The Digital DJ Tips Podcast

In this edition of our Inside Track podcast, we tackled the big question: is there finally one true DJ library coming that works across all DJ software and hardware? With AlphaTheta's recent OneLibrary launch, we're getting closer, but there's still some way to go before the dream becomes reality.

Next, we explored whether headphones and speakers are no longer enough on their own. With new digital correction devices, plugins, and circuitry emerging everywhere, simply plugging your gear straight in is starting to look a bit old-fashioned. But as a DJ or producer, do you really need all...

From Spotify music streaming alternatives for DJs to livestreaming from your hospital bed...we've got answers to all types of questions to help you become a better DJ or DJ/producer in this edition of our Your Questions podcast. 

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of student feedback. If you enjoy it and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It really does make a difference.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:15 Episode o...

We've heard them all, and in this special "excuses" edition of our Inside Track podcast, we show you why the things you're telling yourself about what's holding you back in your DJing are nothing more than you getting in your own way.

From equipment to social media to nerves and performing, this is a thorough debunk of all the whoppers DJs tell themselves (and yes, that includes you...) and what to tell yourself instead. 

As ever, this was a really fun discussion, made more so by our wonderful live student audience here at Digital DJ T...

Why is DJing all about TikTok, 5-second transitions, and kids dancing on vertical video nowadays? We tackle this conception head-on in the first of a new series on the podcast. We also cover a whole host of other questions from our students about all things DJing - from music to mixing, performing to just-released DJ gear, and more. 

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of student feedback. If you enjoy it and you can, please do give us a five-star r...

For this episode, we asked show favourite Mojaxx⁩ to return and to talk about a subject that might surprise some listeners: DJing with 45s. It's something that a surprising number of DJs still like to do, especially those who remember the 7" single the first time around.

It's a subculture within a subculture that might be a bit geeky, but it's undeniably cool. As DJing on 7" vinyl is something we both enjoy, we thought this topic would make a good twist on the "then and now" angle that these 15th birthday podcasts have followed.

If you en...

Ahead of his course on how to DJ trance with Digital DJ Tips, Dutch superstar DJ/producer Ferry Corsten shares his secrets for having a long, fruitful career in the music industry and looks back on what's changed over the decades that he's been right at the top of his game. We talked music, tech, culture, and life philosophy in a wide-ranging and fun chat.

If you enjoy this podcast and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It really does make a difference.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:15...

In this episode, Laidback Luke joins us to talk about his 30-year career and how he's stayed at the forefront of DJ technology throughout this time, championing new features and systems when no-one else believed in them and always looking for ways to push the culture forward. He talks about more than gear, though, covering music, mental health, how the scene has changed, and what the future holds. 

If you enjoy this podcast and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It really does make a difference.

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00:00 I...

In this episode, DJ reviewer extraordinaire Mojaxx (whose gear reviews have informed generations of DJs) joins us to chat about all the changes in DJ gear since vinyl was replaced by CDs, and to reminisce about long-forgotten kit that still has a place in our hearts, while also looking to the future.

If you enjoy this podcast and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It really does make a difference.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:14 Episode overview

02:05 - Meet Mojaxx: From Hi-Fi systems to DJ gear...

If you've been wondering whether you're too old to start DJing, DJ Jazzy Jeff has news for you: mature music lovers are driving the biggest DJ renaissance in decades, and it's the young crowd that's missing out.

Fresh from a European tour that saw him playing everything from Wembley Stadium to intimate beach parties in Portugal, Jeff observed something remarkable happening in dance music...and we chat all about it with him on today's special podcast episode. Enjoy! 

If you enjoy this podcast and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple P...

In this edition of our Inside Track podcast, we help you fix your messed-up music libraries, explain why yes, it is still important to use headphones as a DJ despite what some "young cats" might tell you, and help a new DJ who is feeling completely overwhelmed by all the possibilities that modern DJing presents. 

