Beatport...been doing some research/

Just got Traktor and I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips on selecting tracks from Beatport.com. A few questions I have that I would greatly appreciate to have answered are:

-How often do you update your collection?

-Should I only buy and "spin" the hot new tracks of the week?!?(i've heard horror stories of djs getting hauled off the stage for playing outdated tracks...)

-What makes a track specifically more "mixable"?

-Do you get new tracks before every set?

Any help would obviously be greatly appreciated. If anyone could recommend other sites like beat port to get mp3s. Also I've also been using a electribe ea 1, and planned on syn'n up to
Traktor. Where could I get tracks that are mostly grooves?

 

1) It's pretty constant for me. I shop for CDs and buy music downloads, and lately I've taken to converting vinyl to mp3 if I won't be using turntables.

2) I guess this depends who you're playing music for. Play what you like. I have no patience for people who discount quality music at the expense of "keeping current". You can do both. If I was offered something where I could only play this week's hits, I would pass. I play current releases side-by-side with anything else in my collection. It's more fun and expressive for me, and offers surprises when you play an old, familiar number alongside something that's new and exciting because it's UNfamiliar too.

3) You'll have to experiment and find out for yourself.

4) I do. I usually add music to my collection at least once a week.

My biggest piece of advice is pretty broad here, but I'd say collect music you love. As your collection grows, it speaks for itself and defines what kind of music you want to play for people. I remember chatting with a DJ during his set, telling him I loved the track he was spinning... he was surprised that I'd heard it already... "Actually, I picked this up over a year ago.", I told him. He was crushed, and he never played that song again because it wasn't "new enough", despite how much he loved the song too. "But it's on the top of all these charts now!", he said. So? This was for a bar crowd, not a bunch of hipster music elitists anyway. I thought his reaction was just silly.

Sure, there's LOTS of music in my collection that I don't play anymore, or just don't play often at all now. But I don't rule it out, because you might be surprised where it might fit in suddenly. I don't treat music as a disposable commodity. Treat it as an addition to your library. Enjoy.

 

My collection is being updated all the time. Some weeks I add no traks at all, others I add a lot. All depends on what is out there at the time. I tend to only buy tracks that I find interesting, old or new.

Now that would be stupid. A set should be somthing interesting, not the same thing the DJ before you played. It need to have some of your own trademake on it.

I have tracks in my collection that are over 20 years old. Granted I don't play them every week, but it the right moment comes along I drop it and the crowd apprecate that.

That all depends on you style and how you mix. As a beginner tracks that have a simple structure are offten easier to mix, but as you learn and get more confident you will find you try differnet things.

I don't go out to find tracks just because I have a set coming up. If there is nothing that interestes me I'm not gonna waste my money just because I have a set.

Sample CD's like eJay (http://www.ejay.com/splash/default.htm) and Apple Garageband Loops (http://www.apple.com/ilife/garageband/loops.html) could be of use. There are many others, Google is your friend.

 

I definitely agree with all the responses, and would only add some of my own buying habits that I've found work for me.

I tend to "overcrate"--that is, save too many tracks to my virtual crate. After buying way too many tracks that I never played anywhere, I developed the habit of waiting a few days after my ""Buy now" orgy, then previewing my crate again. I usually whittle it down 20-25% after asking myself if I really need this track, if I don't already have 5 others that sound like it, when would I drop it, what tracks would I lay before/after it, etc. Even if I like all the tracks in my crate, I still force myself to cut some--it helps assure me that I *really really* want the tracks I'm buying.

I shop at least once a week, but hold myself to a budget. If I have a certain type of gig coming up, I'll definitely have an ear out for new tracks that would fit it. For instance, there's a guy in Hollywood who likes to throw private parties at smaller, well-known clubs. He likes me to DJ for him, and I spin stuff that isn't full-on club stomp and isn't wallpaper, either. Stuff that people dance to but can get away from if they want. This means a lot of funk, funky tech house, and remixes of old funk & pop. People end up bobbing their heads over their drinks, which is about what I want for these gigs. So a week or so before, I'm definitely looking for retro-sounding funk tech house whatever ya wanna call it, and I know I'll play this stuff at other gigs, too (esp. earlier on).

 

Weekly at least! Thursday is Beatport Day! Normally by 8am PDT most weeks the weeks hot new tracks are loaded to the site. Some weeks I'll buy just one or two or last week I bought close to 20, Just depends how I feel when I'm listening. I've found lately though you need to drill into the major genre pages to find the good stuff there is not much goodness lately on the homepage. too much clunky house that just doesn't rock my boat, Also their site suffers from errors amd slowdowns. Their flash app is in my opinion at it limit and needs to be lightened up or simplified back to HTML

No you should play what you like. You need to temper that statement with what the punters and the person who is paying you want to hear.

I've been hammered for playing one or two old classics but you learn to get over it when the dancefloor goes nuts over the mix. I have seen a guy get canned because all he played was crusty old trance trance trax and he had nothing newer than 2000 in his box, so you have to strike a balance.

God knows mate. Its different I think with different Tracks. Sometimes you find tracks that just make each other sing like a chior others are like a chainsaw on a tin roof. I just start picking tracks and it all starts to flow from there.

Yep mostly, I spin several different house genres so I tend to buy for what I know I'm playing in the coming weekend. This weeks its funky house and Trance, next week will be Breaks.

see Nemonics site for a list of links to music download sites

Phil