Importing Tracks

Importing tracks is how you get your music into Producer Dashboard. When you add files, the app scans them, figures out which songs they belong to, and organizes everything into a clean folder structure automatically. No manual sorting required.

This guide walks you through the import process, explains what happens to your files, and shows you how to get the most out of the system.

How Importing Works

When you import files, Producer Dashboard processes them through a simple four-stage pipeline:

Scan — The app finds all the audio files and project files in your selected folders
Group — Files are matched to existing songs or clustered together by similarity
Organize — Files are copied into your tracks folder with a proper hierarchy
Sync — Your library updates to reflect the new files

The grouping step is the clever part. The app normalizes filenames (removing version numbers, dates, and other clutter) and then compares them against your existing tracks. If a file matches a known song, it gets added to that track group. New files that don’t match anything are compared against each other and grouped by similarity.

Two Ways to Import

Drop files into inbox folders

Copy or move files into the relevant folder inside your PRODUCER-DASHBOARD directory:

PRODUCER-DASHBOARD/bounces/ — exported audio mixes
PRODUCER-DASHBOARD/stems/ — individual instrument or vocal tracks
PRODUCER-DASHBOARD/projects/ — DAW project files

The app classifies files by which folder they’re in, not by their extension. Stems must go in the stems/ folder — files added to bounces/ are always treated as bounces regardless of their content.

Once your files are in place, open the Files page and click Import Files to trigger the pipeline.

Use the import dialog on the Files page

On the Files page, click Import Files to open the dialog. It has two buttons:

Add Bounces — opens a file picker for audio files (WAV, MP3, AIFF, FLAC, M4A, OGG)
Add Projects — opens a folder picker for DAW project folders

The dialog handles bounces and projects only. To import stems, use the inbox folder approach above.

You can close the dialog by clicking Cancel, pressing Escape, or clicking outside the dialog.

File Types Supported

Audio formats:

WAV, MP3, AIFF, FLAC, M4A, OGG

Project formats:

Ableton Live (.als), Logic Pro (.logicx), FL Studio (.flp), Pro Tools (.ptx), Cubase (.cpr), Reaper (.rpp), Reason (.reason), BandLab (.song, .band)

Files that don’t match these extensions are skipped automatically.

Understanding the File Queue

After selecting files, they appear in the queue with color-coded sections:

Blue — Bounces (your mixed-down audio files)
Yellow — Projects (DAW project files)

Each section shows the filename and includes a count in parentheses. You can remove individual files or clear an entire category using the Clear button next to each section.

The total file count appears at the bottom of the dialog. The Import Files button stays disabled until you have at least one file queued.

What Happens During Import

Once you click Import Files, the app begins processing. Here’s what you’ll see:

Files are scanned and categorized by type
Filenames are normalized (dates, version numbers, and common suffixes are stripped)
Each file is matched against your existing tracks
New songs are created for unmatched files that cluster together
Files are copied into your tracks folder structure

The tracks folder hierarchy organizes files like this:

tracks/
  Song Name/
    bounces/
      song-name-v3.wav
      song-name-radio-edit.mp3
    stems/
      bass-stem.wav
      vocals-stem.wav
    projects/
      song-name.als

For Ableton Live projects, the entire folder (including Samples and other assets) is moved into the structure, not just the .als file.

How Tracks Are Grouped Together

The grouping system uses two approaches:

Matching Against Existing Tracks

First, every imported file is checked against tracks you already have. The app looks for your existing track names inside the imported filenames. For example, if you have a track called “Midnight Bloom” and import a file named “Midnight Bloom - Final Mix.wav”, it gets matched automatically.

Matching is case-insensitive and handles common variations. If you have “Atl Alex Ancient Dusk” and import “Atl Alex Ancient Dusk Clean.wav”, it matches.

Clustering New Files

Files that don’t match any existing track are compared against each other using a similarity algorithm. Files with similar names get grouped into the same track. This means “Midnight Bloom v3.wav” and “Midnight Bloom Final Mix.wav” would become part of the same new track group, even if you’ve never imported anything for that song before.

The shortest filename in each cluster becomes the track name (after cleanup).

Tips

Use the correct inbox folder — Bounces go in PRODUCER-DASHBOARD/bounces/, stems in PRODUCER-DASHBOARD/stems/, projects in PRODUCER-DASHBOARD/projects/. The app classifies files by folder location, not extension. Stems placed in any other folder will be treated as bounces.
Name files with the song name first — Files like “Midnight Bloom - Radio Edit.wav” group correctly. Random names like “Track42_Final_v3.wav” may create their own solo groups.
Import regularly — The more tracks you have, the better the matching works. An existing library helps new imports connect automatically.
Watch for duplicate warnings — If a file already exists in your tracks folder, it won’t be re-imported. This prevents clutter and keeps your library clean.