FAQ

FAQ

Do I need to upload my music anywhere?

No. Tape Music Hub is built around your existing local library and a desktop hub that serves it.

Does casting work with Chromecast, Google TV or AirPlay?

Chromecast and Google TV: yes, from the next desktop release. Your hub finds Chromecast, Google TV (Chromecast built-in) and Cast speakers on its network and lists them with your UPnP / DLNA TVs and speakers: pick one and Tape plays there. The hub and the device must be on the same network. AIFF and WMA files do not play on Chromecast; MP3, FLAC, AAC, Ogg/Opus and WAV do.

AirPlay: not from the hub. Apple offers no way for a server like the hub to send audio to AirPlay devices. On a Mac you can still pick an AirPlay speaker as the system sound output and Tape plays through it.

Is Tape Music Hub a subscription streaming service?

No. The current product is a desktop hub plus companion app for your own music library.

What do I need to use it today?

Today, the public path is:

Android requires the beta signup form (opens in a new tab) before install; it is not open public distribution yet. Desktop installers for Mac, Windows, and Linux are on the support page (opens in a new tab).

Can I use Tape Music Hub only on local Wi-Fi?

Yes. LAN / Wi-Fi is the simplest and safest path.

Does remote access require anything extra?

Yes. Remote access depends on:

  • the desktop hub being configured for a remote route
  • the phone already being paired
  • a valid desktop license for remote playback

What is the current paid access for?

A license unlocks the suite on your hub (including remote access for your phone) plus the buyer, recovery and licensing flow around it. Since 0.5.0:

  • V1 ($29.50): the suite, with V1 patch and minor updates.
  • V1 PRO ($69): V1 plus the PRO modules (duplicates, audio analysis, enrichment, Catalog & Wishlist, collaborative playlists, DJ import, tag writer). V1 owners can upgrade for $39.50.
  • Lifetime ($99): every module, all future modules and all future updates.

Single modules and the PRO package ($39.50) are also sold on their own (tapemusicsuite.com/modules (opens in a new tab) or Add-ons in the app). Licenses bought before 0.5.0 keep every feature they had.

Do collaborative playlists and sharing a track with another hub need a license?

Yes: they are the Collaborative playlists module, included in V1 PRO and Lifetime or bought on its own. Without it those entry points are hidden and the hub answers module_disabled to /api/collab/*. Public share links (a page anyone can open) are a separate, remote-licensed feature.

If I lose the original download email, am I locked out?

No. The current buyer flow includes a recovery path for re-download and license recovery.

Can I share my full library publicly?

No. The public surface is intentionally narrow. What exists today is public share pages for specific tracks, albums, artists, and playlists.

Can I use it with Rekordbox or other playlist tools?

Yes. The desktop hub supports local playlist import flows for Rekordbox XML, M3U/XSPF, Traktor, Apple Music / iTunes XML, and Serato local crates/smart crates.

Is iOS available?

Yes. Install Tape Music Hub from the App Store (opens in a new tab). Pre-release iOS builds may also appear on TestFlight (opens in a new tab) or the landing beta page (opens in a new tab).

Is Android available?

Yes, in closed beta. Submit the Android beta signup form (opens in a new tab), then install from Google Play closed testing (opens in a new tab). It is not open public distribution yet.

Is Windows or Linux available?

Yes. Production installers are published on the support page (opens in a new tab):

Docker is also available for server/NAS use. Source builds are documented in Building from Source.

Where should I start?

Start with:

For DJs and serious local libraries

Questions DJs ask most often about local libraries, Rekordbox/Serato/Traktor workflows, and phone prep. Today is what ships now; Planned is direction, not a launch promise.

Is Tape Music Hub another library I have to keep in sync?

No — not the way iTunes + Beatport Pro + Traktor often fight each other.

Today: Tape Music Hub scans the folders and playlists you already use on your hub machine or Docker server and builds one catalog for the desktop hub and phone companion. Your files stay where they are. You do not maintain a separate “Tape Music Hub copy” of your archive.

Tags you edit in Tape can be written back to the file itself (FLAC, WAV, AIFF, MP3), so other apps see the same data.

Planned: Export/handoff to DJ tools — only when those workflows are gated and tested. Tape Music Hub is not asking you to rebuild your library in a third XML world.

Do I have to reorganize my folders?

No.

Today: Point the hub at your existing folder roots — year/season trees, flat download folders, genre paths, or “everything in one folder + tags.” Tape Music Hub does not force a single folder taxonomy.

Planned: Optional rename/organize templates with preview (for people who want a Downloads → tag → move pipeline). Rule-based “smart” playlists from hub fields are later roadmap, not live today.

Does Tape Music Hub replace Beatport Pro or fix all my metadata automatically?

Partly — it helps, but it does not guess.

