Over To You: How Often Do You Put Out A Mix?

This week’s question was emailed in by Digital DJ Tips reader Terron: “I’ve just rekindled my love for DJing, and I want to get into parties, weddings, get-togethers and conferences. I know it’s important for people to know what my sound is, so I was wondering: How often should I release a mix of my music?”

Digital DJ Tips says…

It depends on what kind of parties you want to play. If you are thinking about breaking into the club scene, then I would look at what is going on in your area, and then aim to put out a mix of your own once a month. It might also be worth looking for podcasts with a similar music style to your own, and asking them if you can make a mix for them to increase your exposure.

Most wedding DJs always have a sample mix or playlist on their DJ website, but I think that you don’t need to be as prolific in this space. It is definitely good to have a mixtape to point your clients towards after your first meeting or conversation with them. Perhaps a quarterly mix would be the best bet here because a lot of the music is going to be the same anyway, so you can redo the mix every few months which would include a smattering of the latest chart tracks.

If you have both of the above bases covered, then you can use either type of mix to promote yourself to companies to get gigs at functions and conferences. As long as you have a few mixes online for people to listen to, that should be enough.

One style of music, or several?

You could even make a selection of mixes of different music styles to show off your capabilities and taste. Personally, I try to make a mix once every few months and each time it will be of a different style. I do this because I don’t want to be pigeonholed as a “one style” DJ.

However, if you want to be known as a DJ of a specific music genre (eg house DJ, trap DJ, EDM DJ, and so on), then be consistent with the style of music that your mixtapes consist of. This will make it easier for your listeners to identify you with a specific sound, which would help you get more gigs in that space.

In the end, it all boils down to how much time you have to make mixes. It can be a lengthy process, especially for the first one that you put out – you’ll want that one to be well-programmed and mixed. Work out a schedule that suits you: for example, commit to spending one weekend a month making a mix.

Once you’ve decided on that, stick to it. You can even just save the mixes in your hard drive first, they don’t all need to be online once they’re done. That way you, can pick and choose when and where you send them.

So, over to you: How often do you release a mix? Which genre do you like to mix? Do you think it is possible to release too many mixes? How long do you make your mixes? Let us know in the comments below…