Serato’s new versions of its DJ software are compatible with macOS Catalina
19Reported today in The Verge.
Serato’s new versions of its DJ software are compatible with macOS Catalina
Music software company Serato has released new official versions of its DJ Pro and DJ Lite software that are fully supported in macOS Catalina. The updated software works with Apple’s new Music app, which replaced iTunes in Apple’s latest desktop OS refresh, and libraries in Music can automatically load in the updated Serato DJ Pro and DJ Lite.
Along with updating its DJ software, Serato has also released a new version of its beat-making software Serato Studio that’s supported in Catalina. However, not all Serato products are in the clear. Serato Sample and Pitch ’n Time Pro and LE are still not compatible with Catalina, but the company says it’s actively working on updates. Additionally, Serato warns there is still some DJ hardware from partners that doesn’t work with the new OS and the status on that is “out of Serato’s control.”
Upgrading to Catalina has proved to be a pain for a lot of DJs who relied on iTunes as a part of their workflow. Many use it to organize their music into playlists and then automatically sync them with DJ apps using an XML feature, now no longer available, that shares the necessary database file with third-party apps.
According to Apple, the new Music app removes support for automatically syncing playlists with third-party apps using XML. This has caused complications with DJ software that hadn’t updated to support Apple’s new method. XML files can still be manually extracted from Music, but it takes a bit more effort and results in a static file, meaning you have to export a new one every time you want to update a playlist.
Catalina’s Music app does support automatic library syncing with other apps, but some companies are still playing catch up to make sure their software supports the new method. Some apps, like Algoriddim’s Djay, were already optimized for Catalina at launch, but others, like Rekordbox, have yet to release a compatible update.
So, if you’re a Serato DJ Pro or DJ Lite user that has updated to Catalina, everything should work just fine, and your Music playlists will load automatically in the software with no need for manual exporting.