I get it, buying music can get expensive but only joker DJs illegally download their music and risk playing sub-quality tracks in their sets. A proper DJ will always buy their tracks, both to ensure bitrate quality but also to support the industry.
Enter the best DJ record pools 2020…
DJ record pools are the best way to gain access to huge music libraries at a fraction of the cost of buying the tracks individually. They also expose you to tracks you may not have otherwise have come across. Making them an essential part of any professional DJ’s toolkit.
Curated and featuring exclusive re-edits and DJ cuts, they often offer up versions of tracks you’ll be unable to get anywhere else.
What Is a DJ Record Pool?
Contents
A DJ record pool it’s essentially a vast fast library of promotional music that DJs can use for everything from club gigs to radio shows. Instead of buying tracks individually, you pay a monthly (or yearly) subscription that allows you to download and use the tracks.
While designed for club DJs, they are also perfect for those who have regular gigs in bars or pubs. These types of gigs can last several hours so it helps to have a huge library (for 22 tips for DJing a bar check out this article).
DJ record pools are not for general public use so many will require you agree to a disclaimer (stating you’re a DJ) while others actually require you to apply.
Related: Are DJ record pools legal? Some are, some aren’t...
So let’s dive into the list of the best DJ record pools 2020 and discover where to get the latest and greatest cuts.
Where Do DJs Find Their Music?
Digital DJ Pool
Digital DJ Pool provides a huge library of music covering over 40 different genres. Updated daily, they offer a variety of versions for each song. Depending on availability these include clean, dirty, instrumentals and acapellas.
One of the most reasonably priced DJ record pools on the list, they currently offer a five-day trial for just $1 and even afterward is a very affordable $20 a month. There are no download limits for your subscription, which again makes the price all the more reasonable. Overall it is a very worthwhile investment for any serious DJ.
Tracks are generally offered at the DJ quality of 320kbps or higher (i.e full resolution WAVs). Although when not available they will sometimes offer 192kbos, so if you’re a quality purist then be sure to check the bitrate before you download.
Detailed Tagging
Every file from Digital DJ Pool comes tagged with the title, artist as well as the key, BPM. There will often be preset cue points as well, a nice touch not found on all record pools. Another rare feature is their daily charts, these help you find new music quickly, that you may not have discovered otherwise.
Digital DJ Pool also comes with an app that is ideal for finding and previewing tracks when on the move. This is a huge time-saver given that when back at your computer, you can log in and download all the tracks you have favorited.
If You Make Tracks Yourself
If you are a producer, then Digital DJ Pool allows you to upload your tracks and remixes for exposure to their network. Which reportedly includes over 15,000 clubs and 2,000 radio stations. Once your music is in their network you are provided with data to not only see who is downloading your music but where they are playing it.
This makes it a great avenue for artists, labels and PR companies to get tracks out there. Especially given that they offer a free trial for label and artist accounts.
Aiming to Disrupt
Aiming to be a slayer of some of the longer established DJ record pools, Digital DJ Pool offers a great user experience including 24/7 support as well as being able to communicate directly with all the other DJs in their network.
All of the above together makes Digital DJ Pool really worthwhile and one of the best value pools on the list. The only thing that Digital DJ Pool that they don’t offer is video downloads. Although this is really only going to affect VDJs rather than standard club DJs.
Crate Connect
Crate Connect is another wide-ranging DJ record call featuring over 30 different genres. Unlike some other record pools, they do not remove tracks after a certain amount of time. Meaning their library covers the last 30 years. This alone would earn it’s place on any best DJ records pools list.
Feature Packed
Crate Connect is packed with features including being able to preview the entire song (some pools offer limited previews) or searching on identifiers like BPM, key or year. Like other DJ record pools, they also offer their own selection of exclusive remixes as well as custom DJ intros. All songs have their id3 tags coded to contain both BPM and the track’s key.
Although they do not have a mobile app they have worked around this by having a very mobile-friendly website. This allows you to preview tracks and then when you select download it will send you an email with a link so you are able to easily get that track onto your computer.
While the DJ pool does focus on dance and club music, Crate Connect does also feature Top 40 music as well as samples and DJ tools.
Servicing a large range of big-name record labels you’re guaranteed to find surefire hits in there. Alongside exclusive remixes, they offer also offer extended DJ mix intros. These are 8 to 16 bar intros that make tracks easier to fit into your mix.
Regular & Fast Uploads
Music is added every single day during the week and if a track is big enough, it will be rushed release over the weekend as well. All tracks are offered at a minimum of 320 KPS while they also have a section for full resolution, lossless WAVs where available.
Very user-friendly, the site makes it really easy to build playlists in a tidy intuitive manner. You can also quickly scan through the waveform of tracks so you can make an informed decision before downloading
Although Crate Connect doesn’t offer a free trial of any kind, their pricing makes it cheap enough to try without breaking the bank.
Starting from only $22 per month (which you can cancel anytime), if you go for the six-month option at $99 you’ll end up paying only $16.50 per month. Which is an absolute bargain for the quantity and range of music that is on offer.
