Introducing Dj.Studio: exclusive interview with Siebrand Dijkstra

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We had the privilege of interviewing Siebrand Dijkstra, CEO of DJ.Studio, to learn more about how this groundbreaking tool is transforming the lives of DJs and radio show hosts around the world.

Creating DJ mixes is an art form that demands dedication and precision. It takes hours of research to find the right music, followed by hours of editing to ensure that the perfect track selection blends seamlessly together. If you are making DJ mixes for radio shows, you will also need to incorporate imaging elements, which requires even more time. Imagine if there were a way to simplify the technical side, allowing DJs and producers to channel their energy into crafting unforgettable musical experiences.

We have exciting news: such a solution exists! Introducing DJ.Studio, a revolutionary software designed to streamline production and empower creators to focus on the creative aspects that truly matter. 

What sparked the idea for DJ.Studio, and what was your main motivation in developing this software?

My main motivation was that I wanted to create DJ mixes, but I wasn’t a DJ and DJing on decks was hard to learn. I loved listening to mixes and wanted to make my own, but I wasn’t familiar with the hardware and techniques. I had been using Mixmeister for many years, but it eventually became deprecated and stopped working, which inspired me to create my own DJ mixing software.

I was looking for other DAWs for DJs but couldn’t find anything that suited my needs, which gave me the direct motivation to create my own.

You can find out a bit more about DJ.Studio’s backstory in here: interview with Siebrand Dijkstra

Can you highlight the features of DJ.Studio that are particularly advantageous for radio show creators and mix show producers?

Several features in DJ.Studio are beneficial for mix production – mostly revolving around streamlining the production process, and enhancing the user’s workflow. 

  1. Music library Integration: DJ.Studio offers seamless integration with various music streaming services, digital audio workstations (DAWs), and other essential tools. This allows radio show creators and mix show producers to effortlessly connect to their music libraries, ensuring that they have quick access to a vast array of tracks. Additionally, the software supports various file formats, making it easy to work with different types of audio files without compatibility issues.
  2. Automix: The Automix feature in DJ.Studio is designed to streamline the mixing process by automatically beat-matching and transitioning between tracks. This is particularly useful for radio show creators and mix show producers who need to maintain a continuous flow of music without interruptions. Automix ensures harmonically sound transitions, allowing creators to focus more on creative aspects like track selection and audience engagement rather than technical mixing details.
  3. Timeline Editing: DJ.Studio’s timeline based editor provides a visual and intuitive interface for arranging and editing tracks. You can easily drag and drop tracks onto the timeline, adjust their position, and edit their length. This feature is crucial for creating well-structured radio shows and mixes, as it allows for precise control over the timing and order of tracks. Additionally, users can add markers and annotations to keep track of important points in their mix.
  4. Unique Transitions with Stems: DJ.Studio’s support for stems (separate audio tracks for different elements of a song, such as drums, bass, and vocals) enables producers to create unique and complex transitions. By isolating and manipulating individual elements, creators can craft seamless and innovative transitions that stand out. This feature is particularly advantageous for those looking to add a professional touch to their mixes and radio shows, offering a higher level of creativity and customization.
  5. Extra Samples and Voiceover Lanes: The inclusion of extra samples and voiceover lanes allows producers to add additional audio elements to their mixes. This could include sound effects, jingles, or voiceovers, which are essential for radio shows. These lanes provide the flexibility to layer extra content without interfering with the main music tracks, helping to create a more dynamic and engaging listening experience.
  6. High Quality, and Ableton Export: DJ.Studio allows you to export your finished projects to a range of formats and locations including high quality WAVs and MP3s, M3U8 playlists, and other destinations. Most notably for radio show producers, you can directly convert your mix to an Ableton Live project, with all the automation and edit information – so you can do some extra work and mastering in a traditional DAW. 

These features collectively enhance the workflow and creative potential of radio show creators and mix show producers, making DJ.Studio a powerful tool for producing high-quality, professional mixes.

