Am new to this sorta ..

Pretty much any decent laptop will run DJ software fine. If you are doing basic stuff a I5 8GB Ram & 256GB SSD would work. I use virtual DJ for everything, karaoke, DJing, VJing & production stuff. But since you don’t have a karaoke library I would continue with Karafun for now but think about upgrading to the Pro plan and be legal. I have not used Karafun as I have my own library, its look to have everything. I Believe you do need an Internet connection but I think it might also work off line if you download the songs.

With karaoke I’d say the big cost would be buying your own karaoke library or continue to just rent until you see how far you want to go with it, can you make any money with it.

I started as a DJ and got asked to do karaoke because I had laserdisc players and large video screens. Over the course of 25+ years are turned into a big part of what my company does, ironically I can’t sing, never really sung unless I’m in the car/van trying to stay awake. My kids described it as a dying cat or worst.

I could not imagine DJ'ing with a 100% dependency on streaming. IMHO, you need some kind of a basic library of mp3's. I'd take that first $50 and hit up some Thrift stores and garage sales looking for CD's like "The Best Of", etc.. People are literally throwing them away - in a large quantity purchase you might be able to get CD's as low as .25 cents each, I know I have. Then you RIP them to mp3's. It's work, but you can create a LEGAL library on the cheap like this.

If you have a Pentium It’s time for a new laptop, asap. I was just updating ipos s/w in Staples and the Laptop with a Pentium gold was so so slow I thought the laptop wasn’t working. Thats compared and the I5 & I3s laptops. Laptops are cheap now and you’ll need one that for both business & pleasure.

I see now you don’t have a karaoke or music library. There are ways to Accumulate a library but I would concentrate on getting the music you really need first & expand on that. I’ve been replacing many of my musicvideos with higher Quality versions and adding upgrade versions to many audio only files. But I’m mainly all video. it can be done but it does cost, so do it only if you really want to be a DJ.

Let's get real.

Your DJ gig is how long - 4 hours, perhaps? That's 80 songs. Build a 100 song playlist on Spotify of the current Pop Hits along with Top 10 hits from the past decade, or any classics you know you've heard in that venue previously. Let it run and if anyone asks: "You don't take requests." This is how a responsible and self-respecting person deals with a $50 gig being "thrown at them."

Honestly, this wasn't "thrown at you" - you volunteered. You're being used and at this point you're more of a charity than a DJ. At $50 you're already below minimum wage so, don't go spending your own money on music, software, or computers to please people who won't reimburse you for the effort.

First welcome to this forum. Let me suggest you Karafun for now. They have a ton of songs on there you can use. Just need internet connection. My friend has it and the service is $20 a month he said. I suggest you get 3 books or at least 2 books with a list of Karaoke songs you have to use for the singers. That way they get an idea of the songs you definitely have for Karaoke. You want more than one book so people don't have to wait to see a list of what you have.

I suggest you setup genres of music for different categories and have each artist listed in alphabetical order.

Then look for another device you can use to get songs off line that you don't have so that you can play a song that someone making a request can sing. Look for the Karaoke version of the song.

Also look for songs to play when nobody is coming up to sing so that there's not dead silence. Make sure you make it fun for the people there. Let them know this is for fun and not amateur night at the Apollo. Have fun on the mic with them at times while the crowd is there. Have papers and pencils for people to write down their name and the songs they are going to sing.

You said you don't have a lot of room to store music. I suggest you get 2 portable HD'S. One for backup and store your music there. I 2 2 TB HD'S that I bought from Micro Center for less than $100 each. That's also in case you decide to be more than just a Karaoke DJ.

You say the place is in a small town. Look at working on getting as many people as you can to come to the place when you are there. Use social media to advertise the place you're playing at, what you're doing there and the days and times you are there. Try to get the place packed with people spending money when you're there. When you build it up enough to where the place is making plenty of money then before, then you ask for a raise. One of the best places to advertise is Facebook and there are other places as well. Just make sure those places are free for you to advertise on.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

First welcome to this forum. Let me suggest you Karafun for now. They have a ton of songs on there you can use. Just need internet connection. My friend has it and the service is $20 a month he said. I suggest you get 3 books or at least 2 books with a list of Karaoke songs you have to use for the singers. That way they get an idea of the songs you definitely have for Karaoke. You want more than one book so people don't have to wait to see a list of what you have.

I suggest you setup genres of music for different categories and have each artist listed in alphabetical order.

Then look for another device you can use to get songs off line that you don't have so that you can play a song that someone making a request can sing. Look for the Karaoke version of the song.