Overall Crate Connect, with its great pricing and easy to use interface, is a no-brainer when it comes to your record pool arsenal.
Related: How to make money DJing? The EPIC guide of 17 different ways
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Where Do DJs Find New Music?
DMS (Direct Music Service) – Possibly The Best of the Best DJ Record Pools
DMS is one of the longest-serving promotional record pools, having been in the game since 1999. They have made themselves successful by offering a vast music library covering all sorts of genres as well as offering video downloads (served by giving you a complimentary pro account to SmashVidz).
Updated every weekday, DMS offers downloads mostly at 320kbps although some are at 256.
Already packed full of exclusive DJ edits such as redrums, short edits and hype edits, DMS also lets you request any edits you can’t find. Virtually making them a custom production house for you.
Finding Tracks on the Move
DMS also has an app that lets you listen and find music on the move. This has a really nice feature in that the app syncs directly with your Dropbox account. Meaning when you select a track, if you’ve left your computer on at home, then that track will be there waiting for you when you get back.
It is details like this that make DMS a very slick record pool.
Subscriptions vary and it is definitely not one of the cheapest with their plans starting from $30 a month with a 40 download limit, ranging up to $65 per month for unlimited downloads.
While there was no free trial even if you were to take out a one-month $30 subscription as a tester you’ll still get your money’s worth as it works out far cheaper than buying 40 tracks individually.
That said, having one of the largest libraries of any of the best DJ record pools, plus featuring professional edits that you simply will not find anywhere else, does justify the cost of DMS. For regularly gigging DJs, in particular, it is worth its weight in gold.
Related: How to make a DJ mix? 20 points to help you smash it
Doing the Damage
Doing the Damage is one of the more specialized DJ pools on this list, given that they focus primarily on House music. Although they do have a range of other music, including EDM as well.
Although this means their range is smaller, there is still a focus on quality with all tracks being a minimum of 320kps and including tag data like the track’s key.
Although there was no fixed schedule for music to be added to the record pool you can expect upwards of 50 new tracks added every week. Keen to push the message that they value quality over quantity Doing the Damage comes with assurances that all tracks have been road tested to ensure the best dancefloor reactions.
A Different Edge
Being UK based means they also have a slightly different angle to the curation of their tracks, which can give you an edge over your fellow DJs.
Still fairly new to the industry, Doing the Damage came about in its current form in 2017. The website does lack some of the more advanced features of other record pools, however, the owners are actively developing the system to make it more feature-rich.
They are also open and responsive to feedback and suggestions which is a nice touch and makes the community feel really involved.
Access is by application or referral only but, once in, the reasonable price of $13 per month makes Doing the Damage worth it that for anyone who specializes in House sets.
Related: Where to get acapellas for your DJ sets (great sites to fill up your library)
Late Night Record Pool
Late Night Record Pool is another large database hosting tracks from a whole range of respectable labels. Curated by actively gigging DJs, the system is well developed and should fit seamlessly with how you organize music on your laptop.
Covering a whole range of genres Late Night Record Pool also has a healthy classics and throwback archive to truly ensure your music library is truly complete.
Track Ratings
Most tracks are available in clean, dirty and exclusive edits and members asked to rate a song before downloading. This gives you a good idea of the overall sentiment of a track and helps speed up the process of finding new music. Of course, it’s best not to live and die by these ratings, given that music is always subjective, so you might find some killers that other people have passed by.
Definitely not one of the cheapest options their monthly plan starts from $47 per month going down to $33 dollars if you take out their yearly plan. This higher rate is reflected in the quality both of the music on offer and the system as a whole, which allows you to filter and search tracks based on the specific features you are looking for.
With no download limit and all tracks at a minimum of 320kps (usually full-res WAV files), you will definitely be able to get value for money.
Related: Is it ok to DJ using mp3s downloaded from YouTube?
And, if you’re not able to find something specific that you’re looking for, you can submit your own track requests. Which they will fulfill if possible.
To cater to mainstream tastes as well as the more obscure, Late Night Record Pool also does well at collecting and serving up independent artists and record labels. So, in this manner, they are helping to support the wider industry as a whole. Which further backs up the monthly rate.
Fast Distribution
In an effort to get the music to you quicker Late Night Record Pool will make songs available at bitrates upwards of 192 kbps. However, these will then be replaced with high-quality versions as soon as they have it available.
Another thing that makes Late Night easy to use is the ability to download tracks individually or all available versions of that track .ie. clean/dirty/edits/instrumentals/acapellas (subject to availability of course).
With such a huge library and no download limits, Late Night is one of the powerhouses of the industry. Which is why it fits easily on the list of best DJ record pools and is a strong contender for any serious, regularly gigging DJs.
You will need to apply and be verified in order to access Late Night but this can often be done in a couple of hours during the week and, at most, your account will be live within 48 hours.
Best Record Pools 2020 Conclusion
As you can see from this list there are a fair few options. Both in terms of types of tracks on offer and price range. This should mean you should be able to find one that suits your exact style and budget.
I really hope this list of best DJ record pools 2020 has helped you and if you have comments or want to recommend a different pool then just drop them below.
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