AlphaTheta has launched CoBeat, a service that lets audiences send song requests straight to the DJ’s player. It debuts on the new CDJ-1500X, currently the only hardware that supports it, and runs through a Rekordbox update arriving shortly after the players.
The DJ builds a request catalogue of up to 200 tracks in Rekordbox and generates a QR code. Audience members scan it, then vote for a track from that list or message a free-text request. Requests appear on the 1500X’s browse screen with the requester’s name, ready to load. There’s a three-minute cooldown per person, and messages are filtered for profanity.
There’s a big catch, though: CoBeat only works through the Rekordbox cloud. The players must be online, and every track in the catalogue has to be a cloud-synced file – no streaming tracks and no plain local tracks. In practice that means a Rekordbox subscription and reliable venue Wi-Fi. There’s no way to message the room back, and unlike some rival request systems, CoBeat can’t take tips.
First Thoughts
Whether DJs want this depends entirely on the gig. For a club DJ whose value is their selection, a direct request line into the gear is the last thing they want. For wedding, corporate and event DJs, a controlled list guests can pick from is a useful tool, and monetisation – if AlphaTheta ever adds it – would make it more so.
Either way, CoBeat is off unless you switch it on, so DJs who don’t want it can ignore it entirely. (Unless you use the CDJ-1500X’s with Rekordbox’s cloud, it’s currently not open to you anyway, of course.)
