Every music listener knows the feeling. A track drops in a set and the room ignites. Phones go up. The group chat explodes. Nobody can figure out what it is. Sharing Track IDs has been a hotly debated topic amongst DJs for years, and existing music recognition tools were never built for the realities of a club, except for Shazam. Loud rooms, pitch-shifted blends, layered transitions, and remixes that bear only a passing resemblance to the original. Beatport has now built something that was. Track ID is one of the most requested features by the platform’s user base and it is live now in the Beatport mobile app on iOS and Android.
What Makes It Different
Unlike conventional music recognition software that relies on clean audio, Track ID works through noisy clubs, layered transitions, pitch-shifted tracks and blended mixes. It handles remixes, edits and mashups, finding the right version rather than just the closest match. It processes high-end AI audio cleaning to cut through crowd noise, effects and background sound, focusing its attention on the track underneath. You tap the Track ID icon, let the app listen for a moment, and it returns the result in real time. No typing, no guessing, no awkward post-set conversations with the DJ.
Once identified, the track lands directly in your dedicated Track ID history inside the Beatport app. From there you can preview it, save it to a playlist, stream it, or purchase it. The discovery and the purchase happen in the same place, which basically is the point.
The Technology and the Partnership
Track ID developed in partnership with seeqnc. Seeqnc is a leading AI-powered music recognition and analytics platform focused on enabling transparency in copyright and monetisation of music. The partnership between Beatport and seeqnc has a history that predates this launch. During the pandemic, Beatport teamed up with seeqnc to deliver live track IDs directly to fans during its Twitch livestreams. Beatport has since built that proof of concept into a fully fledged in-app feature.
“At seeqnc, we build technology that unlocks revenue opportunities for artists and rights holders,” said Bernhard Famler, CEO and Co-Founder of seeqnc. “We’re proud to support Beatport in launching Track ID and advancing music discovery for the global DJ community.” he added.
Royalties and Setlist Reporting
Track ID is a discovery tool. It may also become something more significant. Beatport believes the feature could help solve the issue of DJs not always being accurately compensated when their music plays out. “When DJs can easily identify and share track information, it benefits everyone,” said Helen Sartory, Chief Revenue Officer at Beatport. “What we hope to see is Track ID being used not only as a discovery tool, but in the future, building the foundations for accurate setlist reporting — helping payout missing performance royalties — and at a global level, showing labels and artists where and when their music is being performed live.”
That ambition reframes what Track ID is. In the short term, it solves a frustration every club-goer and DJ has felt. In the long term, it could form part of the infrastructure that finally connects live performance data to artist compensation in a meaningful way.
Track ID is now available as feature within the Beatport app. Download the Beatport app for iOS and Android.
