Just to be clear, I’m not making this thread to bash Serato. I think they are a great company that makes great software and I have a tremendous amount of respect for the positive contributions they’ve made to the DJ industry over the years.
But I found it interesting that Nick thoroughly covered the topic of Privately Owned vs Publicly Owned companies and the downwind effect they have on the end user which is something that was being discussed in another thread last month.
Very interesting take and observations.
Again, this thread isn’t about bashing Serato. It’s about the possible effects of companies being bought out and going public and the noticeable trends
To a large extend, you’re right.
The most useful thing that makes serato dominant is their downloadable “Archive” of ALL previous versions that users can downgrade back into, if they incur glitches with new updates or if they downgrade their computer specs. There’s a working serato version for nearly all dinosaur specs of computers.
On Nick’s word; I agree serato 4 slowed down abit - I actually noticed recently that if I searched for a track within a minute or so after serato 4 loads library, you don’t get any result!
I think the 4.0 update hasn’t been great, im using it but I don’t bother with the library features as it’s not something I ever wanted or needed. I do use search occasionally but admittedly haven’t since the update.
I don’t use search that often, I usually choose a style I want to play then flip around between a few crates so im not the right person to comment on that. I’ve seen it on the forum loads though.
Tbh the whole library thing has passed me by, I’ll use ratings I think but only as I go along and only if I can be bothered, I use them in Engine but half the time im just picking what I feel is right rather than relying on anything else. Unknown tracks are usually loaded then ejected if they don’t sound right within 30 seconds or so.
£26 a year is a low price, yes - but it’s the only thing available. You will never own the software. You have to keep paying, for ever and ever. Many people have issues with that.
When Adobe went subscription only, there was a big fuss. Waves tried it and then reversed their decision because of the complaints. People dislike Rekordbox because of the subscription.
Mojaxx has talked about Serato using subscriptions, where previously you could buy addons. Now you have to subscribe.
Native Instruments tried it with Traktor for a while, then withdrew it.
Atomix have subscriptions for VirtualDJ - but they still have the option to buy it for a one-off payment. I paid for VDJ once, nearly 20 years ago, and have never paid again.
I think Ableton have a great option - Rent-to-own. Pay gradually. No interest, no extra charges. You can even pause payments. Once you’ve paid, it’s yours.
Fair. But I’m looking at £2.20 a month. And Lavonda even gave up trying to price up Rekordbox, just giving it two stars (can only think it’s due to the hardware unlocks). Anyway. I’ll move on with my life!
