Bitwig Studio can now open your Rekordbox library

Bitwig Studio can now read your Rekordbox library, analysis data included. AlphaTheta and Bitwig built the integration together, and Digital DJ Tips reports it ships in Bitwig Studio 6.1.4, out now for owners of any version with an active upgrade plan.

With Rekordbox 6 or later installed on the same computer, your library appears in Bitwig’s browser. Open a track and Bitwig creates a new project at its tempo and key, with your hot cues as markers. You can chop the track into clips using Rekordbox’s phrase analysis or your own cues, and show vocal positions as placeholder clips. Beatgrids come across too, including any edits you made in Rekordbox. Streaming tracks and intelligent playlists do not show up.

AlphaTheta has also launched Studio Plan, which rents Bitwig Studio Essentials, Bitwig’s entry-level version, for $7 a month or $72 a year after a 30-day free trial. It is sold under the Rekordbox name but does not include Rekordbox, isn’t part of any Rekordbox plan, and cancelling one doesn’t cancel the other. You need an AlphaTheta account, a Bitwig account and a new app called Studio License Manager. One subscription covers up to three computers. If you don’t subscribe after the trial, Bitwig drops back to its limited free demo mode. Because it is a rental, you lose access when you stop paying. Studio Plan is available now from AlphaTheta.

Bitwig also sells Essentials outright for $99, including 12 months of updates, and Splice offers the full Bitwig Studio as rent-to-own, at $15.99 a month for 25 months, after which you own it.

In May, Serato added Serato Studio to Serato DJ Suite at no extra cost. One purchase gets you Serato DJ Pro and Serato Studio, sharing one library and sending edits straight back into your DJ sets. AlphaTheta’s setup differs: the DAW comes from another company, it is a separate subscription, and the integration is one-way.

Bitwig says stem separation is coming to all versions this winter.