In today’s music-loving world, almost anyone can step behind the decks and start mixing, thanks to accessible DJ software and equipment. But what separates a good DJ from a great one? It’s all about the music selection. A well-organized music library lets you find the right track fast, keeps your energy flowing, and helps you stay in control of the vibe you’re setting. Trust us, having an organized collection is a game-changer, and we’re here to help you get there.

We’ll guide you through key steps, from downloading the best versions to tagging your files with the most useful metadata. If you’re starting out, this guide will save you tons of time later—no one wants to be stuck reorganizing thousands of tracks right before a gig!

Check out our previous blog for tips on discovering fresh music in your niche here.

1. Download the Right Track Versions

One of the first steps in organizing your collection is ensuring you have the best version of each track. Radio edits or shortened versions you find on Spotify might be great for casual listening, but they often miss the extended intros and outros DJs rely on for smooth transitions. For DJing, always aim to download the original or extended mix. This way, you’ll have the full-length track to work with and avoid any sudden volume dips or cuts that could throw off your mix.

The reason Spotify favours shorter edits? Streams only count after 30 seconds, so there’s a push to get listeners hooked quickly. But when you’re DJing, having a seven-minute track is often a better fit for live performance flow.

2. Ensure Consistent Audio Quality Across Tracks

If you’ve collected music from multiple sources, you might end up with tracks of varying audio quality. Playing a low-bitrate track on a high-quality sound system can make it sound muddy or distorted. We recommend using a bitrate analysis tool like Spek to check the true quality of your tracks. Even though a track might be labelled as 320 kbps, only tools like Spek can verify if that’s accurate.

How to Use Spek for Quality Control:

  1. Download and open Spek.
  2. Drag your track into Spek, and you’ll see a spectrogram that shows you the audio frequencies.
  3. If your track doesn’t hit the high frequencies typical of 320 kbps quality, it may be a lower-quality version disguised as high-quality.

This process can seem tedious, but your ears will thank you when every track in your set sounds crisp and clear. Learn more about Spek here. 

3. Balance Track Volume with MP3Gain

After ensuring quality, the next step is to make sure all your tracks have consistent volume levels. Nothing kills the energy on the dance floor faster than one track coming in way softer (or louder) than the last. Using MP3Gain, you can equalize the volume levels of your entire library in one go, so every transition is smooth and effortless.

A quick MP3Gain Tutorial:

  1. Download and open MP3Gain and add the tracks or folder you want to normalize. In your case, this could be your complete track library. 
  2. Choose your target volume in MP3Gain. While the software’s default recommendation is around 89 dB, most club tracks from platforms like Beatport or Bandcamp are closer to 94 dB, which makes them sound fuller in a club setting. We recommend setting a target volume near 94 dB to match that standard, but avoid going any higher—you’ll want to leave some headroom to prevent distortion and maintain clarity.
  3. Click “Track Gain” to equalize each track individually, or “Album Gain” if you want to balance them as a group. Note that this might take some time if you have a big track library already, so make sure your laptop is charged.

For a more elaborate instruction on the use of MP3Gain, check this link. 

4. Add and Organize Metadata

Alright, so now your tracks are DJ-ready, in high quality, and balanced in volume. Your crowd is primed, but what’s the next track? This is where effective organization really matters. You want your library set up so that, no matter the gig, crowd, or vibe, you can quickly find the perfect track to keep the energy going. This means having a super-clean library with accurate artist names, song titles, remixer info, and other key details. While most of this will be pre-filled when you download tracks, variations in artist spellings or genre tags may need tweaking to match your preferences.

Every DJ has their own approach to organizing (or “dis-organizing”) tracks, and it’s often a hot topic among peers. Nowadays, there are plenty of tools that help create smart playlists based on attributes like BPM, key, and energy level. Whatever method you choose, it’s best to store this data directly in the metadata of each track rather than relying on software like Apple Music or Rekordbox. Software preferences can change, or certain features might lose compatibility over time—meaning all your carefully organized info could be lost. To prevent this, we recommend using a tagging tool like Mp3tag to save all relevant data directly to your files, ensuring your organization remains intact no matter the platform.

