Well I gotta say I did not have this on my bingo card where the parent company of PioneerDJ, AlphaTheta, has bought Serato. Now there is limited info about this right now but the speculation is rampant.

The Situations

Nothing. This may be the most likely for the short term… nothing. PioneerDJ has too much going on with RekordBox that it would be unwise to make quick moves in any direction. This does not mean this arrangement of the status quo will last forever, but the deal may have been too sweet for AlphaTheta to pass up at this moment.

RekordBox Retires. Let’s face it, RekordBox was built to beat Serato and it’s something that has not happened. Serato is so ingrained into the DJ community that it’s downfall was never going to happen. It certainly does not make sense for AlphaTheta to have two software options in their portfolio.

Serato Retires. I find this highly unlikely, but AlphaTheta could decide that “if you can’t beat it, buy it, then bury it”. Never omit spite as a business options if the pockets are deep.

Hardware Lockdown. A whole lot of Rane, Denon, Numark, and other controller operators are out there now starting to get concerned… what happens to them. In scenario #2 or #3 there runs the risk that AlphaTheta wants to decimate the hardware line. This may not make a whole lot of DJs happy but from AlphaTheta’s standpoint they may want to start a war of attrition.

VirtualDJ & Engine. I think most people know my opinion on Engine, it’s just not up to snuff. But for inMusic they do have this as a backup plan to go into “survival mode”. But VirtualDJ offers a viable option for inMusic and other counterparts in the hardware space as well. With this news we could even see inMusic make a big play for VirtualDJ.

Crystal Ball

Who would have thought that 2023 would see a real Software Showdown? Or at least bring real rumors of it. I honestly don’t know which scenario comes out up top above.