I’m in the process of switching to Djay as my main DJ software. I’ve been setting up my beatgrids and cue points on my iPad, and I’d like to transfer all of my playlists, beatgrids, and cue points to my Mac and vice versa.
What’s the correct way to do this?
Is there a smarter or simpler workflow you’d recommend?
Hi @hardbea7, over many years, the absolute simplest workflow that I’ve found for myself is to exclusively use Beatport Link Pro streaming subscription with the 1,000 song Offline Locker. With this method there is no need to transfer music files between your devices and you’re not 100% reliant on a stable internet connection because you can have 1k songs stored in the offline locker.
If you create your playlists with the Beatport Source, these will also automatically sync between devices as well.
This is my personal workflow that I’ve been using for several years and it has greatly simplified my music management process. No copying files between devices, no drive space management issues, no need for file backups and no recreating playlists. Simple, easy and automatic. 100% worth the streaming service subscription cost IMO. Plus, most months, I add more than 30 tracks to my collection which easily justifies the sub.
However, if you are determined to use your existing local music files and/or prefer different streaming services, then this is the workflow that I used before switching entirely to Beatport Link Pro.
Use the native “My Collection” library source in combination with the Finder (on macOS), Files (on iOS), or Explorer (on Windows) library sources.
To get started: In the Finder/Files/Explorer source, use the “+” icon to select the files or folders you’d like to make available in djay.
Create a playlist within “My Collection” where you’d like these tracks to live.
Drag and drop your selected tracks from the Finder/Files/Explorer source into your new playlist in “My Collection.”
“My Collection” allows you to create custom playlists and folders that automatically index tracks from various sources within djay, including streaming services, djay Music, locally stored files, and files from external devices/locations.
A byproduct of this approach is that it lets you work directly with your file sources, bypassing the need to use the Music app altogether.
Since djay links to your files rather than importing them, it’s essential to ensure that your file paths remain consistent.
It is also important to note that if you add new tracks to a source folder (like an external drive), those files will appear in the Finder/Files/Explorer source within djay.
However, they won’t automatically show up in your custom playlists in “My Collection” as you’ll need to manually drag them into the appropriate playlist to keep everything in sync.
If you also want to copy your My Collection playlists between devices, you can manually copy your djay Media Library database file from one device to another.
On iOS you can find the database using the Files app in On My iPhone/iPad>djay>User Data.
On macOS it can be found in ~/Music>djay.
First of all, please note that this is not an officially supported workflow by Algoriddim. This is just what I personally use. So please proceed at your own risk. Make sure you close djay on both devices first. I make regular backups of my Master djay Media Library database to an external drive and to my iCloud drive. This way if I make a mistake or something happens to my device, I can still recover my database. I also use the Files App and make a Master djay Media Library folder on my iCloud Drive.
Let’s assume that your iOS device has the most up to date Master djay Media Library.
Within the Files App, navigate to On My iPad>djay>User Data.
Press the 3 blue dots at the top right of the screen, …, choose the Select option in the menu and select the djay Media Library file.
At the bottom of the page select the Folder Icon to Copy the database to the iCloud Drive folder you created above.
If prompted, select the Replace option to overwrite the older database in iCloud.
This ensures that the file name stays exactly the same.
Next, open Finder on your Mac and navigate to the Master djay Media Library folder on your iCloud Drive.
Now copy your djay Media Library database file to the ~/Music>djay folder on your Mac.
When prompted, again choose Replace to overwrite your old database with the new one. It’s important to use the replace option so that the database file name remains exactly the same as this is what djay will be looking for. I hope that helps!
I use a MacBook for library management and then transfer the database to my iPad as @Slak_Jaw described via cloud or usb stick.
Mac to iPad is generally the better direction as you can edit fields within “my collection” on a Mac comments, grouping, rating, colour etc which you cannot do on ios.
Itunes/local music is currently the fastest most reliable way to get music between the 2, the files section on the iPad is ok but it does have limitations and quirks which can get frustrating at times.
Slightly off-topic but not by far…
I carry my latest djay media library file (and key mapping) inside my external drive always just in case I have to dj on a different laptop other than mine.
Plug it in, and my playlists pop right up on any mac!
For syncing to iphone a small number of playlists, I simply recreate those playlists in mac music app and sync to iphone. My iphone is a meagre 128GB anyways
