For many DJs, iTunes has been the primary tool for managing a digital music library. There have been a few questions recently around iTunes integration, their latest 12.2 update and the benefits of using Serato DJ as your primary music library tool. Here's a quick overview of iTunes library support in Serato DJ, pros and cons, as well as answers to commonly asked questions.
FAQ
What's up with the 12.2 update? I can see Apps now and my playlists can't collapse?
We have become aware of a few issues inside Serato DJ after updating to the latest iTunes version 12.2. There is a known issue where you are unable to collapse iTunes folders or playlists in the crate. We are working on finding any further issues with the latest version of iTunes and working with Apple to get them resolved as soon as possible.
If you have any issues that don't sound like these, please contact Serato Support and we can help you.
I've experienced DRM Protection Issues (files won't play)
Any users who have experienced issues where Apple Music is adding DRM protection to your files should update to iTunes 12.2.1. The 12.2.1 update will stop Apple Music adding DRM protection to your files.
Can I play my Apple Music files in Serato DJ?
You're not able to play streaming tracks from Apple Music in Serato DJ.
What's the best way to manage my music?
iTunes can be a nice way to manage a digital music library if you listen to your music over multiple devices and purchase music there. There's a few reasons you might want to manage your DJ music library directly in Serato DJ though:
One of the biggest reasons to manage your DJ library in Serato DJ is for consistency. As we only read the iTunes Music Library.xml file and can't write back to it, if you use iTunes you have to manage all of your tag changes, playlist management etc. inside iTunes.
Relying on a third party application for your music management is also a risk. With everything in Serato DJ, you have less moving parts which will give you peace of mind when there are updates.
Lastly, it's good to manage your music in Serato DJ and use this as your music player because it can help you listen to your music from a DJ perspective. You can add cue points to your tracks, set loops and do a lot of prep work, as well as being able to quickly add tracks to crates as you hear them. You never know when you're going to hear a banger in your library you have forgotten about!
How do I add my music to Serato DJ directly?
This is really simple :) You can do this two ways.
- Use the Files panel. This can be found in Serato DJ next to the Browse, History, & Prepare panel buttons. Use this panel to browse through your hard drive and find your music. Once you find tracks or folders you'd like to add to Serato DJ, just drag these into the main library window. You can also load tracks to the virtual deck from here - once you do this, they will stay in your library.
- Drag files from Finder / Windows Explorer into the Serato DJ library. Just minimise Serato DJ and drag tracks from here into the library. It's easy!
Once you have music in your library you can analyse your files in the Offline Player as well as build Serato Crates and Smart Crates to organise your music.
Learn more about using Smart Crates in Serato DJ here.
Hot Tip!
When you read your library from iTunes and add tracks to a crate in Serato DJ, these will now be in the Serato DJ library. If you stop reading from iTunes, the tracks will remain in your library. This is a great way to import your entire library into Serato DJ if you want to stop using iTunes.
Just make a Crate, select everything in the "all" crate and drag this into a new crate. Once you've done that, disable "read iTunes library" and your music will be in Serato DJ.
If you require help with anything else. Please contact Support and we will help you out :)