I have more than 10 years of experience in computer studies and programming
I have more than 10 years of project management in a multi national big tech company.
Some tips:
Stop playing around with VR
Stop adding features (ok neural mix is nice)
Stop supporting sooooooooo many controllers
But instead
Concentrate on the most important ones (more the professional ones)
Make your laptop apps (win & Mac) stable, slick and bug free
And implement your most requested feature: Library Sync.
Not just between dJay devices, but also accross other software.
I do know what I am requesting here. I have been digging into the delicate intricacies of the record box sqlite DB. I didn’t succeed. But you can.
Otherwise dJay will always stay “that tiny little iPhone app” where you can mix tracks a bit. But not really. You will never catch the professionals.
If you wan’t to stay “that tiny little iPhone app”, then no worries. You will have more users. More “semi-professional hobby DJs”. That’s fine. But you will never earn money.
I of course know, that you wouldn’t agree with this. But in ~two weeks this post will be the most liked post in your forum. So maybe then … think about it.
Thanks for the feedback @doogie! I’ll be sure to pass this onto our team. I’m looking forward to hearing the opinions of other users in this Community on this topic!
In the meantime, I highly recommend that you check out some of the djay performances by Pro DJs like Laidback Luke, DJ Angelo, Qbert, DJ Juicy M, and DJ Tay (just to name a few).
I find this message a little too dramatic. If the team vision would be way off, we (users) woudn’t think of switching over to djay app from “way more professional” software.
Maybe I would agree on making software crispy clean from bugs and prioritizing that over new features would work best. But overall I found that problems I encounter are not critical enough for me to switch back to RB/Serato. And the community/feedback on the forum seems to be working so well. I like the idea that we can affect even a little where the development is going. Way to go, team!
I want to share my thoughts on this, as someone with 25 years of experience as a DJ in clubs and festivals, with over 2,000 bookings, and a professional background as a Senior Enterprise IT Specialist at the world’s second-largest car manufacturer. Just mentioning it so I can keep up with Doogie’s flex.
First and foremost – and this is my absolute conviction:
Algoriddim Djay is not just a small “mobile app.” Sure, it may not yet compete with Serato or Rekordbox in every aspect of development—though honestly, what has Serato really accomplished in recent years? Personally, I prefer agile software that is constantly evolving over a large, rigid system. Who actually listens to individual users from the community? Djay does. If you have an idea and it’s good, it gets implemented. That’s a level of responsiveness the big players simply don’t offer.
On the points raised:
Stop playing around with VR? – Maybe VR isn’t essential right now, and yes, it’s more of a prototype feature. But it’s incredibly innovative. I do understand the argument that resources could have been used elsewhere, but innovation often requires experimentation.
Stop adding features? – No way! That would be a death sentence for the software. Keep going. Stagnation is regression.
Stop supporting so many controllers? – Why? That’s one of Djay’s biggest strengths!
But instead…
Concentrate on the most important controllers (more professional ones)? – Why not both? Why does it have to be black or white? Why not black and white?
Make your laptop apps (Win & Mac) stable, slick, and bug-free – I’m sure the team is already working on this. That’s part of any software development process, and prioritization is done with the best knowledge of the experts at Djay.
Implement the most requested feature: Library Sync – Not just between Djay devices, but across other software as well. Agreed. There are already some good workarounds, and personally, I manage quite well on Mac and iPad. But this would be a game-changer.
I really appreciate how much thought you’re putting into Djay. Maybe you could even help the team develop the app further with your technical expertise. As mentioned before, the community is actively involved in shaping this software.
If Djay were to remain “that tiny little iPhone app”, sure, it would attract more semi-professional hobby DJs, which is fine. But it would never truly catch the professionals or generate real revenue at the level of its competitors. But when I look at the DJs who use the software and at which events, phew, can it get even bigger? That’s not an argument in my opinion either!
The key to success? Keep innovating, keep improving, and keep listening to the community.
Who do you mean by “the big players”? IMO Atomix are certainly responsive, both for bug fixing and implementation/updating of features. Are the CEO and CTO of Algoriddim active members of this forum, posting and responding to questions? They are over at virtualdj.com - and people can also directly email key members of the Atomix staff.
VDJ have got so many aspects spot on. When there’s a new hardware release within weeks their software just works, screens and all. Granted they only have Mac and Windows to really think about. If VDJ did offer iOS support, well that would be something.
Phil Morse went to Algoriddim HQ and the team basically told him they really want to cater for the entry to djing market, hence Hercules Mix Ultra. This market I am sure is the mass market, where I am sure they will do well. For pro djs though who have needs, just may mean get left in the cold a bit. Just my thoughts. I love djay but just not sure where it’s heading.
This is such an interesting topic because the guys at Djay are the only people that take the community seriously as it has already been said. This company is the only company so far that is actively worked on VoiceOver screen reader for visually impaired users. How cool is that? Totally blind people can DJ thanks to this company.
I think the synkimg off music and playlist across devices and cross platforms would be a game changer
This: * And implement your most requested feature: Library Sync.
I’d also, actually, focus on making the essentials world class and then at the current price point charge more for all the extras, neural, looper, sampler etc. Neural ok, it’s great (and hence I’d be happy to pay extra for it), the other stuff, would rather it wasn’t there (do you have data on how much they’re actually used?). I’d swap it all for library sync.
+1 to the stop focusing on VR. I know it was probably pressure from Apple due to the launch of the Vision Pro, and with it’s production being significantly slowed/stopped all together I think we’ll see a renewed interest in the real world.
Please bring Neural Mix to Apple Music! It’s crazy that it’s the only streaming service that doesn’t allow me to use my fancy Apple Neural Engine with their own service! (I know this is easy to say from the cheap seats where I’m sat at)
+1 on Apple Music with Neural Mix or at least tell us if you’re discussing with Apple @Slak_Jaw i know you can’t talk about specifics but at least let’s have a conversation.
There are a couple of software options that are the “club standard”, and it makes no business sense to try and tackle those–for many reasons, but I’m not here to talk business.
The number of humans relying solely on tablets/phones–regardless of how big on resources or screen sizes-- is increasing, and has been for the past decade. People are leaving the laptops behind.
Controller support can be disregarded for the most part, MIDI controllers with a software that offers its users the capability to edit, make, and mess up the software’s MIDI mapping is more than enough–although the support for the different integrated sound cards will still be a feature the engineering team needs to work on.
If you have enough money to get yourself a “professional” controller, why bother using and kicking dirt on an app that’s aimed for everyone? Honestly if I’m spending over 1k usd on a controller, I for sure am using an equivalently expensive computer, sound system, and prolly using “club standard” software as well–specially if I’m looking to get gigs.
So maybe the bigger question we’d need an answer for is: what is Djay’s target audience.
ps. it’s a hella lot easier to sell a $1 app to 1M users that it is to sell a $1M app to 1 user.
I didn’t succeed. But you can.
