Link Apple Music Playlists (iTunes) instead of importing all the time

[DJ_Big_Blender]

Hello Algoriddim Team and fellow djay users,

Just like many users, I am a long-time user of iTunes and use it to manage all my music. It serves as my central library, which includes a variety of smart and static Playlists. Needless to say that I have already put a lot of work into this for many years.

These playlists are essential for my workflow as they automatically update based on the criteria I set, ensuring I always have the right tracks ready for different sets and occasions. Of course, I constantly add (or delete) tracks there as well.

The Problem
Currently, while djay allows for importing iTunes playlists, these imports are static snapshots of the playlists at the time of import. This means they do not reflect any changes or additions I make in Apple iTunes after the import.

Feature Request
I propose an enhancement in djay to allow for direct integration or linking (instead of importing) of Apple playlists within the djay environment.

With this, I can assign a few “favorite” playlists directly from the local Apple Music library (not the streaming service) to just drag them over to a folder in Djay. Ideally, these interlinked favorite playlists would appear in a dedicated section of the folder structure on the left side of the djay interface for quick access.

Benefits:

1. Dynamic Updates: Users do see only the Apple playlists they need for that time, but see ALL the updated and new tracks in a certain Apple playlist in djay (instead of only the ones imported).

2. Efficiency: Reduces the need for manual re-imports and ensures DJs always have access to their most current playlists.

3. User Experience: Enhances the overall usability of djay by making it more flexible and seamlessly integrated with users’ existing music management systems.

[DJ_Big_Blender]

By the way, this request is distinct from another suggestion I made dec. '23 , which you can find here: Introduce a Song Playlist Favorites Bank.

In that post, I discussed the lack of a feature that allows quick access to different playlists with just one click (I was so used to that in Traktor), and suggested an intuitive interface in the form of a ‘favorites bank’. It would indeed be very helpful, and needless to say, that direct access to these actual iTunes playlists should also be incorporated there!!

Thanks and please vote for this if you agree.

[Slak_Jaw]

Thanks for the suggestion and detailed explanation @DJ_Big_Blender. I have forwarded this to the dev team for consideration. In the meantime, please use the blue Vote button at the top left of this page so we can gauge user demand for this feature. Thanks!

[Slak_Jaw]

Hi @DJ_Big_Blender, the dev team is asking why you don’t just use the “Local Music” source? The only difference to the suggestion is that it always shows all playlists, but you could manage them into folders to easily show just a few playlists.

[DJ_Big_Blender]

Because that’s a workaround (and there are already quite a few of these in Djay). It just takes a lot more time to create or repopulate a folder in Apple Music every time and I just want keep this workflow in Djay as well.

Imho: good software is there to suit a user’s needs as well as possible and support them in the tasks they need to perform.

[Slak_Jaw]

Thanks for the reply @DJ_Big_Blender. I’ve passed this onto the engineering team.