Spotify Axes DJ Software Streaming In Virtual DJ

To some DJs, integrated streaming music services are the pinnacle of modern music collections. To others, the unreliability and dependence on good internet, service is too risky. In the last month, Spotify has made a minor-but-impactful update to their terms of service that has crippled streaming inside of Virtual DJ . Keep reading for the details.

Virtual DJ Breaks The News In Update

In their most recent (9/8/17) software update, Virtual DJ noted a major change in their music streaming capabilities – a complete removal of Spotify from the streaming library options:

2017-09-08 Update: Spotify is currently no longer available in VDJ 8 as they have recently changed their terms in regards to using Spotify inside Professional DJ applications. We are in discussions with Spotify in order to restore and improve the service but currently no ETA can be provided.

Content Unlimited, Deezer, Groove Music and Pulselocker are still available as content providers.

Prior to this announcement, even in Virtual DJ Pro, there was always a major limitation that prevented streaming or caching two songs at the same time:

[…]the current licensing terms of Spotify do not allow the streaming or caching of 2 tracks simultaneously.

VirtualDJ’s implementation respects this license limitation, but as a result, please be aware that the Spotify experience might not be ideal for DJ use.

What About Algoriddim djay?

The breakdown for Virtual DJ might simply be a result of VDJ adding integration without striking a direct deal with Spotify. One impassioned user on the Algoriddim support forums lays out his own insightful point of view (we’re unable to verify these claims at time of publication):

At the same time, it looks like Algoriddim’s djay is still able to stream directly from Spotify – something that’s likely part of a more robust deal crafted between the two companies. The djay 2 app can connect and stream (faster than VDJ ever could) tracks from the Spotify library.

Spotify was first added to djay back in 2014 – and has continued to be a major selling point of the software since then. Watch Ean’s test of the streaming capacities of djay Pro in a DJTT video review here.

The Dangers Of Streaming Someone Else’s Library

This all goes back to a well-deserved criticism of streaming DJ music: it’s the DJ form of sharecropping. If you don’t own your own music collection and rely on an external source, it could disappear at any time leaving you high and dry. If the terms of service are suddenly changed right before your big gig and your music disappears, what would you do?

While many DJ softwares have embraced Pulselocker, a DJ-oriented streaming service, we can’t help but see this as a major lesson for software developers and DJs. External dependencies are bad – and DJs should keep building their own music collections locally, not as playlists on someone else’s server.

Next: How Streaming Services Could Improve For DJs