Serato Software Feature Suggestions

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 Serato Software Feature Suggestions
Play Count Feature When???
What features would you like to see in Serato software?

Play Count Feature When???

iamkuhlio 1:15 AM - 8 June, 2018
Okay, I hate to beat a dead horse here. But after my overwhelmingly positive experience with SoundSwitch customer support this week after finally taking the plunge on their product, I feel compelled to bring this old topic back up in the forums here.

I see we've already got a lot of guys adopting their DMX platform on the forums here, and I'm hoping that maybe some of the excitement and gratitude for their support team may rub off on the powers that be over at Serato. You're both based in NZ, you guys might even share a few beers together from time-to-time for all we know. You're all smart chaps, and I'm currently fighting to hold on to the same level of faith in you guys as I now have in the SS crew. Apples and oranges, I know. I'm not trying to compare the two, but you have your similarities. But I digress.

It's been asked time and time again, requested across multiple social media platforms, forums, and support tickets over the years, yet we still haven't seen a Play Count feature hit our beloved DJ software.

Like, seriously, I LOVE Serato DJ. I used Virtual DJ "Pro" 7 for a few years after dropping the old crate of CDs and getting my first DJ laptop, but when Serato DJ (not SSL) finally hit, I picked up a DDJ-SX and SDJ and never looked back...

Well, maybe I peer over my shoulder every once in a while. Okay, I'm lying. It's more like every weekend. But trust me, I'm not leaving you anytime soon. Buuuuut that Play Count feature she's got has really got my motor running.

I mean, have you seen that thing? It increases the value by 1 for each time someone plays the respective track within the software. Snazzy, ain't it?

Wait...what's that you say? iTunes has got a shiny boatload of Play Count, too? It can't be so. Nooooooo.........you say THERE ARE OTHERS?

HOW CAN THIS BE!?!?

Alright, enough of the show. I'm no programmer or software engineer. I know little to nothing about what it would take to add this feature. But I do know that it would make hundreds (thousands? more?) of your users IMMEDIATELY grateful for the added feature, and I guarantee you none of us would be glancing over our shoulder again anytime soon.

Because even with all those organized crates, access to history in a pretty convenient format, and good old-fashioned memory and instinct, it just isn't the same without my play count. It's just that little bit more that we all yearn for.

It's for those of us that spend so much time after our gigs reflecting on the night, picking apart every decision, coming up with tracks you wish you would've played, directions you wish you might have taken. Play count helped me with that when I was a VDJ user.

Please don't give me any more reason to mention them or even lend credence to the idea of testing out VDJ8 to see if it's made enough headway for me to switch back. I perish the thought.

Much love to you guys out there at HQ. I'm sure you're working hard to deliver an ever-improving product for all of us. I just hope we can get this one thing we've been clamoring for for so long just a bit sooner than "maybe someday".

Cheers!
DJ Jsteez 1:28 AM - 21 August, 2018
I agree! Serato needs to put a PLAY COUNTER in the Software. I loved using it when I used Traktor. Please Please Please put this in! REKORDBOX has this feature! I love Serato and I really dont want to leave to rekordbox But I love having a Play Count viewable. Also can you guys add the Waveform Previes like Rekordbox as well. I like being able to see the waveform and my cue points!!
DJABELLSTL 9:20 PM - 19 September, 2018
NEED THIS!!
JOHN JOHN 2:52 AM - 24 September, 2018
Wait 5 years for play counter when???
JOHN JOHN 2:32 AM - 23 January, 2019
Never....... Xaxaxaxa
Kyril Garcia 2:17 PM - 30 January, 2019
I've been using Serato for about 3 years now, and after literally hundreds of gigs, i find myself lacking a last played/play count feature when preparing for a night, and also to manage my collection more efficiently. I'm actually surprised this has been missing for so long?
JOHN JOHN 3:40 PM - 30 January, 2019
Xaxaxaxaxaxaxa
Dj Wunder 8:16 PM - 2 February, 2019
+1
Despo 11:37 PM - 4 February, 2019
Sorry guys, adding a play count feature currently isn't possible without a complete rewrite of the software. Such a feature is not easy to implement and the 64 bit version can barely handle it.

