Serato Scratch Live was developed in Auckland by Serato Audio Research, a company founded by Steve West and AJ Bertenshaw. Back in 1999 the pair developed the now-industry-standard plug-in for Pro Tools, Pitch 'n' Time. Their Serato Scratch Live is "vinyl emulation software" and is used by some of the world's finest DJs. The idea is to integrate the music on a DJ's computer with real turntables, so the music files can be scratched and mixed on turntables like real vinyl records. The DJs load up their music library on their laptop, install the Serato software, and then use control vinyl records or control CDs to play and manipulate songs from their computers on turntables or CDJs. Says West: "It is amazing to see this little New Zealand company that started in a basement enjoy as much success on the international stage as we have in the last 10 years."
