DJ Music

As a DJ your mecca is in the record store, not on the decks. Your value as a DJ come from the records you choose and how you put them together, one of the critical but often overlooked parts of DJing, is the ability to select great music, not only great on its own, but great when mixed together, when you’re out buying records, aside from if you like it and if the track is good, you want to cosider if its great music? Will it engage the dancefloor? And does it fit with other tracks and the style of DJing you do?

Try to Buy records little and often small and regular shopping trips are the key to keeping track of things and help you to clock those rare records that may only be out for a few months, it also helps you to get to know other DJs and the store owners and prevents you from going on mad bulk-buying runs that result in quantity over quality. Try and hit your local store once a week at least and make sure you budget.

Only buy records you know you’ll want, this is a great saver and will help you to really consider each record. Pick out a stack, tehn cut it down, then cut that down again, till you have a handful you’re sure you can’t live without. This is the easiest way to buy better record, buy the records that you know you’ll love and use.

Don’t buy something you’ve never heard- be more guarded about music you haven’t heard, like the saying goes, don’t judge a book by its cover. On the same token, it can really pay off, just make sure you test the water first and the store has  a returns policy.

Be aware of how records sound in the store, it may well be down to their sound system, and as such have a good think before committing to buying it.

Check the condition of any records you buy, pay special attention to warps, bumps and scratches. If it’s a new record, buy a shrink-wrapped copy that’s been untouched, you don’t want an aged demo that’s scratched before you’ve even played it.

keep your recipts, it’ll make it easier to return records if you don’t want them and if you’re a self employed DJ or music writer, you can write it off as a business expense.

If you live in a large city with lots of DJ stores, it makes sense to suss out the DJ store that most fits your style of DJing. Keep tabs on the other stores and try to keep up with new tunes as they come out. In smaller towns, you’ll probably have to try harder, and in this instance your best bet is online.

Secondhand is a fantastic way to find great music, it’s a bit of a struggle but if you keep your wits about you and are able to have a real good eye for a bargain you could find a treasure trove.

Online/mail order no doubt one of the easiest and best ways of shopping. Virtually all the security issues there once were are now resolved and u can source and search and even try out new and different music with ease, what makes it even better is that you can even find the most obscure of records fairly easily.

Some of the best online DJ Music stores are:

iTunes, HMV, iMusician, Dolphin Music, emusic

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!