It's not on Serato's Roadmap at this time.
Dub D 7:59 PM - 20 April, 2019
Quote:
Sorry guys, adding a play count feature currently isn't possible without a complete rewrite of the software. Such a feature is not easy to implement and the 64 bit version can barely handle it.

It's not on Serato's Roadmap at this time.


So I understand that with the current software design it isn't (doesn't seem) feasible. I can think of many reasons for this and I keep guessing that it has to do with database design. Again I'm guessing.

With that said, here is a method that I thought of to implement this which should be minimal as far as overhead or affecting performance.

First time you switch on play count, it gives you a message, this says that play count will be updated for tracks played in the current session upon exit of the program. Similar to the database backup feature it would happen when you leave the program. The play count would be added to tracks based on the history, which is already written for each session. Mention that this will add a short delay when you exit the program, if you do not want the delay, turn play count off again.

So that handles play count for your current session and future sessions. What about play count history?

Play count history could be handled like analyzing tracks, in the offline mode without hardware connected. If a user wants to analyze their entire play count history, warn them that it could take a while. Like if you've ever had to "relocate missing tracks". After they click yes, the software would analyze their entire history to calculate play counts and add them as a new field for the track in the database.

I work in IT, however I'm a sysadmin and not a developer, so I imagine this isn't the most elegant solution. It is however, something that I know could work, while not putting anymore resource overhead on the software while djing. That seemed to be the argument for why it wasn't on the road map, so I would like to hear a different argument, or just tell me why I'm wrong, lol.
Despo 2:30 PM - 21 April, 2019
I was just making a joke of how serato can't add such a simple feature request for years or maybe chooses to ignore this one and instead likes to add support for controllers or other stuff nobody actually wants.

But who knows, maybe SDJ is as much spaghetti code as scratch live was and they really do have to rewrite the software for a "(value)+1" everytime you play a track lol
Tomixxx 7:51 PM - 5 May, 2019
+1 for a native play count

For the time being, you can use my Programm "Crate Digger". It currently runs on MacOS and reads the _Serato_ folder under your music folder.

Features:
- Play Count
- Last Played
- Find crate memberships of a selected track
- Get Track history of a selected track

Download:
www.dropbox.com

Some pictures
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com

Although Crate only reads Serato playlist information, I strongly recommend you to back up the _Serato_folder.

Have fun!
nik39 9:53 PM - 6 May, 2019
:)
cotdagoo 2:51 PM - 7 May, 2019
Quote:
+1 for a native play count

For the time being, you can use my Programm "Crate Digger". It currently runs on MacOS and reads the _Serato_ folder under your music folder.

Features:
- Play Count
- Last Played
- Find crate memberships of a selected track
- Get Track history of a selected track

Download:
www.dropbox.com

Some pictures
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com

Although Crate only reads Serato playlist information, I strongly recommend you to back up the _Serato_folder.

Have fun!


I copied my _Serato_ folder from a windows install to a mac system, ran the program, but it's not showing any play counts.

Do the actual files need to be located on the same system as the tool runs on, or should it effectively be able to get my play count just from the crates/history?
Tomixxx 3:36 PM - 7 May, 2019
Quote:
Do the actual files need to be located on the same system as the tool runs on, or should it effectively be able to get my play count just from the crates/history?


Yes! Just copy your _Serato_ folder from Windows to your Music folder on MacOS, e.g., /Users/<username>/Music/_Serato_
Dj Wunder 10:03 AM - 11 May, 2019
Quote:
+1 for a native play count

For the time being, you can use my Programm "Crate Digger". It currently runs on MacOS and reads the _Serato_ folder under your music folder.

Features:
- Play Count
- Last Played
- Find crate memberships of a selected track
- Get Track history of a selected track

Download:
www.dropbox.com

Some pictures
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com
- www.dropbox.com

Although Crate only reads Serato playlist information, I strongly recommend you to back up the _Serato_folder.

