The Loop

Story

A song is never "done". The Loop is the ∞ on every TRAX page: the CREATE loop takes a song from its first capture to its splits, and the IMPROVE loop (expanding soon) keeps it getting better. Open it and you see where the song stands and where to go next.

Specifications

• Widget: on every signed-in TRAX page (not on public pages, not while viewing as someone else or while an account is locked). Collapsed: a 56 px ∞ with a progress ring (the share of CREATE steps done) and the AI Hub dot. Open: the racetrack picture, the status ("2 of 5 · next: Build"), the five steps as links, the next step's hint and link, the song picker, Corner.
• CREATE steps, detected live (nothing stored): Capture = a capture on the song (not archived) · Lyrics = Lyric Helper lyrics linked to the song, or "Instrumental: skip lyrics" · Build = a Create sketch linked to the song (not archived) has tracks · Mix = an Audio Lab mix version · Rights = a rights type saved at 100% (agreed by all and signed by all shown as extra ticks; they don't hold the step). Steps can be done in any order; "next" is the first not done.
• Which song: inside a song (/music/projects/<id>/…) that song (checked with the same access rule as the song's pages, so an archived song works too); elsewhere the most recently changed song you can open (owned or shared, not archived), or one picked from the list. A song you can't open is never shown.
• Finished: when all five steps are done, the first time The Loop is seen by someone who can change the song (owner, or editmetadata), it opens by itself on a celebration (confetti, off under reduced motion; role=status line); Done — or closing The Loop — ends it for good for that song (celebratedat; the browser and the session also remember, so it works before the database update); focus returns to the ∞; the line is read out through a live region. A finished song's panel: WAV (Audio Lab) (→ the song's Audio Lab, where each mix version now has a Download WAV link; "MP3 export is coming soon"), Split sheet (when the viewer may see every share), Share (the phone's share sheet — closing it does nothing — else the song's link copied, else shown to copy; team members only), Start a new song (/music/projects/new).
• Home page (C-THE-LOOP 4/5; additive since 1.28): the hero stays the all-in-one promise ("The complete platform for your music career … All in one place.", the lifecycle waveform, "See what's coming" + "How The Loop works"); The Loop's own section follows with its picture and "Your tracks never stop improving", then the story — CREATE (available now), IMPROVE (expanding soon), tracks that start new tracks (later phases), the AI Hub; "DJ Together" (Wave 2) follows; The Loop's roadmap (Phase 1 now, 2 next, 3–5 later — no dates) sits just before pricing. One LoopMark component draws the widget, the landing's Loop section and Master TRAX. The landing is additive only: a feature adds its own section, existing sections stay.
• Master TRAX (/music/master; sidebar right under Home; "Every song: Master TRAX" in The Loop): every song the person can open (owned or shared, not archived; the most recently changed first) as a dot at its station on one Loop — gray nothing yet, violet in CREATE, blue finished (waiting at IMPROVE's entrance, above the gap between the AI Hub and IMPROVE), red ring = an open split dispute; up to 7 dots on an arc outside each station then "+N"; press a station to filter to it. Highlights: in CREATE (incl. nothing yet) · finished · need attention · moves this week (from the station log; backfill rows aren't moves; repeats collapsed). Most recently changed first across owned and shared songs. Lanes = the same songs as links (the accessible / phone view; the picture is aria-hidden). Filters: All / In CREATE / Finished / Needs attention. Recent moves: the last 12. Plans: Producer Starter 10 songs, Pro Studio 50, Label Enterprise and White Label every song (a note + Compare plans when more exist). Steps for many songs come from a handful of batched reads (the same rules as The Loop). Songs made before the station log existed were given their starting step once, by an admin (a song whose data couldn't be read was skipped rather than given a wrong step).
• Master TRAX ambient view (5/5b, every plan): ⛶ Ambient view opens the picture full screen (a fixed full-window layer where the browser can't), with the four numbers, the latest 3 moves and a clock; it refreshes every minute and keeps the screen awake where the browser supports it (Screen Wake Lock); the controls and the pointer fade after 3 seconds still; Esc / ✕ / leaving full screen closes it and focus returns to the button. Music: a Welcome Loop (Ambient Pad by default, any of the 15) plays softly from the moment it opens until the person turns it off (remembered on the device); "Tap for music" if the browser blocks it. Reduced motion: the dots stay still.
• Save as image (5/5b, Pro Studio and up): ⤓ Save as image downloads the picture as it's filtered — a 1600×1000 PNG with "Master TRAX", the song count, the filter, the date, the four numbers, a legend and the brand name (the White Label client's on White Label); dots only, no song titles. Made in the browser (the on-screen SVGs with their colors written in, drawn onto a canvas). Producer Starter sees 🔒 and a short "Pro Studio adds" prompt with Compare plans (no prices).
• Station log (after the database update): each time a song is seen at a new station (its next step, or "finished"), one row — from, to, when, source autodetect, filed under the song's owner — for Master TRAX's timeline; the first finish also sets completedat. Logged only when every read of the song worked (a failed read never logs a move back). Best effort: a failure never breaks The Loop; repeats from two looks at once are collapsed when the timeline reads them.
• IMPROVE (Analyze, Insights, Opportunities, Refine, Alert): drawn dimmed, "Expanding soon" (Phase 2); no invented insights.
• AI Hub (the center X, or the "AI Hub" tab): TRAX's existing AI tools suggested for the song — rules on the song's own data, so every card says why (no invented insight), and a card only appears when the person can use its tool: Lyric Helper (no lyrics linked; owner / editmetadata; themes and questions only — it never writes lyrics) · Rights Suggest (work on the song, no split at 100%; the owner's plan includes rights analysis and the viewer sees every share → /projects/<id>/rights/suggest) · Business Coach (the song is finished; full Business Coach plans). Mix Intelligence joins when it analyzes real mixes (today it's a sample walkthrough). The card for the song's next step comes first. Accept opens the tool; Not now sets the card aside for that song (this browser). On plans with the full Business Coach, this week's top rules-based card not yet acted on, to act on (following its link closes The Loop; the update finishes on its own) or dismiss. Your AI log: the last 15 AI actions across TRAX (Lyric Helper, rights coaching and analysis, Mix Intelligence, Business Coach, the hub). Off switch: "Turn AI suggestions off in The Loop" (this browser). GET /music/api/loop/hub; events loopaiaccepted / loopai_dismissed.
• Placement: starts bottom-left beside the sidebar (bottom-right belongs to the capture mic); drag anywhere and it snaps to the nearest corner (the pointer is captured, so a quick flick works); keyboard: Enter opens, Escape (inside The Loop) closes and returns focus, Corner moves it; lifts above a song page's lifecycle strip, the Create Studio's transport and the install prompt; bottom-right sits above the mic; phones: 14 px from the edge, and going somewhere from the panel closes it; hidden when printing.
• Accessibility: the ∞ is a button with aria-expanded and a label ("The Loop: <song>, 2 of 5 · next: Build"); the picture has a text title; the steps are a list of links with done / next / to do announced; reduced motion stops the hub's pulse and the next station's glow.
• Lyrics → song: in Lyric Helper, "For the song" links the lyrics to a song you may edit (owner, or a member who can edit its details) — POST /music/api/lyrics/[id]/song; unlinking never changes the lyrics.
• Data: the corner you put The Loop in, the songs marked instrumental (and who marked them), which song your lyrics are for, and each song's moves between stations are saved to your account; the steps themselves are worked out live from your songs.

