Beatport Acquires Pulselocker, Relaunching Subscription Service in Q3 2018

We were certain that Pulselocker was done – having suddenly shut down operations with zero warning to users in November 2017. But today, major news as electronic music giant Beatport announces that they have acquired the service, which allowed DJs to download high-quality versions of tracks to use in DJ software while only on subscription plans. Keep reading for what we know so far.

Beatport Has Acquired Pulselocker

The details of the deal are under wraps, but Billboard first reported earlier today that the DJ-oriented online music store Beatport has closed a complete aquisition of Pulselocker. The focus is on the technology – which if you’ve missed our many articles on Pulselocker, was unique for it’s ability to bring offline files to DJ software without forcing a DJ to buy them. Think record pool meets streaming service.

Billboard notes that the details of the actual deal itself were not disclosed, but they did manage to get a statement from Robb McDaniels, the CEO of Beatport:

“Pulselocker spent years developing an innovative solution that provides DJs with the flexibility to access the content they want when they want it — all through the DJ software they want to use — while providing copyright holders with the security and tracking mechanisms to calculate royalty payments,” said McDaniels in a statement. “Beatport is committed to delivering the best tools to create a more seamless and interoperable user experience for our massive ecosystem of DJs, and Pulselocker accelerates our timeline to deliver just that type of product.”

Beatport is no stranger to mergers, acquisitions, and challenging financial situations – under former owner SFX Entertainment, their product offerings expanded rapidly, only to nearly shut off completely when SFX went belly-up.

Will Users Trust The Pulselocker Name?

While Beatport may have purchased the Pulselocker technology, it seems pretty unlikely that they’ll keep the name around without a serious campaign to make users trust it. Pulselocker launched twice – first in 2012, and then again in 2015 – and when it shut off in 2017, there was no warning. Users were stranded, unable to access their songs, and generally left angry at a company that offered no explanation. Users were also billed right before the shutdown – leaving a pretty sour taste to the whole thing.

For old users, Billboard notes, things seem promising:

Pulselocker customers will be able to sign up for Beatport’s new integrated subscription and locker later this year and Beatport has set up a dedicated customer service information page at www.beatport.com/pulselocker for further information.

Put Beatport’s Library Inside Serato and Rekordbox?

One of the juiciest part of the deal could be the recently-in-place partnerships that Pulselocker had with DJ software developers. Pulselocker was able to be used natively inside of Rekordbox DJ, Serato DJ, Virtual DJ, and a few others. But since the service shut down, almost every service has removed the integration from their apps. If it weren’t a big name like Beatport behind the relaunch, most companies would probably think twice before doing it all over again.

Beatport absolutely has the power to relaunch this service and make it even better – connecting their library once they put in place agreements with labels, distributors, and artists. This was the secret sauce that Pulselocker often lacked – a diverse but reliable library to pull from.