Bitwig now lets you import tracks directly from rekordbox – here’s what you need to know

Bitwig has partnered with AlphaTheta in a bid to bridge the gap between DJing and music production, with DJs’ rekordbox libraries usable directly within Bitwig Studio.

The Berlin-based company says version 6.1.4 of its Bitwig Studio DAW can now access a user’s rekordbox library and track analysis data, so DJs can pull tracks from their existing collection straight into a project to edit, remix or draw inspiration from.

The integration works on both macOS and Windows and is available to Bitwig Studio, Producer and Essentials users with an active upgrade plan and requires rekordbox version 6.x or later.

Alongside the integration, AlphaTheta, the maker of rekordbox and swathes of industry-standard DJ hardware, has launched its new Studio Plan, which aims to offer “a smooth transition between DJing and music-making, and a production experience that’s uniquely tailored to DJs”.

It’s essentially a subscription plan which offers Bitwig Studio Essentials for $7 a month or $72 a year, with a 30-day free trial also available. Bitwig Studio Essentials is described as “the ideal environment to quickly adapt and remix songs, build new material with audio and MIDI clips, and dive into advanced production”.

Bitwig has also announced that built-in stem separation is coming to Bitwig Studio this winter, which the companies say will expand what users can do with their collections.

How the integration works

Users can browse their rekordbox library inside Bitwig’s browser and search or filter by artist, file type, playlist and other criteria. Opening a track automatically creates a Bitwig project that matches the track’s BPM and key with hot cues, song structure and vocal positions from rekordbox’s track analysis appearing automatically in the project.

The companies say this lets users build on what they already know from DJing, such as editing a track’s structure, rebuilding its rhythm with BPM-matched loops or adding synth parts in the song’s key.

Background

Founded in Berlin in 2009, Bitwig released its first product, Bitwig Studio, in 2014. The software includes a sound-design environment called The Grid and supports open standards including the CLAP plug-in format and the DAWproject file format.

AlphaTheta, which is part of the Noritsu Koki Group, began as the DJ division of Pioneer Corporation in 1994. It became independent as Pioneer DJ Corporation in 2015 and took its current name in 2020. Its brands include rekordbox, Pioneer DJ and TORAIZ.

Learn more at Bitwig.