Guides

Capture each track the moment you hear it, send every capture to one inbox, and sort it into keep or reject before you shop. A four-step system.

Shazam, screenshots, notes or saved links all work for capture. What loses tracks is spreading them across apps. Pick one destination and empty it weekly.

Add Recognize Music to Control Center, the Lock Screen or the Action button, see where those songs are saved, and make sure they reach your list.

Missing Shazams are usually a sync or sign-in problem, not lost data. Check iCloud and account settings first, then keep a second copy of your finds.

Shazam matches recorded music, so it often works on DJ sets and rarely on live bands. What gets in the way in a club, and how to catch more tracks.

Shazam has no export button. Request your data at shazam.com/privacy or sync new finds to a My Shazam Tracks playlist. What each route gives you.

Check for a tracklist first, then let Auto Shazam or your Mac listen to the set. Three ways to ID a SoundCloud or Mixcloud mix, and their limits.

Shazam can add every song you identify to a My Shazam Tracks playlist. How to set it up, and why DJs need a keep-or-reject step on top of it.

DJs find new music by trawling a few steady sources, listening properly, then cutting hard before they buy. A weekly routine with sources and timings.

Spotify and Apple Music now work inside rekordbox, Serato and other DJ apps, with limits. What streaming can't do in a club, and where it helps most.

Use SoundCloud's search filters, Following feed, related tracks and DJ mixes to find edits and early uploads, then keep finds out of a pile of likes.

Find new techno by splitting the genre into styles, checking charts by style, following labels and mining podcasts and tracklists, with one list for finds.

Find house music away from the main charts through sub-genre pages, smaller-label charts, Bandcamp labels, podcasts and tracklists, and keep track of it.

Work out your track count from how long you play each track, then bring extras. A simple formula, a table for common set lengths, and what changes it.

Follow labels and artists on the stores and apps you use, know what each feed leaves out, and check them on one set day so new releases don't slip past.

Crate digging started in record shop bins. Online, the same idea means following credits, labels and tracklists. How it works, and where finds go after.

Pick sets from DJs you trust, get the tracklist or ID the gaps, then listen to each track on its own before you keep it. A step-by-step method.

Most DJs buy files from Beatport, Bandcamp, Traxsource and similar download stores. What each is good for, which format to pick, and how to shop a list.

Duplicate purchases come from several stores, several versions and a busy memory. Check three places before you pay, and keep one record of purchases.

How Bandcamp's wishlist works, what its help pages say about limits and exporting, and how to keep Bandcamp finds in a buy list that covers every store.

Beatport offers several carts, a Hold Bin and buyable playlists. What each does, what the help pages don't say, and when a list outside the store helps.

DJs get music by buying files, streaming in DJ software, using record pools or free downloads. What each one allows, and why buying still matters for gigs.

What DJ tracks cost as of October 2026, what weekly buying adds up to over a year, the costs people forget, and a simple way to set and keep a budget.

What Beatport costs per track and per month as of October 2026, what you get, where it falls short, and how to decide whether to buy, stream or both.

Traxsource and Beatport compared on catalogue, charts, prices and formats as of October 2026, plus what happened to Juno Download and where to shop now.

Beatport wins on club catalog, charts and DJ metadata. Bandcamp wins on formats, direct artist support and independent labels. How to choose per track.

Listen properly, ask seven questions, then cut again on shopping day. A checklist for deciding which tracks deserve a place in your DJ library.

Find the set's tracklist, identify what's missing with Shazam, then listen, choose versions and buy. The full route from a set you loved to tracks you own.

Beatport charts update daily but don't keep their own history. How to spot new entries, save snapshots and see what has arrived or dropped off.

Four routes, in the order to try them: recognition on your own Mac or iPhone, a tracklist someone wrote, a whole-set scan, and a trail for unreleased IDs.

You can stream a Spotify playlist inside rekordbox, but you can't export it to USB or turn it into files. The three realistic routes, and how to pick one.

Use 1001Tracklists' artist pages, Advanced Search, play counts and track pages to find music, save what you find, and know what the site can't do.

Beatport's Top 100 updates daily from sales, Hype charts spotlight smaller labels, and DJ charts show what DJs pick. How to use each without drowning.

Soundiiz and TuneMyMusic can import a playlist into Beatport's DJ app, but you still buy track by track. Cut the list, match it, check version and format.

Move each track through four stages, found, kept, bought and ready, and let only prepared tracks into rekordbox or Serato. Checklists for each step.

Filler is music you bought and never play. How to measure your own filler rate, shop for gaps, and give new purchases a probation period in rekordbox.

Back up, fix missing files, merge duplicates and prune what you never play in rekordbox, then stop new junk at the gate by rejecting tracks before you buy.

A rekordbox-first walkthrough for preparing tracks for a DJ set, from analysis settings and beat grids to cues, tags, a gig playlist and the USB export.

In rekordbox, playlists hold tracks, folders hold playlists, and Intelligent Playlists fill themselves. How each works and a simple layout for new music.

Run one weekly session that turns a pile of new finds into a short keep list. Fixed slot, sort by source, a fast pass, a slow pass, inbox at zero.