Where to Find Music for DJing: Best Sources for DJ Music 2024/25
Aspiring DJ? Here's Where You Can Find Music for DJing in 2024/25
Finding music for DJing can be difficult for beginner DJs. Knowing where to download or stream music for DJing is crucial lesson for aspiring DJs. In this blog, we will show you the best places to get DJ music either by downloading or streaming directly to your DJ software.
When it comes to sourcing music for DJ sets, the first consideration is what styles of music you want to mix. Certain genres, or styles of music, are only available from specific places. To help you find the best place to download music from, we’ve organised our categories according the the main music styles DJs want to look for.
Streaming or Downloading?
There are two main ways to source music for DJing in 2024/25. Downloading and streaming are the two main ways that DJs get music nowadays. However some old school DJs will still buy physical formats like Vinyl or CD. For the purpose of this blog we will only discuss downloading and streaming DJ music and the pros and cons of both methods.
Downloading Pros:
Ownership: When you download music you own the music and will always have access to it without an internet connection.
High Quality Formats: You can download music for DJing in various formats. This means you can choose higher quality formats which will sound much better than streaming. This is essential for professional DJing.
Easy Preparation: You can easily prepare your tracks and export the data onto a USB stick for fast loading on the CDJ.
No Laptop Needed: You won’t need to take a laptop to your DJ gigs, just your USBs.
Recording: It's easy to record your DJ sets using the DJM REC app or directly inside your DJ software like Rekordbox.
Downloading Cons:
Commercial Tracks: You can’t get certain tracks on DJ download websites, especially chart music like Beyonce on the major DJ download websites like Beatport or DJ City. If you're a wedding DJ or play chart music you'll find it easier to stream from Tidal.
Cost: It’s expensive to download and pay for each track individually.
Space: The files take up more room on your computer.
Requests: It's hard to take requests unless you happen to have the track on your USB.
Streaming Pros:
Save Money: The cost of a streaming subscriptions is very cheap compared to buying the music.
Find Most Tracks: You can usually find a larger range of music on streaming platforms like Tidal.
Organisation: It’s easy to organise playlists within your streaming app while on the go and then import them into Rekordbox.
Requests: It's easy to take requests and search a large library of music instantly.
Streaming Cons:
Internet Access: You need fast and reliable internet access in the DJ booth for this to work.
Contingency Planning: You would need to have a plan B in case the internet didn’t work. This normally means buying some music anyway.
Tied to a Laptop: You need to take your laptop to your DJ gigs.
DJ Booth Restrictions: You need more room in the DJ booth for a laptop.
Cables: You need to have cables to connect your laptop to the controller or decks and a power cable.
Software & Hardware Compatibility: You need to have the correct software and firmware updates and be prepared to troubleshoot and complete updates on the job.
Not Easy to Record: You can’t record directly from your controller into Rekordbox if you’re using streamed music. Instead, you will to record out from your DJ controller into an audio interface, like a soundcard perhaps using software like Audacity, Logic, FL or Ableton.
Overall, you can see there are many pros and cons to both systems. Overwhelmingly, professional DJs still choose to download their music instead of streaming. This is because you can’t rely on an internet connection always working. It’s also because professional DJs want the sound quality to be much higher than current streaming technology allows for.
However, bedroom DJs and those DJing for a hobby can embrace streaming technology and they will find it easier and cheaper to build playlists of any genre. With that being said, let’s look at what options are best for the main genres of music DJs are playing.
Where to Download Music For DJing in 2024/25
The majority of professional DJs and touring DJs will download music to perform with. Having the music files means DJs are not reliant on an internet connection and can play higher quality music. Here are some of the best places to download music for DJing in 2024/25 according to the main music genres.
Where to Download Dance Music for DJing 2024/25
Dance music encompasses genres like House, Tech, Techno, EDM, Electro, Trance Progressive, Drum & Bass, Dubstep and more. These styles of music are dance-DJ-friendly and consist mainly of club edits or extended edits. That means the tracks are longer because they have intros and outros to help the DJs mix and blend the music together in a continuous DJ set. Typically, these edits will be five or more minutes long. Here are the best places to download dance music for DJing in 2024/25:
Arguably the most popular source for DJs to download different styles of dance music for DJ sets. DJs can download high-quality tracks such as MP3, WAV or AIFF.
The most ethical place for DJs to download many styles of music, including dance music. Bandcamp.com aims to cut out the middleman and give more money to the artists and labels. A range of formats are available to download and fans can also buy physical mediums like vinyl and CD.
One of the biggest user-generated websites to listen and download different styles of music. SoundCloud is a source of free music as well as being a community of DJs, producers and music fans. Download formats and quality depends on the user who uploaded the content.
Traxsource is another online platform dedicated to house and electronic music enthusiasts, offering an expansive selection of tracks in high-quality formats
Juno is one of our favourite download websites offering a curated selection of tracks that any music aficionado would appreciate. They also sell great vinyl records and we regularly shop there!
Boomkat is a small online record store specialising in a diverse range of music genres, including electronic, experimental, and avant-garde. It's a brilliant website to help you find rare records, edits and remixes.
Founded by Warp Records, Bleep offers a curated selection of music from labels and artists, providing vinyl, CDs, cassettes, and digital downloads. They offer a high-quality WAV download option and many records include FLACC downloads.