As ever, this was a really fun discussion, made more so by our wonderful live student audience here at Digital DJ Tips, who joined us for the recording. Thank you to them, thank you for listening, and we hope you enjoy the s...

In this edition of our Your Questions podcast, we have a mobile DJ asking if it's even possible to play like James Hype for 5-6 hours...and whether he should...

We then tackle the classic gain staging issue of not going "into the red" before discussing harmonic mixing and whether DJ gear should always be horizontal! (Yep, you heard me right.) It’s the usual mixed bag of absorbing questions from our wonderful community. I hope you enjoy what we’ve got for you this month!

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of D...

In this edition of our Inside Track podcast, we explored whether Calvin Harris ripped off Chicane for his latest single, diving into the ongoing debate around the derivative nature of pop music sampling versus simply copying the feel or essence of a track. 

Next, we discussed the importance of DJs learning to use all different types of DJ gear. With so many formats and technologies out there, versatility remains a crucial skill for any serious DJ.

Finally, we wrapped up with a conversation about the three key things that need to happen for someone t...

From how to deal with inappropriate music requests to the biggest challenges facing DJs in 2025, we answered a whole range of student questions here at Digital DJ Tips this week. Enjoy!

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of real-time feedback. If you enjoy it and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It really does make a difference.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

00:14 Episode overview

01:16 How should DJs handle tricky...

In this edition of our Inside Track podcast, we kick things off with the question, "Why are DJs always expected to be doing something? Is looking busy really that important?" 

We also dive into why popular software platform VirtualDJ sometimes gets a bad rep among the wider DJing community. And finally, we look at the importance of recording DJ sets, alongside some of the challenges that come with it.

As always, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of valuable student f...

By combining the best of the old way of DJing with modern technology, Phil feels he has an opportunity to entertain and educate a new generation of DJs about some of the most important fundamentals - and as you'll hear, he's taking it to a massive stage this summer. All is revealed in this special episode...

Read the full article here: https://www.digitaldjtips.com/first-gig-on-vinyl-in-22-years/

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of student feedback. If you...

We get all philosophical right at the beginning this week, with a question about when (if ever) DJs should finally hang their headphones up. We also talk about music curation vs. creativity, what to do when the gear in venues is unreliable, and we try to answer the question, "Why does no one make separates in the DJ world anymore?"

These and other queries asked by our wonderful DJ community are all answered in this wide-ranging April edition of our Your Questions podcast. 

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ T...

The big news this week, of course, was the arrival of Apple Music as a streaming platform on all major DJ hardware and software. We then looked at the absolutely essential software that all DJs need before finishing up with a discussion on using laptop-free gear in 2025. 

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of valuable student feedback. We'd like to extend a special thank you to everyone who participated in this very busy show! 

If you enjoy the po...

In this show, recorded live to an audience of Digital DJ Tips students, we tackle some of the big questions our community has asked our tutors in the last few weeks.

We cover how to record great mixtapes effortlessly, what to do when you've established a mobile DJ business but want to grow further, how to set all the different volume controls on DJ gear (so that your mixes sound loud and clear), and more!

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live...

On the Digital DJ Tips DJ school Inside Track podcast this month, we're looking at three topics that the DJ community is talking about at the moment. This month we've got:

1. The real price of DJing - What does it really cost to take up DJing as a hobby? Not only getting the equipment but keeping up with subscriptions and so on. We do the numbers for you.

2. Lossy versus compressed music - What's the difference between a lossless and a lossy file, and an uncompressed and a compressed file, and do DJs need to...

An unusually busy podcast today with lots of questions so varied that I had to scattergun through them to a certain extent, but that made it more vibrant, and there was an awful lot of feedback from the community as well.

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of student feedback. If you enjoy it and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It really does make a difference.

TIMESTAMPS

00:00 Intro

Should DJs scratch? - Some love it, some hate it, some can do it, some think they'll never be able to - but at the end of the day, how important is scratching for DJs?

