The Pros and Cons of DJ music Pools
If you are a DJ out there, it is quite obvious that your machine or external hard disk is full of music and music mixes. You are probably signed up to several producer emailing list so that you are always first in line to receive the latest music. Maybe you even have a WhatsApp group or facebook group of DJ’s that allows you to share music with each other.
For any DJ out there, your bread and butter is music. The more you have of it, the more valuable you are and the better your mixes. For a new and upcoming DJ, suddenly getting a collection of songs is not that easy. It is likely to take you a long time to gather your collection of music or even sign up for the best mailing lists to access the latest music.
Enter digital music pools. Some may call them DJ pools, digital DJ pools or even record pools. According to Wikipedia A music pool or DJ record pool is a regionalized and centralized method of music distribution that allows DJs to receive promotional music to play in nightclubs and other events such as weddings, festivals and on the radio.
In other words, it is a place where producers and artists upload music and allow Dj’s to access music from anywhere in the world. The producers and artists provide the music while the Dj’s help in bringing awareness of the music to the audience and also give feedback to artist/producers on the song.
While doing research for a recent article, it was evident that there very few dedicated record pools for Afrobeat music. The ones that are there are not comprehensive. Platforms such as afrobeat dj pool are trying to change this narrative. This is, however, a story for another day.
Today we explore the pros and cons of a record pool
The Good
Easy Access.
When you join a DJ pool like afrobeat dj pool, you get easy access to new songs just by being a member. Imagine all the songs you could think of all in one place. It saves you time as a DJ to look for music even if you are new. It does not matter whether you are in DJ school or even a DJ with 10 years experience, nothing beats the convenience that comes with a DJ pool.
Early Music Discovery.
Dj pools work directly with music labels and artists. This means that any release will be first seen in the DJ pool. You are able to discover new songs and artists before everybody else.
Exclusive Versions.
Apart from the clean and dirty versions available on platforms such as youtube, sound cloud iTunes, etc. you have access to DJ instrumentals and acapellas
Easy search
Imagine going through 10k songs just to find what you want. Dj pools have search functionality that helps you get songs pretty easily.
Saves on storage space
Think of a DJ pool as your unlimited storage space for songs. You can have access to close to a million songs at your disposal without having all the tracks that you don’t need on your computer. You get to download only the songs you need. When you delete your songs, you can always access them again through your DJ pool account.
Assured sound quality.
Most Dj pools eg afrobeat DJ pool strictly require that uploaded songs are at least 320 kbps
The bad
Limited or Genre-Specific Selections
It is rare that you will find a comprehensive record pool. Afrobeat dj pool, for example, concentrates on afrobeat only. Digital DJ pool, on the other hand, is more on hip hop, r&b, and EDMS. As a DJ you might find yourself having several subscriptions
Unknown Sourcing
One of the biggest challenges for a DJ pool is verifying the authenticity of the producers. Anybody can sign up and upload a song that is not theirs. However, a keen Dj pool will take time to verify the artists and producers to ensure they are the real owners of the music.
Final Word
As we can see, the pros outweigh the cons. The Dj pools are an alternative distribution means and offer a highly categorized set of music than any other music platforms. If there are pros and cons that we may have overlooked, please highlight them in the comment section.
