Where Do DJs Get Their Music?
Picture this, you decided that you want to take the plunge to be a DJ. You caught some inspiration, watched YouTube video after YouTube video and realized how much you love the art, now you want to try it out for yourself. You invested in your first set of turntables, purchased your mixer and now you’re ready to go! You rush home, dust off the laptop, set your equipment up in the kitchen.
Then you realize… you can’t mix without having songs to mix.
“Ah that’s fine,” you think to yourself. You gather the random files on your computer, most of which are mp3s from old albums you downloaded when you were in middle school. You throw them into your DJ software, and you start mixing!
Then you think of this song, or that song, that would go PERFECT with your music and decide to pay $1.29 for the song on iTunes. You just spent over a $1000 on your new DJ setup, what’s an extra dollar going to hurt? More ideas come up and a few dollars later you think to yourself… how do DJs afford to build their library? They have to be stealing music.
Let’s take a look at some of the places to build your library for the digital age of computer DJing.
Online Retailers (ie. iTunes)
One of the most common places to grow your music collection is by purchasing tracks and albums on online retailers. You can go the CD route but places like iTunes and Amazon have made it simple to purchase a track and have it instantly downloaded into your library.
Retailers such as iTunes are almost always guaranteed to have the song you are looking for, whether it be old or new tracks from small or popular artists. In most cases, if it is an official record, iTunes will have it.
The pro of this method is that it is instant, and you can be guaranteed to have the best sound qualities in the file. However, it can get pricey paying $1.29 for each track when you are just getting started building your library.
Now that my library has a solid foundation, I am much more open to spending $20 or so each month to refine my collection, especially when it comes to tracks I cannot find anywhere else. However, there are more affordable options to build your library if you are just getting started.
Music Pools
A music pool is a method of music distribution that allows DJs to download music all in one place. Record labels have deals with music pools. Labels send their new releases to the pool and in return DJs play the tracks on the radio, in the club, at events, etc to give the label’s artists exposure. To be a part of the record pool DJs pay a monthly subscription that can typically range anywhere between $9.99 — $29.99 per month on the higher end.
Music pools are a one stop shop — pay a monthly fee and download as many tracks as you want. There are many to choose from but my record pool of choice is BPM Supreme.
Finding the top hits in music is made easy with pools like BPM Supreme. With so much new music being released each day it can be overwhelming trying to keep up with what is hot. Music pools like BPM Supreme take away the hassle with their playlists and curated sets.
Need to know what’s on the top of the charts? Need a playlist specifically for game day? What about a fashion show? If you can think of it, BPM Supreme probably has a playlist for it. The rest is as simple as it can get: download the tracks, sort them in your library and you’re ready to go.
Finding clean edits of your favorite tracks can be tough but music pools make it easy. They have clean/dirty edits, remixes and mashups and a ton of other resources to take your mixes to the next level.
Music pools are my preferred resource to use in building my library.
Other alternatives: Digital DJ Pool, DJ City, iDj Pool
Streaming Services
It’s becoming standard for DJ software to include streaming capabilities. Software such as Serato uses Soundcloud and Tidal, whereas DJay Pro uses Spotify to pull songs from and put into the software for you mix on the spot. Sounds like a dream, right?
Well. Not exactly.
For the most part, you have to have an internet connection to stream songs. Weak wi-fi or data connections can create technical glitches and load times on tracks can vary. Streaming works best for experimenting how new music hits the party or if you get a song request that you may not have in your library. The downside is streaming services do not have DJ edits, remixes or mashups.
A positive is that Spotify playlists will migrate directly over to Djay Pro for you to play. Streaming will catch up and be a consistent viable option and, in some cases, already is — but note that in most cases you have to purchase some type of premium subscription to stream music.
YouTube Rips
Let me preface by saying this method is illegal and unethical. Ripping songs off of YouTube and saving them on your computer is breaking the law. However, it does not stop many from going this route. There are converters that allow you to paste a YouTube link into the window and will prepare a mp3 file that can go directly into your DJ software.
I do not use this method for tracks. I promote supporting the artists and purchasing the music directly from iTunes or downloading tracks from a DJ pool. This method works best when there are non-licensed videos that include popular sounds that you can add into your set.
For example, in this 30 second interview the woman in the clip uses the phrase, “the building in on fire”. It creates a unique bridge to mix into a song like Pitbull’s “Roof On Fire”.
Other times would be for sample sounds, radio clips, etc. You can really enhance your sets and get creative with this method but please. . . do it legally.
Conclusion
In the world of computer DJing there are many places to find music. Some of the most popular ways are:
- Online Retailers: iTunes, Amazon
- Music Pools: BPM Supreme, Digital DJ Pool, DJ City, iDj Pool
- Streaming Services: Most DJ Software integrates with streaming services
- YouTube Rips: Please do it legally. Support the artists that allow DJs to have careers
I hope this guide will accelerate your knowledge for building your library and get you prepared for your next gig.
Already building your library? Where do you get your music from to add into your DJ mixes?
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