beaTunes News

After a long, long time it's finally here: The first Early Access (EA) version of beaTunes 6. This is still far from release, there are hardly any UI chnages, but two of the most important improvements have happened:

1. ARM/Apple Silicon support
2. SQLite

Let's talk about the two a bit. First of all Apple Silicon support. Apple has been shipping ARM-based computers for years now and is urging everyone to migrate. This seems to be a no-brainer, because Apple's hardware is truly awesome. And if beaTunes were a pure Java app, the migration would have been absolutely painless. But beaTunes comes with quite a few native libraries and some were easier to migrate than others.

beaTunes has been using an embedded SQL database fo rmany years (super-early versions just kept everything in memory). The database system of choice has been H2. It's a great little database system and I was always grateful for its existence. At some point, I even donated some money to the cause. That said, one of the largest sources of pain when using beaTunes is a corrupted database file. For v6 it was time to move to something more robust. The choice was easy. SQLite is a superb, super-stable, and reliable embedded database, trusted by millions. It's truly the industry standard. With version 6, beaTunes moves to use SQLite as embedded database system, hopefully making corrupted databases a thing of the past.

Note that this Early Access release focuses on macOS. A windows version is not available, but there will be windows versions in the future.

When you start beaTunes 6, and have used beaTunes 5 before, beaTunes will create a backup of your existing database folder and then go on to convert your databases to the new SQLite format. This process cannot be reversed, i.e. you will not be able to migrate data back to beaTunes 5. You can however, delete the new database folder and rename the copy to its former name. In any case, you might want to create a backup before starting beaTunes 6.

Alright, here's the obligatory warning: Before downloading and installing this, please make sure you understand what Early Access means:

• Absolutely no warranty for whatever
• Features may or may not work, appear, and disappear
• It may not be possible to migrate data to future or previous versions (even though I make a reasonable effort)
• You will not be able to migrate data created by this version back to beaTunes 5
• This version will cease to function 4 week after its release. A new version or a final product will be made available when this version becomes dysfunctional.
• You cannot buy this version

Here is the download link: beaTunes-6-0-0-EA1-SNAPSHOT-arm64.dmg

Changes in 6.0.0 EA1

• Improved Album Info text formatting.
• Improved visual feedback during synchronization, file access, and communication with iTunes/Music.
• Added silent mode (to prevent accidental playback and turn off soundeffects).
• Added key and BPM info to Beatport chart tooltips.
• Added ability to follow the currently playing track in Album Info panel.
• Added album art support to player.
• Added crossfade support to player.
• Updated to use volume id instead of device id for file identification.
• Updated to Groovy 4.0.15.
• Updated to JRuby 9.4.3.0.
• Updated to Hibernate 6.2.7.
• Updated to FFSampledSP 0.9.54 (Emoji support in file paths, more efficient file access).
• Updated Java runtime.
• Removed Nashorn (JavaScript) support.
• Removed outdated Jython support.
• Removed support for 32 bit Windows.
• Replaced H2 database with SQLite.

Feedback is very welcome!

Labels: Apple Silicon, Early Access, H2, macOS, SQLite

It’s been a while since the last beaTunes update. While this release is not yet the major update I would like to deliver, it is still an important one. On the content side, the internal Discogs database and similarity information have been updated, ensuring that beaTunes stays current with newly published music. On the technology side, the runtime has been upgraded to the latest long-term supported Java 11 version, helping to ensure the continued security and stability of beaTunes.

Beyond functionality, this release also marks an important milestone: it is the first release under the new banner of jalulo UG, complete with all the necessary signatures and formalities.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.36

• Updated built-in Discogs database.
• Updated to Java 11.0.29+12.
• Improved robustness of registration logic.

Labels: Discogs, Java11, Release

For most of you who have subscribed to this blog, this will probably sound like old news by now:

beaTunes is moving on!

On November 1st, 2025, beaTunes and all associated data and assets will be transferred from tagtraum industries incorporated to jalulo UG, a limited liability company registered in Cologne, Germany.

Both tagtraum industries incorporated and jalulo UG are owned by me, Hendrik Schreiber, so in most ways, nothing will really change for you. I’ll continue to develop, maintain, and support beaTunes — just as before.

That said, this transfer does involve personal data, and in accordance with our privacy policy, I want to be fully transparent about it. If you’d prefer to delete your personal information before the transfer, you can easily do so via this link.

Please note that your purchases and personal data are not connected to your account in the help forum, and deleting your beaTunes account using the link above does not affect your help forum account (if you have created one).

So, why the move? The reason is actually quite simple: I’ve been living in Germany since 2009, and running a company based in another country has become increasingly cumbersome over time. It just made sense for the business to be located where I live — and for taxes to be paid here as well.

You may wonder why I waited 16 years to make this move. Honestly, I hesitated because I expected a bit of EU bureaucracy — and Germany didn’t disappoint! For example, the questionnaire for obtaining a tax ID (which you need to issue invoices) is about ten pages long, and in my case, the process took three months. Let’s just say it was a good exercise in patience.

In short: new legal home, same developer, same product.

Labels: jalulo

Apple just release its latest macOS update named Sequoia. If you're using beaTunes v5.2.34 or earlier, I recommend to wait with the update as it apparently breaks beaTunes' analysis feature.
If you have already updated, I recommend the following workaround:

• Go to /Applications/beaTunes5 in Finder
• Right click on beaTunes5 and choose Show package contents from the context menu
• Navigate to Contents/Java
• Delete or rename the file casampledsp-complete-0.9.23.jar to casampledsp-complete-0.9.23.jar_
• Start beaTunes

Labels: CoreAudio, FFmpeg, macOS, Sequoia

This maintenance update fixes a couple of issues having to do with lyrics, import of Bandcamp tags, and the switch from loved to favorited by the Apple Music.app. It also updates the internal Discogs database.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.34

• Fixed some lyrics related issues.
• Fixed retrieval of Bandcamp tags.
• Updated japlscript and obstmusic to fix favorited/loved issue.
• Updated built-in Discogs database.

Labels: Bandcamp, Music, Release

This minor update fixes a couple of issues having to do with responsiveness, house keeping, and a downright bug (time signature didn't show up in the main table view).

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.33

• Fixed sub-par responsiveness in inspection panes.
• Fixed time signature table renderer.
• Fixed deletion of orphaned playlists.

Labels: Inspection, Release, Time Signature

This minor update fixes a startup issue on Windows (reported for Windows 11) that led to a shutdown right after the splash screen. Furthermore, automatic synchronization during shutdown is now prevented.

As always, you can download the new version from the download section of the website.

Changes in 5.2.32

• Fixed window-activation-triggered sync during shutdown.
• Fixed startup issue on Windows 11 (missing accessibility dependency).

Labels: Release, Windows 11