Have fun!


Wow, anyone used this successfully yet?
iamkuhlio 5:59 AM - 30 May, 2019
I just heard through the grapevine from an industry vet that this is happening. Can anyone confirm a feature update for 2.1.2?
Bigheaded 8:15 AM - 30 May, 2019
crazy it doesn't have this feature, and it's saaaaad how long people have been asking for it with no indication Serato's even considering adding it. Here's what I do, and imho a workaround for this is absolutely nuts for a "professional DJ" software.

I don't use the grouping field, so when I play a song I update that manually, if it was at 3 for a song and I play it again I change it to 4. This is ghetto and requires extra, unneeded work.
Old Moose 1:41 PM - 30 May, 2019
The “Plays” feature would make their software stronger in a very competitive field. I am 100% for it.
I can only hope they see the trend here of people adding on software, to their software to do this simple task. Software works for us, we don’t work for software. Add the feature. Already, many are looking at other options already available out there, with sadness.
Why not look around at other companies that provide the current options we are looking for? We all saw what occurred at the last convention with the introduction of the new “Prime 4” system. They had foresight, listened to users and caught the competition sleeping. I only hope the same type thing doesn’t happen with Serato.
Yes, you should know your music and the current organization features of the software are great. However, all of us have looked at our libraries during slower times and wondered about downsizing completely unused or never used tracks. Only common sense that smaller libraries would search faster making the software perform better. Finally, providing what professional DJs are asking for keeps Serato at the top of the pile and as they are aware the pile is made of $.
iamkuhlio 4:28 PM - 30 May, 2019
Okay guys, this is definitely coming down the pipeline. Serato's official Facebook page posted a screenshot of the software clearly displaying a "Play Count" field in their Facebook Stories yesterday. I just caught it this morning. Feel free to do some digging to find it. I'd imagine we'll be seeing this feature roll out with 2.1.2 or a subsequent update in the near future.

WE'RE ALMOST THERE!!!
iamkuhlio 4:36 PM - 30 May, 2019
www.instagram.com

They've also posted it on their Instagram Stories. Check the link and peep the screenshot before it's gone.

No timeline on when to expect it though.
DJMIYAGI 6:22 PM - 30 May, 2019
Quote:

No timeline on when to expect it though.

Soon ;)
Bigheaded 2:23 AM - 31 May, 2019
Hopefully soon, and hopefully with a few additional smart crate options. One for "track last played/not been played in the last X days" or "only tracks with play counts of X+"
Chino 4:03 AM - 31 May, 2019
I'll just drop this here...

www.instagram.com
Serato, Forum Moderator
Michael R 11:42 PM - 6 June, 2019
Hi everyone,

Just letting you know that Play Count is now available in the DJ Pro 2.2 public beta. If you'd like to give it a try you can find it here -> serato.com

Cheers,
Michael.
Kyril Garcia 1:34 AM - 9 June, 2019
This is awesome news. Hoping a "last played date" will be added too :-)
DJABELLSTL 6:27 PM - 4 July, 2019
Quote:
understand that with the current software design it isn


I receive an Error dialog box (no context just Error) after launching program :(
Old Moose 11:09 PM - 12 July, 2019
This has been occurring for two - three years. I’ll believe it when I see it. Very disappointing that the company will not get this done. Perhaps we should all consider a drop dead date then change if it’s not done. Bet if people change software it will get done quickly. Honestly, don’t care about their issues doing it. Produce a product we want in a timely responsive manner. That’s their business they elected to produce. Would you buy a car or speakers, or a new controller if you were told maybe next year we’ll fix things or look elsewhere?
DJMIYAGI 11:13 PM - 12 July, 2019
Quote:
This has been occurring for two - three years. I’ll believe it when I see it.

Download the beta and see for yourself

serato.com
Old Moose 2:51 PM - 16 July, 2019
I just got 2.2. Great!!!
Dub D 3:36 AM - 17 July, 2019
This implementation is horrible. The whole point is library management, but it completely ignores those of us that have history from over a decade ago. Maybe I should just do library management by ditching all my library before 2.2?

