 32k mono preview.

There are two versions of the audio inside Whitelabel audio files. Only Scratch LIVE can play / access the high quality audio.

i dont see why you would want to convert those song on wl any way cause most if not all of them are out on the www. some where for free with hi qual encodeing.

Actually, it should read:

is it not? ... Thought so. Therefore, I"

I am a Professor. :)

cant you just play the track in serato while using serato's built in record feature on the 57sl to record it and then convert it to any file you want? lol that would preserve the high quality bitrate too,, not saying i do that cuz thats jut a waste of time and the only reason i use these tracks are for gigs in serato

I make my mixes available on my podcast. Is that okay?

yes thats ok. now mix away my friend

Have you ever heard of a "Dub Plate"?

one point i don't think i have seen is that as a DJ, the better you know a song, the better you can rock it. the more familiar you are with the intro, where the breaks are, etc, - you get the picture. also, the more you can listen to it freely, the more likely you are to risk playing an unknown - risk the promoter dissing you, nah meen?

i like to listen to the songs when i'm driving, traveling, etc. that is really what i miss with whitelable. everything else is cool though - HEY - how about an iTunes plug-in or a serato player for iPods? only dj's would have access to install the app - heck - charge for the friggen thing. that would solve the problem for all of us!

thoughts>

I really agree with DJ Gman here. Regardless if the track is free to access or is paid for. I listen to so much music on the train both ways to school, in the car, and even in class. Personally, I have discovered so many amazing songs that I simply would have "brushed off" had I not listened to them on my mp3 player. In addition the more I would listen the more creative I would get in thinking of complementary tracks and mixes etc etc.

Interesting to go back to Jeff et al's points from 2007.

In 2007, DRM for music was very big on the horizon. But here we are in 2010, and even Apple has removed DRM from its music store because ultimately what drives piracy is lack of availability - when it's easier to download something illegally than to get it on to your personal music player due to DRM, then that's exactly what people will do (and are doing).

Of course, that has no bearing on Whitelabel.net as such. I still think it would be nice if wl.mp3 files could be unlocked after a certain period of time, to say thanks to the people who promoted it - all other music PR services I'm connected with only use watermarking, not quality degredation.

+1 I hope so

all you have to do is record your set using ssl or the ttm57 ........ the wl trax will play as recorded ............

@ AIRX ONE - true but... the whole point is to listen to the music - get to know it prior to your set. recording every song would be extremely time consuming. I think Serato is missing an opportunity here to distance themselves further from the pack.

a liscensed iTuns/Blackbeery/Droid player would go a long way towards promoting the music - the entire reason for whitleabel in the first place. you would need to register your serato or itch gear to activate your license. they could even partner with Slacker.com to handle the license technology if needed. i would even be willing to by the license at a reasonable cost.

I don't get why anyone would want to convert them anyway. "THEY ARE WL FILES FOR A REASON" Only Dj's with scratchlive can use them. What's going to happen is ppl will start sharing the converted files (if was possible) and share them on the web. This creates illegal file sharing and everyone else we'll have the exclusive releases. Think of as serato thanking us for buying there software. Let's move on. U want to convert the files go out and dig for it or buy it somewhere. These tracks have to get "cleared" before they are uploaded here so most of these tracks promo's are already available. THE END!

People complainin about FREE *ISH again...

i know a guy that writes iPhone apps. wonder if serato would give up the codec details and work a deal?

i dont understand why any of yall askin this question.if you can play the song it can be converted,end of story

All I can say is Get your music on Itunes......lol

this thread should have been ended...wtf..???

Im with u djmel.. SOMEBODY LOCK THIS THREAD PLEASE!!

word is bond god. i dont understand why yall djs so bent on copyin a copy protected file. like said before .,.if it can be played it can be copied.... sheesh

Look guys, you can all go on as much as you like about wanting to convert these files. If you want them in normal file format contact all the lables that you like and find out what you have to do to get on their mailing list. I used to help run the promo department @ FFRR / London records and we mailed direct as well as using promo companies. Both ways still happen all round the world, I should know I am still getting upwards of 400 tracks a week in various formats. Believe you me it can be a real pain having to sort through all the worst possible S**TE! to find the odd gem. Atleast with this pool you get what you want straight away. STOP WHINING!!!!!!! GET OUT AND PLAY!!!!

agree!!!