Today: Tape Music Hub reads the tags already on your files. Background enrichment looks up MusicBrainz and Discogs and only applies a result when the match is strong. When you edit a track, artist or album, you can search both sources and pick genres and styles from their suggestions. Import playlist/crate flows from Rekordbox, Traktor, M3U, and Apple Music/iTunes XML are supported on the desktop hub.

Planned: More sources (such as Beatport). Changes stay database first; writing them to your files is your choice.

Can I use Tape Music Hub with Rekordbox, Traktor, Serato, or iTunes playlists?

Yes for import today. Export is limited.

Today: The desktop hub can import local playlist/crate data from Rekordbox XML, Traktor, M3U/XSPF, Apple Music / iTunes XML, and Serato local crates/smart crates. Tape Music Hub is a listen/prep/phone companion, not performance software — you still play sets in the DJ app you already use.

Planned: Rekordbox XML export with BPM/key/cue fields where the hub has them; deeper USB/sync research later.

Does it work with Apple Music or streaming tracks?

Tape Music Hub is for files you own and can mount on your hub.

Streaming-only tracks (Apple Music, etc.) are not a reliable DJ library surface. If a track is not a file in your scanned folders, it is not in Tape Music Hub.

Today: Owned MP3, FLAC, M4A, AIFF, and other scanned formats on your machine.

Is Tape Music Hub DJ software?

No.

Tape Music Hub is a hub + phone companion for the archive you already maintain: listen, review, prepare, and share playlists without uploading your library to a cloud catalog.

Rekordbox, Serato, Traktor, and similar tools remain where you perform. Tape Music Hub sits upstream — prep and phone access — with handoff back into those tools.

Can I browse my whole library on my phone — including older tracks?

Yes — that is the core wedge.

Today: Pair the phone app to your hub and browse/search the same library on Wi‑Fi. Remote access (away from home) is the paid layer. This helps when time-based folders bury good older tracks: you do not need a new folder system to rediscover music on your phone.

Planned: Stronger play-history/heard state and rule-based playlists inside the hub — not iTunes-grade smart playlists on day one.

What file formats are supported?

Today: Multi-format scan on the hub (common DJ formats including MP3, FLAC, M4A, AIFF, and others in your library). One catalog regardless of format.

Planned: Transcode/quality signals for file integrity — gated later work.

I keep separate DJ and personal libraries. Do I need two hubs?

No.

Today: Add multiple folder roots to one hub. Use playlists and views to separate “current crate,” DJ prep, and personal listening without duplicating files on disk.

How do new downloads fit in?

Today: Add your downloads folder (or any folder) to the hub. Tape watches your folders: new files show up in Inbox on desktop and phone. Work through it like email — mark heard, mark to listen, add to a playlist, or clear — at a pace of 10–20 tracks a day.

Will Tape Music Hub detect BPM and musical key for me?

Yes.

Today: Tape uses BPM/key from your file tags or imported DJ metadata. For tracks without them, optional background analysis detects BPM, key and a waveform on the hub. You can pause it, or keep it running in the background, from Settings → Database.

What about smart playlists like iTunes?

Not at iTunes depth today.

Today: Static playlists, collab playlists, folder views, and advanced Library filters — combine search with artist, album, label, genre, tags, year, format, BPM, rating, folder, duration and listening history.

Planned: Rule-based playlists from hub DB + play history.

Will Tape Music Hub fix Rekordbox missing files (!) after I move folders?

Not a Rekordbox relocate replacement.

Today: Keep one stable music root on your hub machine; add that root to the hub scan so phone browse matches disk. After you relocate in Rekordbox/Serato, rescan in the hub if paths changed.

Planned: Safer missing-file and relocation workflows in the hub catalog — research in progress.

Will Tape Music Hub write tags back to my files?

Yes, when you choose to.

Today: Tape Music Hub reads tags from your files into its catalog. When you edit tags from a track's page, Tape can write them back to FLAC, WAV, AIFF and MP3 files and asks before changing the file. The write keeps the audio untouched and replaces the file safely, so a failed write never leaves a broken file. Values are stored in fields common DJ apps read.

I have thousands of untagged tracks and feel overwhelmed. Where do I start?

Today: Add your folders to the hub and browse/play what is already tagged. Use playlists for a small current crate — you do not need a perfect library to get phone access working.

Then use Inbox for new arrivals, and let background analysis and enrichment fill in BPM, key and missing metadata, so you can work in 10–20 tracks a day batches instead of marathon tagging sessions.

Why would a DJ pay for Tape Music Hub?

Today: a license (V1, V1 PRO or Lifetime) unlocks the suite, including the same hub library on your phone away from home. DJ-focused tools — audio analysis (BPM, key, waveform), duplicates, enrichment and DJ import — are PRO modules: included in V1 PRO and Lifetime, or bought one by one.

DJ landing page

More context for DJs: tapemusicsuite.com/for-djs (opens in a new tab)

Docker / NAS (optional)Troubleshooting