DJing with Beatport Link

NasserAlazzawi

I’ve finally bitten the bullet and started paying Beatport £30 per month instead of £100+ for a bunch of downloads, in return for access to all the tracks Beatport has. I can’t say its good for the earnings of the producers, but in these times it’s a welcome saving for me.

I pulled off this entire set using it on Sunday. The Pioneer XDJ-XZ and CDJ-3000 / 2000 etc require you to use Rekordbox on your laptop in “LINK” mode and the Denon Prime range even do it right out of the players.

Loads of DJs seem to shy away from it because it is actually a slight jolt in terms of how you find and keep tunes at your fingertips but once you know how to do it its pretty easy. I’d normally be more hell-bent on having the physical files but I already have 300gb of tunes in a 1tb hard drive and during lockdown it doesn’t matter whether I use a laptop or USB.

The tarrif I’m on allows ‘50 songs stored offline’ but it won’t let me sync them to a stick - so ultimately I would still be buying a chunk of these for real-life gigs but overall? Massive saving of money and its actually a clever system to use.

I might produce a walk through video from a “DJ Discovering Beatport Link” perspective as a few weeks ago I was dead against this “taking too long to load” when it actually takes 3 seconds.

Anyone else also been shying away from it or tried it?

alistair

NasserAlazzawi Hey Nas, are you able to post your tracklist from Sunday? Loved a couple of the tracks from the first set

Mad_Cyril

I’ve looked at it a few times, but I’m right at the entry level for DJing.

I need to find my feet finding tunes and organising my library 1st before deciding where to pitch my tent - will actually be asking about separately soon.

Going by the time I get round to needing / thinking about using it’ll be more widespread and improved as an experience.

Be interested in anything you might create to show how it can work though!

NasserAlazzawi

Mad_Cyril When I do a video about this, I’ll put it in here. Likely after the weekend - people of all skillsets are funny about it but its like anything once you have a map with clear directions you believe you can go there so you do.

SM001

BeatCloud anyone?

NasserAlazzawi

alistair unsure which Sunday you mean, here are both:

Sunday gone:

Artist Track Title Label

1 ~ Eli Nissan Karnaval (Roy Rosenfeld Remix) Lost & Found
2 ~ Travertia Utro Na Zemle Forestrip Music
3 ~ Stereo Underground Turbulencia (Original Mix) Losst & Found
4 ~ Bona Fide, M.O.S. Dance With Me Melody Of the Soul
5 ~ Amonita Mirage TRYBESof
6 ~ Mark Alow Ararat (Original Mix) TRYBESof
7 ~ Michael A Tension Typ3 Records
8 ~ Kenan Savrun Orion (rAin MU Mix) Forward Music
9 ~ Alfonso Muchacho Space Opera (Sebastian Busto Remix) Domus Progressivum
10 ~ AxeLara Apus Just Movement
11 ~ Gaston Ponte Eighth Notes (Original Mix) Or Two Strangers
12 ~ Michael A Orbis Genesis Music
13 ~ Tonaco Hopeful (RIGOONI Remix) Polyptych
14 ~ Simos Tagias The Rise Mango Alley
15 ~ Allies for Everyone, Miyagi Far Away (Facundo Mohrr, Valdovinos Remix) Bar 25 Music
16 ~ Sapienta Retrospection (Original Mix) Stellar Fountain

The first one you guys came on (mid October):

TRACKLIST
1 ~ Death on the Balcony The Source (Original Mix) ALL DAY I DREAM
2 ~ Gab Rhome Vehicle Cosmique (Original Mix) ABRACADABRA MUSIC
3 ~ RVNZ Sketch One by GHIZ (Jimmy Brodie BE SAINTs edit) (FREE DL ON SOUNDCLOUD, search Jimmy Brodie)
4 ~ Agha Take on Me (Original Mix) KLASSIFIED
5 ~ Hermanez Jagerfly (Original Mix) SAG & TRE
6 ~ Nebula (AR) The Last of Us (Original Mix) TRYBESOF
7 ~ DAVI Home (Original Mix) TRYBESOF
8 ~ dub.format Rebooting (Subandrio ‘Secret Rising’ Remix) ONE OF A KIND
9 ~ GMJ Mood Medicine MEANWHILE RECORDINGS
10 ~ Berni Turletti Physical Balance (Matias Chilano Remix) IN MOTION
11 ~ Paul Kardos Firm Resolution (Original Mix) SOUNDTELLER RECORDS
12 ~ Madloch Flow State (Subandrio Remix) 3RD AVENUE
13 ~ Shannon Davin, Dimuth K Horus (Subandrio Remix) YIN
14 ~ Echo Daft Grave, Where Is the Victory (Gaston Ponte Remix) BALKAN CONNECTION
15 ~ Nico Szabo Raccoon (Original Mix) TRYBESOF
16 ~ Gux Jimenez Mercedino (Original Mix) [INU] INU (VIA BANDCAMP)
17 ~ Nōpi Parallel Words (GMJ & Matter Remix) PROTON MUSIC
18 ~ Kasper Koman In Circles (Extended Mix) JUICEBOX MUSIC
19 ~ ID ID
20 ~ Madloch Flow State (Subandrio Remix) 3RD AVENUE
21 ~ Andrea Cassino, Greenage Losing Part Of Me (Original Mix) PROTON MUSIC

