Hi guys, after a couple of months of getting everything together, I will shortly be getting back into mobile disco's after a bit of a break.

At the moment, not all of my music is on my laptop so I have created a database of all my tunes, which is now up to approximately 7500 tracks. I know quality is more important than quality, but I think I have got almost everything covered. I know some of you have a lot more music, but is 7500 a reasonable sized collection these days?

However, the one area where I might be a little weak is "new" tunes, specifically anything in the last 5 years. I have bought all of the Now albums (from about 30 to the current issue, 74), but that is about it for the recent stuff.

I know there are usually gaps in the Now collection, and was wondering if anyone could advise any specific recent albums (either by artist, or various) that would include some of the more requested recent tunes. I dont want to spend hundreds of pounds on CD's that will never be requested, so any advice would be very much appreciated.

Best regards,

Mark

its a bit tricky in that the problem with the now cd's is that by the time they come out half the tracks are yesterdays tunes. My assistant andy subsribes to cd pool and that costs him £250 per year (radio and hits)and like you say most of the tunes are forgotten about or never requested.

after that itunes etc (thats what i do) for the up to date stuff which in itself has an issue as they dont have a re-sale value when you pack up.

no definate win win situation im afraid

It depends on the type of parties you'll be playing.
I get the ProDisc each month - but thats ~£15, and not too many big songs.
So ... either download singles @ ~£0.50ea or pay £15 for a selection of hits and misses from ProDisc/CD Pool.

Personally - I do a bit of both. Downloads for "minor" tracks, CD albums for long term artists.
Now CD's to fill any gaps (or more likely, duplicate most of what you got a few months previous )

I enjoy having a fairly large CD collection, but are also worried about spending £££ on downloads that are not transferable should I need to sell up!! (not that that's planned!)

Jason

I think the question beig asked is since NOW 74 which came out in late November 2009, what tracks which have been released over the lat 3 months are essential must have general function tunes?

Thanks guys,

Yes NorfolkDJ, that is really what I was meaning but my question probably wasnt very clear.

When I said "new" tunes, I didnt actually mean new releases - just anything over the last couple of years that are not covered by the Now albums.

I used to subscribe to DJpool and Mastermix for recent remixes etc, but cancelled my subscriptions a long time ago as many of the songs were never requested, or popular when I played them.

Any recommendations of recent compilation CD's to buy much appreciated!

Cheers, Mark.

One thing to do is have a look throught the playlist section to do a comparison with whats being played and what you have. Slow job but it may help

to be honest i rarely get asked for anything thats 2/3 years old. Its either very modern or older. if i do its almost guaranteed to be on the recent now cds.

Some compilation suggestions
Brit awards
Just Great Songs
101 indie classics
ministry of sound Annual
Floorfillers
Clubland
RnB essential or something simular
100 garage classics
nme festival

without doing a direct a-b comparison on collections its hard to say whats missing. I have about 12500 tracks (not inc my personal cd collection - nobody want to listen to that!) and rarely get asked for any mainstream tracks that i dont have - i have nearly every now cd from 30 upwards.

The majority of the above i have picked up from tesco for £3-£10

Regards
Dave

I really really understand and empathise with you.

what i do is use my musical judgement , i listen to Galaxy FM and go on there web site and look for future releases and listen to them.

I listen to radio two and find what there record of the week is .

I still listen to radio ones chart show every week just as i did as a kid.

I look at the karaoke releases because they have filtered through the charts and thought which ones will be popular for people to sing so i use there track listing as another guide.

I keep the music channels on TV and listen to them i tend to have a feeling on what tracks will get people dancing and which ones i think will be requested i also get to hear what tracks are just rubbish. so if someone does request a rubbish track i know where it will fit better in my set.
I have seen and heard some digital DJ's who have just massive illegal collections get a request and play a song they had never heard that is inappropriate because they can download so much they never listened to there own collection!

I listen to music awards and see what the public are voting for or the industry are promoting

You will tend but not always get requests from what has been in the charts the last three months ..so if you look up the last three months you should have all the number ones in that period at a minimum (excluding the charity songs)

i would also include
jls - One shot
Rihannas - rude boy
Iyaz replay
Young forever -Mr Hudson
lady gaga anything in the last three months she released
Black eyed peas anything they released in the last three months
Alexandria Burke - broken heals
Robbie Williams releases

any major artists album for example Michael buble

having all the right tracks is an expensive option but that is the difference from people who play at DJing and those who take music choice and selection seriously.
i am guessing you and the rest of the members here put in serious time investing in music and filtering what we think will work . For general functions it is a lot easier than specific vibe or genre venues or chart music residencies.

remember unless you have done a consultation previously with everyone attending or are working solely on a fixed play list there will always be a time when you have not got such and such a track.. it happens don't feel bad about it.

Hi Dave,

Many thanks - that is exactly the sory of thing I was after ;o)

Hi Rob,

Thanks for that - to be honest I do spend a lot of time considering my music collection, possibly too much, but I always dread the thought of not having a large number of requests on the night.

I agree that a lot of this can be avoided by liasing with the customer before the event - which I will definately be doing. To be honest, I would much rather fuctions where a broad range of music is requried, rather than a specific genre. If I was booked for an R&B night or Hip Hopr night or similar, I would decline it as I simply do not know enought about those genres at the moment.

I have studied the playlists, essential dance songs, and DJ intelligence and it looks like I have 90-95% of the most requests songs, so hopefully this will be adequate to start with. The playlists are an excellent resource, so many thanks to everyone who contributed them.

Im speaking with a pub with a large function room next week about some regular work there (covering mainly weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries etc), so hopefully all the planning (and spending) wil start paying off soon :o)

Thanks again, Mark.