DJ Tips & Tricks: 3 Mistakes Beginner DJs Make With Digital Music

Moving from physical music to digital files makes it more convenient for DJs to carry thousands of song, but it also makes it easy to lose track of all that great music. Plus, some new digital DJs may also not be aware of the importance of track preparation before heading out to a gig.

In this piece we cover three mistakes that new DJs make when it comes to music file management.

3 Digital Music Mistakes

1. Keeping files all over your hard drive

One of the most common mistakes that many DJs make is leaving their freshly download music files in their computer’s default downloads folder, or worse yet in random folders on their desktops. This could lead to files accidentally going missing in your DJ software, or duplicates of the same track being imported.

Instead, come up with a system for storing your music. It can be as easy as moving all the files to a dedicated “Music” folder, creating some sort of folder system in that “Music” folder, or using iTunes to keep your DJ music library organised. The most important thing to keep in mind is to create a system you’ll use – the simpler the better. Which segues us nicely to the next mistake…

2. Using an overly complicated file folder system

Having a complex organisation system may sound like a good idea at first, but if it’s too complicated, chances are you won’t stick to using it in the long run. Having a music library half-organised and half-unorganised is just as bad as having them unorganised in the first place.

Make sure that whatever system you decide on, it’s one that you’ll use day in and day out, even when you are at your laziest.

3. Turning up to a gig with unprepared music

If your music isn’t ready, you may end up spending more time looking through your library than watching your crowd and enjoying the gig. It’s a mistake we see beginners making all the time, and even more experienced DJs sometimes fall foul of this one.

Before the gig then, it’s always a good idea to make sure that your tracks are analysed and prepared correctly in whichever DJ software you are using. That means beatgrids, cue points, loops, tags, and any other metadata are complete before you spin.

Even though a full track analysis takes under a minute, a small thing like that can potentially put you off in the middle of a mix, so avoid that by taking the time to prepare the files correctly.

Finally…

Having the ability to have thousand of songs in one DJ bag was a pipe dream just a few years ago, but that’s now a reality for digital DJs. However carrying a huge number of tracks can be problematic if you don’t keep them in order, so taking the time to organise all of your music files to keep them safe and prepared, ready to play at any gig, is always worth spending the extra time doing.

Are you guilty of any of these music file mistakes? What other tips can you share when it comes to managing your music library? Let us know below.