They’re always posted under my Soundcloud or Youtube postings - but you can’t see them on SC on a mobile, just on PC/Laptop.

Glad you enjoyed those mate - it’s been nice bringing everyone together. I’m having to find good tracks at a much more rapid pace now I’ve gone weekly though!

alistair

NasserAlazzawi Thanks Nas. I meant the Sunday just gone

jonattonyeah

Tried it but found that it lacked much of what I like in music. Seems many labels haven’t signed on.

NasserAlazzawi

jonattonyeah That’s actually interesting. I didn’t know labels could exclude themselves?

One quirk - at least in rekordbox - is that sometimes when I type a name of a release that I KNOW is out, it doesn’t find it on Rekordbox > Beatport > Search Tracks area but when I go on Beatport it does let me ADD TO PLAYLIST and when I go on Rekordbox > Beatport (hit the Refresh circle) they DO appear there.

I’m wondering if thats what you mean like you can’t find music in Rekordbox, or if you really mean loads of labels aren’t on there.

jonattonyeah

NasserAlazzawi

It’s been while since I tried it but I remember FXHE, for example, wasn’t available. Maybe that’s changed. I honestly don’t remember the specifics with Recordbox unfortunately.

IndustryStandard

The concept of buying tunes to DJ with live that you don’t really own doesn’t sit kindly with my years of vinyl/CD/Wav purchases. Probably makes total sense and totally cost effective in todays “cloud” world, but my hoarding/collecting neurosis just wont get me over the line on this one.

NasserAlazzawi

IndustryStandard There’s still something in me that resonates with this. The thing that brought my attention to it is really that:

a) I suddenly have had a lot of time to look into tech, the boundaries of what I’ve got (DJ equipment, software, cameras and how to stream) and this was one of the things I encountered and

b) The saving of money combined with how I don’t often play stuff thats 1 year old and older, means if I’m going to Live Stream during bad times for clubbing this is THE time to try it if ever there was one.

I even discovered how I should be using Kuvo in Rekordbox to pay artists when sets are done in public / anywhere. Almost nobody is doing that, it would seem.

SM001

IndustryStandard I understand where you’re coming from. But it’s like all the technological changes over the years. You just have to get yourself over that mini hurdle.
I remember when the CDJ’s first came out I was dead against the transition. Now I view vinyl only DJ’s as complete cunts. 😆

IndustryStandard

SM001 yeah…..its not the tech its my brain/collecting mentality thats the problem. think I need some professional help 😅

NasserAlazzawi

SM001 lol!

I’ve been intregued by the feeling one must get by playing on vinyl - I’m sure thats a real thing.

One thing is for sure (learning on CDJ 1000mk3 from 2013 onwards) I just COULD NOT BE ARSED with vinyl. Or the expense. Fuck. That.

LT42

SM001 Now I view vinyl only DJ’s as complete cunts. 😆

Tend to agree as I’ve never met a vinyl purist who doesn’t think anything digital is “cheating”. Such a strange mentality. Without exception, any of these guys I know are horrific DJs too.

SM001

NasserAlazzawi It’s very very expensive buying vinyl only. Great way to learn how to mix though.

NasserAlazzawi

SM001 I know very few people who have actually never gone digital and always played vinyl. The money they have spent on it is unreal - well into the tens of thousands!

NasserAlazzawi

SM001 Yeah man, I find its a great attitude check. If you’re the type of DJ who shoots other people down you can almost guarantee they are nowhere near the potential of their success solely because of that personality trait.