AlphaTheta has announced OneLibrary, a shared music library format developed in partnership with Algoriddim and Native Instruments. It’s designed to fix one of the biggest problems in modern DJing, which is that, usually, you’re pretty much tied to a single software ecosystem.
Until now, switching between platforms like rekordbox, Traktor, or djay meant rebuilding your playlists, cue points, and beatgrids from scratch. Some third-party tools, such as Lexicon, have made it possible to transfer your tunes between platforms, but these have sometimes been a bit unreliable, and it’s an extra workaround.
OneLibrary is different because it’s an official shared format supported by the software and hardware makers themselves. It standardises all the essential DJ data, including playlists, BPM, key, cue points, beatgrids and waveforms, so you can use the same USB across multiple systems.
How It Works
You can now export your library directly from djay Pro in the new OneLibrary format. Traktor Play and Traktor Pro 4 will add support in the coming months.
Once exported, your USB drive can be used on AlphaTheta’s latest compatible hardware, including:
That means a DJ could prepare sets in Traktor or djay at home, then plug that same USB into a CDJ or XDJ setup in a club without needing to re-analyse tracks or manually recreate cue points.
Why OneLibrary Is Important
The release of OneLibrary represents a rare moment of collaboration between competing DJ companies. rekordbox, Traktor, and djay have long existed in isolation, each with their own locked ecosystems. OneLibrary connects them, creating a single shared foundation for the first time.
However, this isn’t yet a fully open ecosystem. Some other big names like Serato and Engine DJ are not currently involved, which means the system still only covers part of the DJ world. If it’s to become a proper industry standard, we’ll still need to see more names getting on board.
For DJs, though, this could still be a real turning point. It might finally loosen rekordbox’s grip on the market of home and amateur DJs who want to practise at home and then play in clubs. Until now, anyone who wanted to perform on CDJs needed rekordbox to prepare their USBs. With OneLibrary, that may no longer be the case for much longer. You could use djay or Traktor for your day-to-day practice or function gigs, and still use the same library when you play in venues with CDJs.
The adoption will also take a bit of time to trickle through of course. Not all clubs have CDJ-3000s yet and those that do might well not have updated the firmware. That means we’re still some ways off being able to confidently rely on exporting a OneLibrary USB and expecting it to work in most venues.
It’s still early days, but this is the most significant step yet toward a world where DJs can pick any software without worrying about compatibility.
Learn on Any Platform with Crossfader
Now that OneLibrary makes it easier to move between software, it’s the perfect time to learn how each platform works. At Crossfader, you can join for free and start learning on rekordbox, djay, or Traktor.
