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New rekordbox beta offers cloud analysis, hints at upcoming subscription model

There're not-so-subtle clues hidden in the release notes of the new Pioneer DJ rekrodbox 5.4.4 software 

Pioneer DJ's latest rekordbox beta hints at what we've long suspected is coming – cloud-based analyses for rekordbox. It's the first of what we're expecting to be a roll out of all things cloud-based, starting with analysis and likely ending up in storage, accessed eventually from the CDJ itself.

For now, version 5.4.4 simply offers what Pioneer DJ are calling "track analysis sharing" – essentially an option users will have in the full version of 5.4.4 to upload their analysed reference files to Pioneer DJ's central hub. From there, if you load the same track into your own rekordbox, Pioneer DJ will use the cloud-stored reference file as analysis, rather than taxing your own computer with the task.

If the track you've loaded into rekordbox doesn't match any of Pioneer DJ's current "fingerprints", it will upload the analysis reference – which includes beatgrid and metadata, but not cue points – to their service. 

The first question on the Pioneer DJ website is – of course – how do you turn it off, to which they've replied there's currently "no option" to disable it in the beta. It's also not clear if you have the option of 'confirming' that Pioneer DJ's version is actually correct. More interestingly, the 5.4.4 release log states that it's a function that will be "part of a subscription plan in the future”. You can try the beta for yourself here

And so it begins – as cloud DJing continues to be drip-fed into existence, for now, it still raises more questions than answers.