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Beatport acquire streaming and cloud storage platform Pulselocker

Could this be the first step towards true cloud-based DJing?

Beatport has acquired Pulselocker, a streaming and storage platform designed for DJs to access and play music from the cloud. Announcing in November that they were to cease operations, Pulselocker had already been adopted into both Serato DJ and rekordbox, allowing users to stream tracks directly into the DJ software.

With 44 million tracks, Pulselocker was considered the 'Spotify for electronic music' by some but importantly didn't require an internet connection to stream. Beatport's acquisition has very interesting consequences, especially considering their own streaming service was dropped in 2016. 

The details of the acquisiton have been kept private, but Beatport CEO Robb McDaniel said in a statement "Beatport is committed to delivering the best tools to create a more seamless and interoperable user experience for our massive ecosystem of DJs, and Pulselocker accelerates our timeline to deliver just that type of product."

We reckon CDJ with hi-res audio streaming from the cloud is still a way away, but it's certainly feels closer now. If Pulselocker – or whatever its new name will be – will return to Serato, rekordbox and others, remains to be seen. The acquisiton comes days after Spotify entered the New York Stock Exchange, valuing the company at $26.5m.