I know this is a ridiculous take on it, but still, wouldn't have hurt to allow us to scan our history and populate play counts for our entire history. Another decision made with future users in mind, not considering their benefits to users that have already been with serato for years. Gotta make those quarterly numbers bump I suppose! Seems a little like my ISPs strategy of not caring about existing customers,only delivering new customers.
Iffy Ranx 11:57 AM - 17 July, 2019
Quote:
This implementation is horrible. The whole point is library management, but it completely ignores those of us that have history from over a decade ago. Maybe I should just do library management by ditching all my library before 2.2?

I know this is a ridiculous take on it, but still, wouldn't have hurt to allow us to scan our history and populate play counts for our entire history. Another decision made with future users in mind, not considering their benefits to users that have already been with serato for years. Gotta make those quarterly numbers bump I suppose! Seems a little like my ISPs strategy of not caring about existing customers,only delivering new customers.


100% in agreement. Serato needs to find a way to let users scan their history and have the play count added to each track.
cotdagoo 5:20 PM - 17 July, 2019
Quote:
This implementation is horrible. The whole point is library management, but it completely ignores those of us that have history from over a decade ago. Maybe I should just do library management by ditching all my library before 2.2?

I know this is a ridiculous take on it, but still, wouldn't have hurt to allow us to scan our history and populate play counts for our entire history. Another decision made with future users in mind, not considering their benefits to users that have already been with serato for years. Gotta make those quarterly numbers bump I suppose! Seems a little like my ISPs strategy of not caring about existing customers,only delivering new customers.


Fully agree.. Not a ridiculous take at all.. I feel like this is what the feature request was about the whole time it's been asked for all these years.. and ball got dropped big time in the implementation.

Long time customers get almost zero benefit from this feature.. while everyone else has to wait 6mo-1yr minimum before the feature is actually usable in any fashion.

People said to be patient, and that more may come to this feature.. but with the release of 2.2 and no change, I can't see any significant changes happening from here on out related to play count, as there would be more work involved to merge existing counts, with past play counts rather than just count all past plays in the first place..

Maybe a 3rd party developer will come to our rescue..
Chino 8:17 PM - 17 July, 2019
Quote:
100% in agreement. Serato needs to find a way to let users scan their history and have the play count added to each track.


+1!!
Ian Williams 6:42 PM - 19 July, 2019
+1 here too.

Definitely needs to pull this info from your serato history, otherwise what's the point?
DJMIYAGI 9:51 PM - 19 July, 2019
+1
popnwave 10:27 PM - 24 July, 2019
Sounds like a trainwreck waiting to happen using history. None of you have replaced tracks/files or ever renamed them in all of the years you've had them? In 11 years of using Serato my library has gone through many revisions.

You'd end up with a list with dupes due to ANY variation of the file and possibly tag info.

PASS HARD
cotdagoo 3:07 PM - 25 July, 2019
That's what the relocate lost files is for..

Rather have dupes with relevant info than have to wait for a long period to generate any useful play count information..

It doesn't solve any problems at the moment..

It was asked for as a way to manage libraries.. How counting from 2019 helps manage libraries.. I don't know..

If you replace files in this implementation.. the plays are stored in a tag. So you lose the play count in that situation as well.. I don't often rename stuff once it's in my library.. I use tags for that.

You seem to be grasping for any reason to not change things from the current method.

Are play counts benefiting you in any way yet? Is it useful to know how many times a track has been played in the past month??
popnwave 3:57 PM - 25 July, 2019
Quote:
Are play counts benefiting you in any way yet? Is it useful to know how many times a track has been played in the past month??


Honestly all of the services I report to I send my history as is after a gig and what they do with that aggregate info is up to them.

Maybe if you're a mobile and do weddings you could see how many times you've played "Uptown Funk", but as a club DJ.. and the way music gets added and stuff is taken out of rotation it's mostly novel to me.