How to

1. Press the ∞ at the bottom of any page.
2. Read the status, then press the next step (or a station in the picture).
3. Instrumental song? Press Instrumental: skip lyrics.
4. Drag the ∞ to another corner if it's in your way.

What you can do

• See every CREATE step of a song at a glance, and jump straight to the next one.
• Mark a song instrumental, or link your Lyric Helper lyrics to it.
• See every song on one Loop (Master TRAX): where each one is, what needs you, what moved.
• Leave Master TRAX running full screen (the ambient view), with a Welcome Loop playing if you like.
• Save Master TRAX as an image to share (Pro Studio and up).
• See what TRAX's AI tools suggest for a song, and why, in one place — take a suggestion, set it aside, or switch suggestions off.
• Celebrate a finished song, then export its WAV, open its split sheet, share it with the team or start the next one.
• Put The Loop in any corner.

What you can't do (yet)

• The IMPROVE loop: expanding soon (Phase 2).
• Master TRAX song titles in the saved image (dots only, by design), or a time-lapse of your catalog (later).
• AI suggestions saved to your account (today the set-aside cards and the off switch live in the browser).
• MP3 export (coming soon; WAV now, from the Audio Lab).

Plans

• Producer Starter: The Loop, every step; Master TRAX shows the 10 most recently changed songs, with the ambient view.
• Pro Studio: The Loop, every step; Master TRAX shows 50, with the ambient view and Save as image.
• Label Enterprise: The Loop, every step; Master TRAX shows every song, with the ambient view and Save as image.
• White Label (by waitlist): The Loop, every step, in the client's brand; Master TRAX shows every song, with the ambient view and Save as image (in the client's name).

Related

• Splits
• Spin Sampler
• DJ Together (Coming soon)

Changelog

• 1.29 · 2026-10-02: Master TRAX ambient view (full screen, refreshes itself, keeps the screen awake, a Welcome Loop playing until you turn it off) and Save as image (Pro Studio and up).
• 1.28 · 2026-10-02: Home page: the all-in-one hero is back (headline, subhead, lifecycle waveform, "See what's coming"); The Loop's picture and "Your tracks never stop improving" now lead The Loop's own section, linked from the hero.
• 1.27 · 2026-10-02: Master TRAX: every song on one Loop — dots by station, highlights, filters, lanes, recent moves; plan limits (10 / 50 / every song).
• 1.26 · 2026-10-02: The home page now follows The Loop: the hero picture, CREATE / IMPROVE / tracks that start tracks / the AI Hub, The Loop's roadmap beside pricing; "What's next for The Loop" help article.
• 1.25 · 2026-10-02: The AI Hub: the center X gathers Lyric Helper, Rights Suggest and the Business Coach for the song, each card with its reason (only tools you can use); Not now; the Business Coach's top card; your AI log; an off switch.
• 1.24 · 2026-10-02: A finished song: the celebration (once per song), Export WAV / Split sheet / Share / Start a new song; each song's moves between stations logged for the coming timeline.
• 1.23 · 2026-10-02: The Loop widget on every page: the racetrack, five CREATE steps detected live, the next step, instrumental songs, the song picker, drag-to-corner; IMPROVE shown "Expanding soon".