• Music

  • DJs and Streaming music via Beatport LINK discussion

Like most of us, I’ve ignored Beatport Link entirely because I was afraid of things and didn’t understand it. If you had read my posts less than 2 months ago, I was citing concerns about ‘streaming music straight from the internet into the CDJ’ as if they were facts, not realising that my ignorance was costing me a lot of money and hard drive space.

Lockdown has afforded me the time to really use this properly in a structured and professional manner. Since announcing that my last 3 Live Stream shows were done using Beatport Link (Streaming music, whilst live streaming, for approx €30 per month instead of spending €50 per SET), I’ve now noticed that exactly the same concerns I had are being asked privately to me by DJs, of all skill levels and those concerns prevented me from using the service to it’s full benefit in the first place.

I’m going to do a special Facebook Live ‘ask me anything’ where I share both the screen on Beatport / Rekordbox and my actual Pioneer DJ equipment so you can see for real how this works on the laptop and the decks, and show you how you can save some time and money.

I will cover all the bases including:

  • USB and the ‘Offline Locker’
  • Streaming Tracks.. whilst Live Streaming?
  • Managing online playlists, offline
  • How to keep your usual Hot Cue, Analysis, Beat Grids, Star ratings etc and never lose them

I’m also going to tell you where the limitations are and what scenarios there are where you might not want to use it.
This is saving me nearly €200 per month and I figured during these times where you are not getting paid bookings you could use that money too.

So that I can prepare for the stream, if you ask your question below, I will answer in a simple and straight forward manner and give you the workflow - you’ll see into my library, how I organise and categorise tracks so I can put my fingers on them fast when playing Live, and how I use Beatport’s website with my Rekordbox Software which will translate across to Denon Engine / Serato etc.

So - DJs - what would be your question or concern if you HAD to use Beatport Link right now? 👇

I use vinyl.

Hey Nasser. My question is this: does Beatport LINK offer registered users access to all 5 versions of Mauro Picotto’s UK chart climbing hit “All Night”? I know some services offer different membership levels, and I worry that premium content, such as the Sanchez remix of “All Night”, will be limited to Platinum accounts or something. Could you try mixing all 5 versions into your demo? That way I could better understand the LINK access features and also check out your technical skills! ☺️

    so am i wrong thinking this is just another move to ensure the streaming platforms increase profits by further cutting revenue streams for producers?

      303abuser not at all mate. Just like home ownership isn’t for everyone, neither is tune ownership. This guarantees every dj access to tech house that wants it. Tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

          303abuser This is a very good point and worthy of discussion.

          I will add this point to be discussed on the stream.

            Producers should take things into their own hands and go DTC baby.

            zackster ah yes, my mistake haha. there’s got to be a better solution to this problem. bandcamp is only half way there, but a good start i guess.

                303abuser the Biden administration is going to prioritize Beatport LINK vouchers for all citizens living at or below 60% of their area’s median income to ensure that access to tunes like All Night is available to everyone. America is back!

                    303abuser

                    Unfortunately the Bandcamp UI makes it barely useable. Spent another hour clunking around last night, was horrendous. Until it improves I won’t be going back again.

                        Mad_Cyril yeah that’s my point. from an artist’s perspective, it’s the best way to panhandle online and keep more of what people are willing to pay. from a user perspective, it needs to be better, especially as a streaming platform (although that’s probably not their goal).

                            Mad_Cyril

                            Agreed. It’s fine if you know exactly what you’re looking for, but for browsing/exploring it’s utterly useless.

                              303abuser

                              There’s definitely a gap in the market. For me need something that caters for all 4 of the following;

                              1. Easy to browse
                              2. Easy to organise shopping (build lists etc..)
                              3. Decent recommendations (a tricky one!)
                              4. Doesn’t rape the people who make the music.

                                  Mad_Cyril that would be ideal, i’m just not sure anyone has the motivation to create it.

                                    zackster Mauro Picotto’s UK chart climbing hit “All Night”? I

                                    I did a quick search on youtube to see what you were on about - how were you even aware to begin with that such a monstrosity existed?!

                                    Oh Mauro, how the mighty have fallen!!