Have you got G.A.S.? - Gear Acquisition Syndrome is a trait that for some reason particularly affects hobby DJs. What is it? Is it a problem? And if so, how should you deal with it?

The 3 ways to market yourself as a DJ - None of these promo strategies are wrong, but knowing what you are (and aren't...

In this first edition of our Your Questions podcast for 2025, Digital DJ Tips students ask questions ranging from how to play charity events, to what laptop is right for DJing, to whether record pools are a good way of building a music collection, and many more. 

If you would like your question to be featured in one of these shows, become a Digital DJ Tips student - just head to the website and pick the course for you.

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded i...

In this final Inside Track podcast of 2024, we're looking back at the year. All the big stories, the culture changes, the software, the hardware, shifts in how DJing is done, AI of course, and some trends that we think will carry forward into 2025. It's all covered in this final end-of-year wrap. 

Let us just take this opportunity to thank everyone for being part of this podcast, whether you're a subscriber or a student, and I look forward to seeing you as we continue in the new year.

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the s...

In the final Your Questions podcast of 2024 from the Digital DJ Tips DJ school, our students asked a whole range of questions, making it - as ever - a great listen for those learning to DJ.

Tune in to find out why learning to DJ sometimes feels so difficult when modern gear is designed to make it feel so easy. We also cover how to improve the sound quality of DJ gear when DJing in clubs, and whether producers should mix in mono or stereo.

Plus, one of the school's students convinces host Phil to...

We kick off this episode discussing the three main types of DJ, because when you boil it down, DJs usually fall into these categories - and one of these types often makes a big mistake. We reveal what that mistake is (and why it happens) here.

Next we cover the five big things I learned working with DJ Jazzy Jeff for a week. Jeff is one of the world's most respected DJs, and I got to work and stay with him recently to film a new course. Here we discuss some invaluable lessons he taught me.

We start our podcast this time around with a question from a student who's bought an awful lot of gear but is stuck knowing what to do next! 

We move on to talk about licences, insurance, dealing with requests, four channels versus two channels, whether it's wise to play five times a week, and many other topics all chosen by our fantastic students. 

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of student feedback. If you enjoy it and you ca...

Mobile DJing has changed in recent years, and so there are simple things any DJ can do to keep up with the times and do a great job. We kick off this episode with the five most popular tips as voted for by our students.

Our second topic tackles whether we've reached "peak features" on DJ gear or not. With nearly every new DJ gear release, there seems to be some gimmicky new feature or other. But how important are these really? Or instead, how much should our DJ gear simply do a job and stay out...

With AlphaTheta having just launched the XDJ-AZ, it's not surprising that we had questions about that in this week's show.

But we also had a wide range of questions from our students covering everything from how to transition with effects, to the height of DJ gear, to dealing with imposter syndrome.

As ever, this pod is supported 100% by the students of Digital DJ Tips, and it was recorded in a live webinar with lots of student feedback. If you enjoy it and you can, please do give us a five-star rating on Apple Podcasts. It...

As Pioneer DJ slowly fades from view and AlphaTheta takes over, we start this episode highlighting what we see as the five big issues the brand has to address to continue its success.

Most DJs opt for gear with four-channel mixing capability - but how important is this? We look at what those extra channels are for, and share the real numbers on how many DJs actually use them.

It really does make sense to dabble with livestreaming in this day and age, and it needn't be difficult or expensive, so we finish off the...

Welcome to our podcast answering another batch of questions asked by real students in our DJ school. This time around we started with a question about the best way to mix in just your headphones (out of the two most common methods), before moving on to talking about something that comes up again and again and doesn’t get any easier as our lives get busier – finding a way to fit DJing into your life!

With the cost and capabilities of modern DJ lighting both moving in the right direction nowadays, it’s no surprise many DJs are da...

So you want to be able to DJ like a pro, but it's hard to know where to start, it's hard to know what to practise, and it's hard to know if you're getting better.

