How do DJs organize their music?

Most novice DJs have at one point experienced the challenge of having to sort through music while at a gig. It is embarrassing, and can ruin your reputation. In case you are in such a predicament and are wondering about how experienced DJs organize their music, here are a few ways that they do it. Apply some of these techniques and you will organize your music better, and advance your career quicker.

1. They use dedicated software for organizing music

One of the biggest mistakes that novice DJs make is storing their music on their DJ program. While it is the easier route to take, it is not the most efficient. Experienced DJs use a separate program to organize their music. Such a program is then linked to their DJ equipment that can stream the music on demand, eliminating clutter. To do this, you need DJ equipment that can support such seamless connectivity. You can get information about such equipment from good DJ review sites such as Best DJ Stuff.

2. They keep their music catalogs lean

As a novice DJ, you are most likely tempted to have a catalog with lots of music in it. While you may think that this gives you variety, it is actually very inefficient. Most experienced DJs avoid this inefficiency by keeping their music catalog lean. The secret to doing this is to understand the market. Most times people love a few hit songs from different artists that they never even mind hearing such songs in repetition. You would be surprised that in a 3-hour set, you need less than 10 songs. You just need to do your research, and know what the market wants and concentrate on it. Still, on the aspect of understanding the market, even without repeating songs, you can keep your catalog lean by carrying with you music from a specific genre. For instance, if you are going to DJ at an event that is predominantly made up of teens, a lean catalog of pop songs can save you the trouble of having to store too much unnecessary music.

3. They label their music

One way that DJs organize their music is by labeling it.  For instance, when using CDs, most DJs label them by genre or by artist name. This way, they know what to carry for different events, and play them easily without having to worry about playing the wrong songs. For instance, if you are performing at a Hip Hop event, you can label your CDs with artist names like Eminem, Kendrick Lamar among others. It’s not just CDs that can be labeled. You can also label digital music. All you have to do is classify it based on genre or artist name. By doing this, a DJ just pulls up the name they are looking for, and it gives them the exact music that they are looking for. Not only does this make work easier, but it also makes a DJ look more professional. That’s because they won’t have long unnecessary lag periods in between songs.