I have had the opportunity to try DJ.Studio and was blown away by its impressive features like stem separation, Beatport integration, and video creation. It felt like being a kid in a candy store! I think it’s unique in many ways and probably cannot be compared to others. From your perspective, what features and functionalities of DJ.Studio distinguish it from other DJ software?

I think unlike most DJ software, DJ.Studio straddles two corners – DJ software, and DAWs. One of the most notable differences is in the core workflow, where rather than using decks to record, the user can simply produce their mix on a laptop, using a mouse and keyboard. Not only is this more portable, it’s much more time efficient, and removes the time spent rehearsing and recording a mix. Letting you simply lay it down on the timeline, refine it, and export it. 

There are also a bunch of cool features that aren’t common in DJ software. We’ve had a lot of great feedback about the video creation tools, which are handy for making extra promotional videos to put on YouTube to expand the reach of your mixes. 

Everybody is also going crazy for our new Stem Separation features. We are seeing a lot of buzz about this from both DJs and music producers. Our algorithm is clean and easy to use, and helps you to quickly create HD acapellas, instrumental loops, and other stem based edits. 

What kind of responses have you received from professional DJs and radio show creators regarding DJ.Studio?

We’ve received a ton of love and support from our users, at all ends of the professional spectrum. Many big name DJs are now using DJ.Studio to create their radio shows, as well as plan out and prepare their live shows.

I think the main positive feedback we get is about how much time it saves, and how it helps them to achieve higher quality final results. The way DJ.Studio speeds up the logistical process of mix production means that DJs can spend so much time on the creative craft, giving them more time and energy for expression. 

We’ve also had a lot of praise from pros about the experimentation it enables, making it quicker and easier for them to try out new setlist ideas, and test songs in their mixes. No other platform or method (traditional DAWs or DJ decks) enables this kind of rapid experimentation, especially paired with our smart features to make the process even clearer and more powerful. 

Everybody also loves the high quality export – particularly to Ableton, as this creates a 100% accurate recreation of your set in Ableton Live, for further processing and mastering. 

What impact has DJ.Studio had on the DJing community, and can you share any notable success stories from users?

We’ve helped many DJs to accelerate their career and reach. 

From the little stories about helping bedroom DJs to become more productive and reach a larger audience, to helping professional DJs and radio show hosts to increase their creative output. 

We’ve noticed a key trend of smaller DJs being able to rapidly expand their online mix portfolio with less effort, helping them to grow their audience, as well as land more gigs by promoting themselves more. 

It’s great to hear that many users have created successful YouTube channels using our video features, where creators have been able to generate thousands of views. Our video creation tools help people make engaging visuals, where otherwise they wouldn’t know where to start to make these kinds of graphics!

We’re soon publishing an interview with Gabriel Dancer on our blog, who has recently seen success using DJ.Studio and Syndicast!

What future developments or updates are planned for DJ.Studio, and can users look forward to any new features being added soon?

DJ.Studio is constantly being updated and new features are added all the time. So by the time this has been published, many of these will be live, and we’ll probably have more upgrades lined up, so stay up to date on the DJ.Studio Discord and the DJ.Studio News Page

Here are some things you can expect to see in DJ.Studio soon!

  • VST Support – This is right around the corner (and might already be out by the time this is published). We’ve worked on a new feature where you can use your VST plugins directly in DJ.Studio, both on individual tracks and on the master channel. This gives it an extra layer of professionalism, flexibility, and creativity – and makes DJ.Studio even more viable as a standalone radio show production tool. 
  • Mobile & Tablet – We’re working on a mobile and tablet version. You can currently use DJ.Studio via a desktop app but we are designing a custom app for mobile to make it easier to listen to your created mixes.
  • Voice-over Lane – An upcoming feature that is particularly exciting for radio show producers is the voice-over lane. These let you record and import additional voiceover audio, which also sidechains the music tracks for clarity. This will streamline the production operation, hopefully meaning you can create your entire radio show just using DJ.Studio alone. 
  • Soundcloud Integration – We are adding a feature where you can make mixes with music on Soundcloud, and directly upload your finished mixes to the platform!

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