Am new to this sorta ..

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Mseals

DJ
Aug 11, 2020
18
16
56
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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Depends on what you mean by on-line music. There's a couple of DJ apps that will use streaming services like Spotify and Tidal (also Mixcloud, Soundcloud and a couple others). All DJ apps will play digital files (.mp3. .wav, and such), so most of us have subscriptions to a music pool to download digital files and augment that with ripped CDs.

If you're new to it, maybe start with Mixxx, which is pretty decent and free.

 
What I mean By online music is.... Ok Since I was doing a small show I used a program called youdj. It basically went through youtube. it worked well with the Karaoke thing because I only would use a few songs. Will keep that. BUT if I am going to do an actual DJ show for people I don't know playing songs I have no idea what they want. And because of the area the genre's will be through the roof. So even if I wanted to download the music and rip cd's etc I would have no idea what to get the crowd in this place changes from old country to new school rap within 2 songs with everything in between ... The reason I don't just use the youdj is because I won't know what youtube songs are good and what one has 20 minutes of intro (or where they talk in the middle) on the fly. Was thinking just running spotify (this is a bar in a small town not a club in New York) Just for the they want a song it will start playing those types behind it.
 
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What I mean By online music is.... Ok Since I was doing a small show I used a program called youdj. It basically went through youtube. it worked well with the Karaoke thing because I only would use a few songs. Will keep that. BUT if I am going to do an actual DJ show for people I don't know playing songs I have no idea what they want. And because of the area the genre's will be through the roof. So even if I wanted to download the music and rip cd's etc I would have no idea what to get the crowd in this place changes from old country to new school rap within 2 songs with everything in between ... The reason I don't just use the youdj is because I won't know what youtube songs are good and what one has 20 minutes of intro (or where they talk in the middle) on the fly. Was thinking just running spotify (this is a bar in a small town not a club in New York) Just for the they want a song it will start playing those types behind it.
That will be tough to get a recommendation then, as most here are working professionals and pay for libraries and such.

I'm not aware of any app that will play from YouTube .. those files are tough as they have random intros and outros .. especially if they're music videos .. I will only use YouTube as a last resort if I can't find it anywhere else.
 
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.
 
well Like I said this was just thrown in my lap and although I am not against obtaining libraries if I had the room it is going to take several times to even have a clue what I would need to obtain. That is why was hoping there was a streaming software somewhere that would help. Plus I really don't have the room to download a ton of stuff yet on the laptop. I mean I will have one job once a week that pays $50 .. I can buy a little at a time But can't get a huge library overnight ;)
 
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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.
what i am using right now is a dell pentium n3530 dual core 2.16g processor 4g ram with a 60g ssd drive I tried virtual dj but without any songs on the computer. ..
 
well Like I said this was just thrown in my lap and although I am not against obtaining libraries if I had the room it is going to take several times to even have a clue what I would need to obtain. That is why was hoping there was a streaming software somewhere that would help. Plus I really don't have the room to download a ton of stuff yet on the laptop. I mean I will have one job once a week that pays $50 .. I can buy a little at a time But can't get a huge library overnight ;)
To start, maybe get a Tidal subscription ($10/mo for Premium or $20 /mo for Pro .. Pro has the highest music quality) has a pretty broad set of music and has integrations directly with many DJ apps .. Serato, Algoriddm, VDJ ..
 
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.
 
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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.
 
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.
What happened was the guy who did it quit a few hours before he was supposed to be there, and since I already had the karaoke set up and the equipment there it was a " while your already coming we need you to do this as well" It is only a few hours true but If I fill the bar with people they would have 20 people in it. Granted I could have said no but When people help you out you usually do the same.
What I can get away with honestly they had one guy that set up Spotify and then went sat at the bar all night and let everyone enter what they wanted to listen too But I am thinking of IF I actually put a little time and effort into it then it could lead to larger and better paying things. Now when you live in a town with 5,000 people your larger and better things might not be a slow day for a normal person. But sometimes you have to deal with what you can.
 
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.


Is this Macho, or has his account been hacked?
 
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Is this Macho, or has his account been hacked?
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.
 
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.
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.
 
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The 20 people is just because of the size of the bar basically. I mean granted they could squeeze more in but small town with several bars .. and people don't really go there like they used to. Is also why one night you might start with 10 old rednecks wanting whatever and as the night progresses you will get the younger rap crowd. I went ahead and Invested in the dj pro and took the tidal Subscription. Used the lower version, Won't need high quality downloads for a mono system. And it was basically. I already had the equipment and was going to be there so why not earn a few extra bucks. Now I just have to figure these two things out (I know not your problem) But I appreciate the actual advice.
Basically Just using my existing equipment and downloading a program to do what the jukebox does is about all I need. So now I just will need to build a few Playlists and add some requests into them and figure out how to get it to auto play. easy Peasy ;)
 
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.
 
ok. Thank you for actual input. Now I need to clarify some things I guess that shouldn't matter, First I apologize I am not good with sentence structure or punctuation.
When i said I was a noob that is what i meant. I didn't say new ... Back in the early 90's I was a dj at a radio station here in this small town. Later in the 2000's I started working for a guy setting up sound systems for bands local and some well known. I also found a hack to put actual songs on websites and had one called msealsmusic. During that Time i also came up with a ground breaking idea that I am sure other people had thought of but it was unheard of. Instead of going to a show with hundreds of records cd's ect. I would rip all the cd's i could get my hands on and take a computer to the show with me. I used a program called musicmatch and ripped every cd I could find .. friends everything. I had over 80,000 songs on a 20gb HDD. I also used a program called sams (was a radio broadcasting program) and used it to do "gigs". we was making pretty decent money setting up for the amish children (small town indiana) But The friend that was helping me's sons kept showing up at the shows getting drunk and causing problems.
So I have done all that before. While setting up sound systems we used to set up for a guy that did raves ,. the dj's there is more what i think is called that now. Where I was an actual Disk jockey using records (they used vinyl at the raves also) But I did it for radio stations where you blended the music to keep dead air off not for a specific sound.
Secondly. I am in my 50's with nerve damage on SSI so where you guys say .. $50 is crap I look at it like $50 is $10 an hour to play requests. Any gig that pays decent My son does. (he uses Pandora on his phone) So if it actually paid a few hundred bucks he does them. BUT I don't want to use a straight software and music and auto mix. BUT I need to have that setup as well. I need to be able that if i get side tracked or have a bad night because the extremely strong pain meds I use have me wiped I can take the break and still run the show.
But yes I would Love to learn the mixing way The underground way as it used to be called. Just I have like 2 days and my karaoke shows start and i am doign this One day a week for 5 hours and that is it.
 
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