macOS Catalina Causes Issues for DJs Who Used iTunes With XML File Support

macOS Catalina eliminates the iTunes app in favor of new Music, TV, and Podcasts apps, but the lack of iTunes will impact DJs who relied on the software, reports The Verge.

Along with nixing iTunes, Apple is removing support for the method many DJ app developers had been using to access XML playlist files that let users access their iTunes music libraries.

macos catalina apple music
DJs use XML file support to sort tracks into playlists and use iTunes' "Share iTunes Library XML with other applications" to transfer data between apps. The new Music app, though, uses a new, more modern library format that isn't compatible with XML.

Developers still have access to frameworks for accessing Music on the Mac, but XML file support is no longer available in macOS Catalina and developers need to update their apps to take advantage of the new methods that are compatible with music libraries on the Mac. Many DJ app developers are in the process of doing so, but customers using an XML app that is not supported should continue to use macOS Mojave until developer updates are implemented.

We spoke with Michael Simmons of Algoriddim, the developer behind the djay Pro apps, and he provided us with more insight into the issue, pointing to a previous report outlining how Apple launched an official SDK for delivering programmatic access to users' music libraries with the launch of iTunes 11 a number of years ago. Apps like djay Pro that previously transitioned to the SDK will have no problems continuing to integrate with Music libraries in macOS Catalina.

App developers who have continued to rely on the earlier undocumented XML integration and have not updated in time will find that their users will be unable to access their Music libraries after upgrading to Catalina. Companies like Serato and Native Instruments have warned their users not to upgrade to macOS Catalina yet, although Native Instruments has a public beta of its Traktor Pro app available that will support Catalina.

Tag: iTunes
Related Forum: Mac Apps

Popular Stories

iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Coming Soon With These 8 New Features on Your iPhone

Thursday December 11, 2025 8:49 am PST by
Apple seeded the second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to developers earlier this week, meaning the update will be released to the general public very soon. Apple confirmed iOS 26.2 would be released in December, but it did not provide a specific date. We expect the update to be released by early next week. iOS 26.2 includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, such as a new...
Google maps feaure

Google Maps Quietly Added This Long-Overdue Feature for Drivers

Wednesday December 10, 2025 2:52 am PST by
Google Maps on iOS quietly gained a new feature recently that automatically recognizes where you've parked your vehicle and saves the location for you. Announced on LinkedIn by Rio Akasaka, Google Maps' senior product manager, the new feature auto-detects your parked location even if you don't use the parking pin function, saves it for up to 48 hours, and then automatically removes it once...
Foldable iPhone 2023 Feature 1

Apple to Make More Foldable iPhones Than Expected [Updated]

Tuesday December 9, 2025 9:59 am PST by
Apple has ordered 22 million OLED panels from Samsung Display for the first foldable iPhone, signaling a significantly larger production target than the display industry had previously anticipated, ET News reports. In the now-seemingly deleted report, ET News claimed that Samsung plans to mass-produce 11 million inward-folding OLED displays for Apple next year, as well as 11 million...
AirPods Pro Firmware Feature

Apple Releases New Firmware for AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3

Thursday December 11, 2025 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware designed for the AirPods Pro 3 and the prior-generation AirPods Pro 2. The AirPods Pro 3 firmware is 8B30, up from 8B25, while the AirPods Pro 2 firmware is 8B28, up from 8B21. There's no word on what's include in the updated firmware, but the AirPods Pro 2 and AirPods Pro 3 are getting expanded support for Live Translation in the European Union in iOS...
iOS 26

15 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 26.2

Friday December 5, 2025 9:40 am PST by
Apple is about to release iOS 26.2, the second major point update for iPhones since iOS 26 was rolled out in September, and there are at least 15 notable changes and improvements worth checking out. We've rounded them up below. Apple is expected to roll out iOS 26.2 to compatible devices sometime between December 8 and December 16. When the update drops, you can check Apple's servers for the ...
AirTag 2 Mock Feature

Apple AirTag 2: Four New Features Found in iOS 26 Code

Thursday December 11, 2025 10:31 am PST by
The AirTag 2 will include a handful of new features that will improve tracking capabilities, according to a new report from Macworld. The site says that it was able to access an internal build of iOS 26, which includes references to multiple unreleased products. Here's what's supposedly coming: An improved pairing process, though no details were provided. AirTag pairing is already...
iOS 26

Apple Seeds Second iOS 26.2 Release Candidate to Developers and Public Beta Testers