Know somewhere else? We're all ears! Let us know where you download your music by contacting us here.
Where to Download Urban Music For DJing in 2024/25
'Urban Music' is an umbrella terms that groups a diverse range of music genres that primarily evolved in urban environments. These genres include, but are not limited to: Hip-hop, R&B, Soul, Funk, Reggae, Grime, Drill, Trap, Reggaeton, Dancehall and Afrobeats. These tracks are typically in radio edit format, meaning they are shorter than club edits and have short intros and outros. They are typically performed by open-format DJs and can be downloaded from various websites including:
DJ City is one of the biggest online libraries of urban music for DJing. They have an extensive range of original tracks, remixes and mashups specifically for DJs.
As one of the biggest user-generated websites to listen and download different styles of music SoundCloud includes urban music and remixes. You can often download music for free from SoundCloud.
Bandcamp is not genre-specific and you can find all styles of music from independent record labels and artists. It's a brilliant website to search for hidden gems of all genres including urban music.
* You can also find some urban music downloads on the sources mentioned in the prior dance music section.
Where to Download Chart, Pop & Rock Music For DJing in 2024/25
Not all DJs play dance music perform in the open format style so closely linked with urban music. Many DJs play at locals bars and clubs, weddings and birthday parties. As such, they will often have to play the most popular music of the time, namely what's in the charts including pop and rock tracks.
It has to be mentioned, most of the chart comprises of a mix of genres including dance, hip-hop, rnb, indie and rock music. Some of these tracks can be downloaded from websites mentioned in our previous lists. However, you'll need to include the following sources to find all the tracks you'd want as Chart, Pop & Rock music DJ.
Amazon is a surprising source of MP3 downloads of various genres and often competitively priced. We recommend searching Amazon for MP3 downloads of popular music.
7 Digital is a source of chart music available to download in high quality formats including MP3, WAV and FLACC.
Apple is slowly moving away from their pay-per-track model (iTunes) into a streaming model (AppleMusic) As such, they are making it increasingly difficult to buy music, opting instead encourage listeners to pay for a streaming subscription. Overall, DJs tend to avoid iTunes because their downloads and low quality.
*Often, DJs playing chart, pop and rock music still buy the CD. The CD is a good investment because the hard copy can always been ripped, meaning you can extract the high-quality audio from CD onto your computer using a CD drive. You can then save it as WAV or MP3.
Where to Download World Music For DJing 2024/25
What if you are into music genres that are considered niche in the western world such as Bollywood, Bhangra, K-Pop and more? You might not be able to find these sorts of music files as a download on the most common DJ download sites.
Many DJs playing niche styles of music often resort to ripping music from YouTube, which is not only illegal but also very low quality. Well below the benchmark 320kbps needed for professional DJing. However, there is hope! We recommend checking out these options when looking for sources of world music.
Amazon, 7digital, iTunes.
As above with Chart, Pop and Rock music you can search for world music on these big websites.
Buy the CD
In many cases, buying the CD from the country of origin is a simple way to collect high quality world music. Simply buy the CD and then import the music onto your computer as MP3 or WAV (better).
Bandcamp is one of the biggest places to source world music in all its glorious genres and sub-genres! Make sure you take the time to explore Bandcamp.com, the best place for DJs to find hidden gems, support independent artists and record labels.
Where to Stream Music For DJing in 2024/25
An alternative to downloading and paying for individual tracks is to sign up for a DJ streaming subscription. As long as you have a laptop connected to your DJ system and an internet connection you can use this option. Make sure you read the pros and cons of streaming for DJs above before subscribing.
Here are some of the best ways DJs are streaming music for DJing in 2024/25
Streaming Music for DJing 2024/25
Streaming services for dance music DJing have been steadily growing in popularity. The big four DJ software programs all offer the option to connect with music screaming services for DJing. Those programs are Rekordbox, Serato, Traktor and Virtual DJ. Here are the best sources for streaming DJ music currently available.
Beatport's streaming subscription for DJs is popular with dance music DJs. It's an excellent option for bedroom DJs who want to mix with all of Beatport's library and not have to buy individual tracks. It's easy to link Beatport to your DJ software, just login via your DJ software.
Beatsource (Also owned by Beatport)
Beatsource is DJ City's DJ streaming service so it offers the same library of music catered toward open format DJs who play a range of urban music styles. Recently, Beatport bought DJ City and Beatsource.
Tidal (DJ Streaming Subscription Add-on)
Tidal is the closest equivalent to Spotify in terms of its music library. If you want to mix a range of styles including chart, rock, pop and world music check out Tidal! Login via your DJ software. You can even import your playlists from Spotify. Another reason to ditch Spotify in our opinion! Tidal pays artists better than Spotify and it's also higher quality and better for DJing.
SoundCloud Go + and SoundCloud DJ
SoundCloud has two options, Go+ and SoundCloud DJ which offers some expanded services such as downloading music in addition to streaming. It's perfect for DJing and range of user-generate music including mash-ups and bootleg remixes.
In conclusion, there are various ways DJs can source their music for Djing in 2024/25. You should consider the pros and cons of both options and what style of music you want to DJ. Use our helpful advice to help guide you to the best solution. We also encourage our DJ course students to try both options, especially as many subscription services will allow a 30-day free trial.
If you're interested in learning how to DJ the correct way, get in touch for DJ courses in London or online.
