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Now that Apple Music has this feature, I'm cancelling Tidal
Published onMarch 26, 2025
- Apple Music has announced support for streaming in DJ software, including Rekordbox, Serato DJ, and Engine DJ.
- You can browse through curated DJ playlists, or search directly within Apple Music’s catalog of over 100 million tracks.
- The feature is included in your Apple Music subscription, undercutting the cost of the DJ upgrade feature from Tidal.
As a DJ, I’ve always relied on a Tidal subscription with the DJ Extension Add-On to ensure I can take any song requests needed. It was pricey (the DJ extension is an additional $9 on top of a regular Tidal subscription), but worth it until now. Today, Apple Music has announced that they have joined forces with a variety of DJ software platforms including all the biggest players such as Rekordbox, Serato, and Engine.
Unlike Tidal, there is no additional fee or subscription required to use Apple Music in your DJ software. Simply log in to your Apple Music account, and you will find all your playlists ready to go. Once loaded into your DJ software, you can analyze the waveform and set cue points just as with local music files. If someone requests a song, you can quickly search through the 100 million tracks available on Apple Music. The only issue I’ve run into so far when using Apple Music with Rekordbox is the lack of stems support to separate vocals, drums, and instrumentals from the track.
As part of a larger push into the DJ market, you can also now find a comprehensive selection of curated DJ playlists and even full-length DJ mixes on Apple Music. If you just want background music, or are looking for inspiration, you can now load these up directly in your DJ software of choice.
Since Apple Music also now offers lossless playback, Tidal has lost pretty much all of the advantages it once had over Apple Music. Spotify is still the dominant streaming platform thanks to its tailored algorithms for music discovery, but Apple Music now stands alone as the best streaming option for music professionals. For these reasons, I’ll be canceling my Tidal subscription and moving my library over to Apple Music today.