Monday December 8, 2025 10:18 am PST by
Apple today seeded the second release candidate version of iOS 26.2 to developers and public beta testers, with the software coming one week after Apple seeded the first RC. The release candidate represents the final version iOS 26.2 that will be provided to the public if no further bugs are found. Registered developers and public beta testers can download the betas from the Settings app on...
iPhone 14 Pro Dynamic Island

iPhone 18 Pro Leak Adds New Evidence for Under-Display Face ID

Monday December 8, 2025 4:54 am PST by
Apple is actively testing under-screen Face ID for next year's iPhone 18 Pro models using a special "spliced micro-transparent glass" window built into the display, claims a Chinese leaker. According to "Smart Pikachu," a Weibo account that has previously shared accurate supply-chain details on Chinese Android hardware, Apple is testing the special glass as a way to let the TrueDepth...
ipad blue prime day

iPad 12 Rumored to Get iPhone 17's A19 Chip, Breaking Apple Tradition

Wednesday December 10, 2025 12:22 pm PST by
The next-generation low-cost iPad will use Apple's A19 chip, according to a report from Macworld. Macworld claims to have seen an "internal Apple code document" with information about the 2026 iPad lineup. Prior documentation discovered by MacRumors suggested that the iPad 12 would be equipped with an A18 chip, not an A19 chip. The A19 chip was just released this year in the iPhone 17, and...
studio display purple

Apple Studio Display 2 Code Hints at 120Hz ProMotion, HDR, A19 Chip

Thursday December 11, 2025 4:19 am PST by
Apple's next-generation Studio Display is expected to arrive early next year, and a new report allegedly provides a couple more details on the external monitor's capabilities. According to internal Apple code seen by Macworld, the new external display will feature a variable refresh rate capable of up to 120Hz – aka ProMotion – as well as support for HDR content. The current Studio...

Top Rated Comments

Ryan0751 Avatar
81 months ago
As a DJ, we saw this coming for quite a while with all of the announcements.

For those unaware, nobody is DJ'ing WITH iTunes. Rather, many DJ's used iTunes to organize their music. Bloated as it got, iTunes still has some powerful music management tools, with it's smart playlists and such. Plus, you could take your new music, playlists, etc. and sync them up to your iPhone/iPod for offline listening.

The DJ software vendors recognized this, and pretty much all of them built in support to read the library.xml file directly into their software.

So if you used Traktor, Serato, Rekordbox, Virtual DJ, etc., you could keep your library in iTunes, and it would just show up in the DJ software. Rather powerful, and if you decided to switch software, your tracks would move over easily (though all of the custom beat gridding, cue points and loops, etc. are still software specific).

From what I gather, the new Music App does have an API, it'll be interesting to see if the DJ vendors adopt it.
Score: 40 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hlfway2anywhere Avatar
81 months ago

Thumbs down for those DJ who uses iTunes for playing tracks... that's not real DJ

Oh no! This is tragic. Won't someone please think of the iTunes DJs who use XML (all 3 of them)?
this has nothing to do with using itunes to DJ. it's regarding giving your DJ software, like Serato DJ, access to your iTunes library, where you may or may not maintain your music library.
Score: 27 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Icaras Avatar
81 months ago

Thumbs down for those DJ who uses iTunes for playing tracks... that's not real DJ
LOL, we don’t use iTunes to DJ. We use it as our organizational library because it excels in that. The XML file allows your iTunes library to be shared to whatever DJ app you use. As a DJ, this makes me nervous to upgrade to Catalina right now. :(

Because the flip side is, is that you can still manually generate the XML file from the Music app, so there is still hope yet.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
tkermit Avatar
81 months ago

Apple removing features can be annoying at times, but they certainly are under no obligation to support something that they never documented as a feature, but rather simply used as an underlying storage medium in an older app. That is an inherent risk of using undocumented or private APIs.
I don't know about "never documented as a feature"...


Attachment Image
Score: 14 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Jetson Avatar
81 months ago
There is always a group here who applaud whatever Apple does and criticize those who are adversely affected by changes, as though those people don't matter.

Come on, how difficult would it have been to continue to support XML for those people invested in using that feature of iTunes?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Mimiron Avatar
81 months ago
Most people here do not understand the issue at hand. You don't DJ using iTunes. The app was merely used to create a playlist and generate an XML File that allows for sharing a playlist with third-party software like Traktor or Serato.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)