Traktor is writing incorrect tempo to track metadata….

Hello. I’ve seen mention of this problem somewhere on this forum from at least a couple years ago, but the conversation didn’t get very far, so I thought I’d ask about it to see if anyone had more insight information.

I’ve already been fighting with Traktor’s inexplicable inability to properly handle m4a files for waaay longer than I ever thought I would be. I’ll re-summarize that problem at the end of this post, in case anyone is having similar experiences and didn’t see my initial post from a little while back. Anyhow, in the process of trying to figure out how to work around that problem, I’ve discovered a new issue that has me pulling my hair out. When I import tracks into my track collection, analyze them, set the beat grid, etc., things seem ok based off the information that Traktor’s browser/deck information is showing me, BUT if I check the tags for those tracks in an external metadata editing program, or even just the iTunes/Apple Music info for the track, Traktor will not write the correct BPM data to the file. Regardless of what the Traktor browser/beatgrids are saying, the BPM that gets written to the track’s metadata is almost ALWAYS wrong by 1bpm. Traktor will report the BPM as 174, the beatgrid will be set for 174, but outside of what Traktor is reporting, the tempo that gets written to the file is 173. The tempo is always 1bpm lower than the actual value. I don’t know why this is happening, or how to stop it from happening. I’ve once again reached out to support for assistance, but initial response makes me think they’re as baffled as I am. Is anyone here experiencing this same situation and if so, do you have any idea why it’s happening or how to get Traktor to write the correct BPM to the file.

As for my initial problem that is still nowhere close to being resolved, I’m still dealing with the fact that Traktor has become very picky with how it handles metadata with m4a/aac/alac files. Specific options HAVE to be selected regarding file management/analysis if you’re importing any m4a tracks, or else Traktor will erase most/all of the important metadata from any of those tracks as soon as you add them to your track collection and you will be forced to re-enter all the important metadata again. I’ve been working with tech support extensively on this issue, and despite hours of troubleshooting on my end, submitting example tracks, screenshots, step-by-step instructions to replicate the problem, etc., etc., I’m still nowhere closer to a solution or even a possible explanation than I was when all of this started.

All in all, these glitches combined with the lack of any actual support being provided has me at the end of my rope at this point. Customer support just keeps having me send more and more information and diagnostics and whatever else, but they’ve made absolutely ZERO progress in even coming up with a possible cause for what’s going on in either of these situations, let along approaching a possible solution. I’ve received some input from a couple people here, particularly regarding the deletion of metadata for m4a tracks, but I’m just wondering if someone new might come across this and be able to contribute any additional similar experiences or possible solutions. I don’t know what else to do anymore. The latest version(s) of Traktor just don’t seem to be capable of properly handling m4a files anymore and it’s made the software a nightmare to use. Customer support doesn’t know what’s going on and after all my correspondence with them, it seems pretty clear that there isn’t an explanation or solution or any intention of trying to provide either of those things anymore. I’m kind of desperate at this point. I still have an S4 mk3 that I haven’t even taken out of the box because if the software doesn’t work properly, and continues to show no signs that it will ever work properly, there’s no point in wasting my time setting up the controller. I don’t think it’s appropriate for NI to include m4a compatibility amongst other file formats that Traktor supports when the compatibility is barely existent, and trying to play tracks encoded in that format just introduces a host of other problems.

I don’t know what I’m trying to achieve with this post, and I’ve probably ranted so much that nobody’s made it through the whole thing anyway. Ultimately, the complete lack of ANY help from Traktor support and the strong indication that nothing will be done about any of these problems is forcing me to make a decision: Should I just say screw it all and give up on DJing entirely? I never had aspirations to go professional or anything….it was always just a fun way to help me further connect and interact with the music I enjoyed, but whatever has happened between Traktor Pro 2 (the last time I was able to use the software without non-stop, relatively significant glitches ruining the experience) and Traktor Pro 4 has really screwed things up and sucked the enthusiasm from me.

The only other option I can think of is to finally give up, abandon Traktor completely, and start over again with software that actually works, along with a new controller. And I don’t even know where to start, if I’m going to go down that path. Ugggh….it’s all so discouraging and I don’t know why it ever had to come to this.