Also look for songs to play when nobody is coming up to sing so that there's not dead silence. Make sure you make it fun for the people there. Let them know this is for fun and not amateur night at the Apollo. Have fun on the mic with them at times while the crowd is there. Have papers and pencils for people to write down their name and the songs they are going to sing.

You said you don't have a lot of room to store music. I suggest you get 2 portable HD'S. One for backup and store your music there. I 2 2 TB HD'S that I bought from Micro Center for less than $100 each. That's also in case you decide to be more than just a Karaoke DJ.

You say the place is in a small town. Look at working on getting as many people as you can to come to the place when you are there. Use social media to advertise the place you're playing at, what you're doing there and the days and times you are there. Try to get the place packed with people spending money when you're there. When you build it up enough to where the place is making plenty of money then before, then you ask for a raise. One of the best places to advertise is Facebook and there are other places as well. Just make sure those places are free for you to advertise on.

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Is this Macho, or has his account been hacked?

PhaseIIPro said:

Is this Macho, or has his account been hacked?

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No its me. Surprised you ha? Is 20 people the most that can fit in this place or is it because of the current situation we're in with bars? Just make the best of the situation for now and either the bar will see you're worth getting paid more or someone else will notice you and tell you about somewhere else you can work making more money in a bigger place.

PhaseIIPro said:

Is this Macho, or has his account been hacked?

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Real Macho or FAKE Macho, he apparently did not read the original post. The OP said; “I have been running a Karaoke show (using Karafun)”. He had been asked to fill in for the DJ, so he was looking for advice for DJing, NOT karaoke.

Mseals said:

Ok stupid questions of the year LOL ... I have been running a Karaoke show (using Karafun) and got thrown into the dj deal because their normal DJ decided to quit last minute (small town one night one bar not much $$ for it) .. What Software does most people use for online music dj-ing. I have been using a cheap windows laptop because kara basically is like a cheap game as far as resources so I will probably be looking into a decent laptop as well. Any Ideas for this extreme NOOB would be helpful.

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I think the best advice came from @Proformance on this issue. You’re not getting paid enough from this gig to warrant any sizable investment. Even if you bought 100 tracks at $.99 each, you’re in the hole by more than the amount you’re making.

As for streaming... there are only a couple of options that I’m aware of...
Virtual DJ and djay Pro. Both support Tidal, Soundcloud Go+, Beatport Link and Beatsource Link.

There are other options, but they require specific hardware;
Rekordbox (select Pioneer hardware), and Engine OS (select Denon hardware).

If you really want to go with a library of your own for this gig, I’d get a list of favorite songs and suggestions from your client, then fill in with some of your own

I’m playing with Mixxx (DJ software), which is completely free to download and use. It’s actually got EVERYTHING you need to DJ with, but takes a LOT of practice to get proficient at it. I’d take Proformance’s advice and just run a Sotify or Apple Music playlist... $10 per month subscription.

Sorry for my earlier post. I didn't understand. Now I understand. Please do yourself a favor, don't just setup a play list and use auto play. Be a real DJ playing music and learn how to mix the music. Do things that the people working and coming there have not seen before. Give them something different from what others have done in the past. That may get them to increase the amount of money you get paid because they see you're worth more.

Also look at it this way. Look at it as an investment in getting better over time. You might find yourself getting an opportunity to go work in another place paying more if someone comes there and like what you're doing.

I know $50 is not a lot of money for now. Please don't just think of it as it's only $50. You're just starting out. Use this place as a stepping stone to get to where you want to go. You don't know, you could get people wanting you to do private events for them if you show that you're good enough to do their private event.

Build up you a library of music over time to use and just keep building as you can afford to do so. What I'm suggesting is to invest in your future as a DJ.

Honestly if I saw all you did was setup a play list and use auto play, it would be tough for me to justify me paying you $50. I like to call myself a master mixologist. I just don't play music. In a lot of situations I mix music and do it very well. That's what people have known to expect from me and that's why I got a lot of compliments.

When I played in The Private Place Lounge I had people who never saw me play at all come in there. They would come in and give me that look, what are you doing here. At the end of the night after I finished playing some would say to me thank you for the job I did or simply say you're good. I would simply say thank you.

The group Heatwave had a song called Ain't No Half Stepping. So go in there and give it your all. Not a half azz job. That way they will want to keep you coming back and you may over time get them to increase your pay. Also remember you want to get customers to become regulars coming to the place spending money and not just hanging out listening to the music. You want regulars coming there 2 to 3 times a month become of the job you do. Owner seeing that with you there doing what you do increasing sales can say to the owner let's not let this DJ get away and agree to pay you more.