This proven five-step formula, first popularised in our book Rock The Dancefloor! (which has now reached its second edition and is a global bestseller), is your answer.

Each of the five steps in this teaching method identifies an area to work on. When you work in all areas, it has a "multiplier effect". By approaching your DJing hobby this way...

So you want to be able to DJ like a pro, but it's hard to know where to start, it's hard to know what to practise, and it's hard to know if you're getting better.

This proven five-step formula, first popularised in our book Rock The Dancefloor! (which has now reached its second edition and is a global bestseller), is your answer.

Each of the five steps in this teaching method identifies an area to work on. When you work in all areas, it has a "multiplier effect". By approaching your DJing hobby this way...

So you want to be able to DJ like a pro, but it's hard to know where to start, it's hard to know what to practise, and it's hard to know if you're getting better.

This proven five-step formula, first popularised in our book Rock The Dancefloor! (which has now reached its second edition and is a global bestseller), is your answer.

Each of the five steps in this teaching method identifies an area to work on. When you work in all areas, it has a "multiplier effect". By approaching your DJing hobby this way...

So you want to be able to DJ like a pro, but it's hard to know where to start, it's hard to know what to practise, and it's hard to know if you're getting better.

This proven five-step formula, first popularised in our book Rock The Dancefloor! (which has now reached its second edition and is a global bestseller), is your answer.

Each of the five steps in this teaching method identifies an area to work on. When you work in all areas, it has a "multiplier effect". By approaching your DJing hobby this way...

So you want to be able to DJ like a pro, but it's hard to know where to start, it's hard to know what to practise, and it's hard to know if you're getting better.

This proven five-step formula, first popularised in our book Rock The Dancefloor! (which has now reached its second edition and is a global bestseller), is your answer.

Each of the five steps in this teaching method identifies an area to work on. When you work in all areas, it has a "multiplier effect". By approaching your DJing hobby this way...

This one was recorded on 4 July, but despite the date, we still had a busy show answering questions from students about a wide range of topics.

We covered the fallout from Pioneer DJ deciding not to support older controllers in the latest version of Rekordbox.

We talked about the right way to promote events and why, despite loads of advertising and hard work, most of the people at one student's event were just people they already knew.

We talked about whether it's ever okay to play parties with DJ monitor speakers, or...

Is it time to redefine DJ success? Drugs, groupies, private jets, insomnia, amnesia, hearing loss, mental breakdown: Say you're a DJ without saying you're a DJ, right? Well, we say no! It's time for a grown-up definition of DJing success - and I had one to propose to start the three topics we covered in this month's Inside Track.

We moved on to "The strange world of DJ software". "Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold" said poet WB Yeats (over a far more important subject), but that's how it feels with DJ software nowadays, as the...

We started with a question that a lot of people resonated with, which is the lack of exciting new DJ gear recently, and we looked into some of the reasons why new equipment might have slowed down. Also this week, we had lots of DJs working on their first gigs, but one in particular who's returning to DJing after 40 years wanting to know what might have changed.

And we had a reticent British guy who felt that not only was he too humble to ask people to listen to his work, but also that as an artist...

Beatgridding your music has been a necessary evil for digital DJs who want to use features like sync, loop, beat-tied effects, accurate hotcues, and so on, for many years. However, while beatgridding 2.0 improved on beatgridding 1.0 by handling songs with slightly varying BPMs a little bit better, not much has changed over the years – until now, that is – because new software is now able to use AI to basically kill manual beatgridding entirely. People, beatgridding 3.0 is here – and we talked about it in this pod, and what it might mean for DJs.

We moved on to talk about audio...

A really busy Your Questions show this month with hundreds of questions from our students, the best of which feature here.

We talk in some depth about quick mixing, what it is, when to do it, and - more importantly - how to do it. We talk to a head teacher who's started to get the DJ bug and land himself some gigs, but now wants to know how to get more and more. And a student wants to know why older songs sound so bad when played directly against modern music, and what can be done...