SoundCloud announce direct streaming to Traktor, Serato, Virtual DJ and more

SoundCloud have announced a partnership with Native Instruments, Serato, Hercules, Virtual DJ, Mixvibes and DEX3, revealing that you can now stream SoundCloud's catalogue directly into the DJing software. SoundCloud are offering high-quality AAC 256kbps streaming for anyone who has a SoundCloud Go+ subscription. “Until recently, digital workflows for DJs were limited to downloads and physical media, but streaming workflows are the future,” said Kerry Trainor, Chief Executive Officer, SoundCloud. 

Details of how the streaming infrastructure will actually work are yet to be announced – we assume the files will cache to avoid any dropouts. It will be interesting to see how SoundCloud integrate the 190m tracks on its platform into DJ software GUI. Whether or not creators and artists will be notified when and where their music is being streamed, and if the analytics will reflect it, is another bit question. 

DJ Mag predicted this earlier this year with our 'Streaming is Coming to the Booth' feature, but what's interesting here is that rekordbox dj and Pioneer DJ are not on the list of collaborators. Could they be working on their own bespoke streaming service that bridges hardware and software? As the consumer streaming wars step up among Spotify, TiDAL, Apple Music et al, it seems the DJ streaming wars are only just beginning.