DJs need to be in the know on a wide range of music, and constantly keep up with all of the new music out there. Music curation is one of the skills that makes you unique. No other DJ has the exact same mix of musical tastes that you do. You need to keep feeding your musical uniqueness to grow as an artist.
But where do DJs discover new music? As a working DJ, you must be constantly listening to music through radio, streaming, social music sites, clients and your own personal sources to stay on top of what is new and hot. Here are some of my favorite music discovery sources and techniques.
Radio
Because I am mostly doing mobile DJ events, I have a deep knowledge of Top 40 music, both current and past. I need to stay on top of the latest pop music as it develops. A very simple solution is just listening to the radio whenever I’m in the car. You’ll hear all of the most popular music and know what everyone else is hearing and listening to. This is where I find the floor fillers. I have my DJ music pool that will hint at what could be big soon, but until it makes regular rotation on radio, it’s not a sure thing yet.
This method is only really good for major genre DJs, like Latin, Hip Hop or Top 40 DJs. If you are focusing on a specific subgenre of music, like Trance, Reggaeton or many others, you may have limited success unless you are in a major city. However, it’s still good to listen to radio stations when you don’t have access to other music discovery sources. It will broaden your musical horizons to music you might not normally hear. It will also give you inspiration for mixing that you might miss. I can’t tell you how many times a random song on the radio that has been played to death will click with my favorite new track. That’s when I’m scrambling for a notepad to write down a potential new mashup. Pro tip: note those happy accidents in your phone for later experimentation.
SiriusXM and Streaming Radio
I love using satellite radio for two reasons. It allows me to dive deep into a specific genre, or learn a new one. I really liked most of the EDM that I heard on Top 40 radio, but I didn’t know many other dance tracks until I started listening to BPM on SiriusXM. If I were doing a Country-heavy event soon, I’d be all over the Country stations on both radio and satellite radio.
This is your best option if you are deep into a genre that doesn’t get a lot of radio play. If you are not finding a lot of stations on SiriusXM that play your style of music, search for streaming stations online. There are thousands of stations that cover any and all music you can think of. You can even find live DJ mixing that can help you come up with new ideas and techniques.
Satellite radio also gives you the name and artist of a song. I can glance over and make a mental note while I’m driving, or if I’m streaming on my phone, I take a screenshot. This has been a huge resource for finding new songs that I love. Here again, I will even make notes on the screenshot if I hear a new song that will mix well with another song I love.
I also group places like SoundCloud and MixCloud into streaming radio. It’s not exactly the same, because it’s more searchable, but I find it more like radio in that you won’t always find exactly what you are looking for. But at the same time, you will find things you didn’t know you loved. MixCloud another great place for DJ mixes, especially because the platform requires DJs to upload their playlist to assign royalties. This is a huge benefit for you as a DJ because you will get the exact tracks DJs are using.
Spotify
Spotify is an enormous resource for DJs. I use it to find new music, investigate new genres, and even for playlist suggestions. This is another place where you can dive deep into a genre and see the exact names of songs as you listen.
I would suggest you use the radio feature on whatever streaming music service you have. This will play similar songs to what you are listening to, and give you greater chances for new discoveries. On Spotify, you can even turn on the Autoplay feature to have it keep playing similar music when your playlist ends. I have a few favorite playlists that I keep going back to, and Autoplay helps me find new music even when I don’t expect to.
Shazam
I always have Shazam installed on my phone as well. This app will listen to music playing anywhere and tell you the song and artist. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in a store or watching TV and heard a great new song that I had to have. Shazam will tell me the song and then save it to a list I can review later.
This is a great tool for any streaming source that doesn’t display song names, or while you’re out in the clubs “trainspotting” other DJs’ mixes. The only drawback is that you can’t be streaming from your phone and use Shazam at the same time. Shazam is built into Siri and Cortana, so you can ask your Mac, PC or other devices what song you are listening to. Alexa doesn’t seem to be able to identify songs (come on, Amazon!).
Shazam does sometimes have trouble identifying specific remixes, but I usually get enough info to do some digging on Spotify and find what I’m looking for. While it’s not perfect, it’s at least a great reminder of a song I need.
Record Pools
Like I mentioned above, DJ record pools are a great way to get ahead of what’s coming out soon. Your pool will release new music typically several months in advance of when it becomes popular. The pool I use, Promo Only, even bundles its top new music into monthly releases. I find that the Top 40 monthly releases are typically 2 or 3 months ahead of what is being played on the radio.
Record pools are another great place for crate digging. You can dig deep into your favorite genre, and pull out lesser know tracks by your favorite artists that just didn’t hit it big. Many of these pools will let you go back several years to find those songs other DJs missed.
Clients
I learn new music from almost every client I have. I ask each client for at least 10 songs that they want to hear at the event, so I can start building a playlist to suit their tastes. There’s usually one or two songs that I don’t know well, or at all. I find it very helpful to have Spotify with me at those meetings. If they don’t know the exact title, or I’m not familiar with the song, I can search for it and make sure I have the right one.
Now, a lot of these songs are not my favorites. I’m usually just stretching my musical limits for this one event. But sometimes there are some songs that stick with me and become a part of my regular playlists. These chance interactions can spark a new level of creativity.
Discovery Every Day!
You should be listening to music as much as you can to maximize your discovery opportunities. Any sort of commute or travel is an obvious opportunity: buses, subway, car, plane. For anywhere you don’t have signal, use Spotify to download a new playlist in advance.
Phil from Digital DJ Tips also suggests listening to new music as you are organizing and cleaning out your DJ library. You will be collecting new tracks and analyzing them weekly, so you should have music playing while you do that.
Really, any time when you are doing something on autopilot is a great time for new music. Walking the dog, working out, cleaning the house, yard work, whatever it is. Grab whatever convenient music source you have, find a new playlist or radio station, slap it on shuffle and go.
In Summary…
If you get yourself a few of these music discovery sources and follow my listening tips, you will find new music everywhere. The DJ that has the broadest musical palette is the DJ that creates mixes no one else has thought of. The more you discover, the more unique your sound will be.