4.1 Ensure Base Track Information is Accurate with Mp3tag

Start by adding or customizing essential information like the track title, artist name, and other key details. Mp3tag makes it easy to standardize this data across your library. The Tag Conversion feature in Mp3tag can even automate repetitive edits, saving you time with bulk changes.

How to Use Tag Conversion in Mp3tag:

  1. Download and Open Mp3tag
    Start by downloading and launching Mp3tag. Load your tracks into the program.
  2. Access the Conversion Menu
    Select the “Convert” option from the menu. This feature allows you to create custom tag rules, enabling you to automatically generate artist and track titles from file names.
  3. Use Filename-to-Tag Conversion
    For tracks that lack complete artist and title tags, the Filename-to-Tag conversion is especially useful. This tool extracts information from the filename to populate the tags. For example:
    • If a file is named Artist – Track Title, you can use the format string %artist% - %track%.
    • Mp3tag will then automatically fill in the artist and track title tags, saving you from manual input.
  4. Ensure Consistent Formatting
    Experiment with different conversion rules to maintain consistent formatting across all tags, such as artist names, track titles, and other metadata fields.
  5. Seek Assistance if Needed
    If you’re unsure about setting up a bulk conversion, you can:
    • Consult additional resources like this blog.
    • Ask ChatGPT for further guidance.

By ensuring accurate and consistent tags, you’ll save time when searching for tracks in live settings. This also helps you identify and clean up duplicate versions. Always keep the most DJ-friendly, highest-quality version of each track and remove any extras.

4.2 Clean Up Track Titles

After the basics are in place, go through and clean up your track titles. If you’ve followed the earlier step of downloading only DJ-friendly versions, you can remove redundant details from the title, like “original mix” or “extended mix.” This makes your library visually cleaner and much quicker to navigate.

Here’s a clear set of instructions for bulk removing redundant details from titles in Mp3tag:

How to Bulk Remove Redundant Details from Titles in Mp3tag

  1. Select the Tracks
    Highlight the files whose titles you want to clean up. You can use Ctrl+A to select all tracks or manually select specific ones.
  2. Open the Replace Action Menu
    • Go to the “Actions” menu and choose “Actions (Quick).”
    • In the dialog box, select Replace from the list of action types.
  3. Set Up Your Replace Rule
    • In the field selector, choose TITLE to apply the changes to the track title tags.
    • Enter the redundant detail you want to remove, such as Original Mix or Extended Mix.
    • Leave Replace With blank to remove the detail entirely.
  4. Apply the Changes
    • Click OK to confirm the replace rule.
    • Mp3tag will automatically remove the specified text from the titles of the selected tracks.
  5. Repeat for Other Redundant Details
    If needed, repeat the process for additional details you want to remove, like Remastered.

By following these steps, you can quickly clean up your track titles and achieve a more streamlined music library.

4.3 Add a Remixer Field

By default, metadata doesn’t include a “Remixer” field. However, you can easily add this field manually in Mp3tag, allowing you to distinguish between the main artist and the remixer. This way, when you’re playing on CDJs, you can quickly search for all tracks by a specific artist, including both their original productions and remixes of tracks by other artists.

How to Add and Clean the Remixer Field:

  1. Add a Custom Remixer Field
    • Right-click on the column headers in the file list (e.g., Artist, Title, etc.).
    • Select Customize Columns from the menu.
    • In the dialog box, click New to add a custom field.
    • Name the column Remixer and set its value to %remixer%.
    • Click OK to save the new column. The Remixer field will now appear in the file list.
  2. Bulk Fill the Remixer Field Using Tag Conversion
    • Select the tracks you want to edit.
    • Click Convert in the toolbar and choose Tag – Tag from the dropdown menu.
    • In the dialog box:
      • Field: Select or type REMIXER.
      • Format String: Use a format string that extracts the remixer’s name from the title. For example:
        • If your track title includes a remixer like Track Name (Remixer Remix), you can use:
          $regexp(%title%,'.*\((.+?) Remix\)','$1').
        • This formula extracts the remixer’s name and places it into the Remixer field.
  3. Review and Edit as Needed
    After applying the conversion, check the Remixer column to ensure the data was filled correctly. If necessary, make manual edits by double-clicking the field in the Remixer column.

4.4 Customize Metadata Based on Your Preferences

With the essentials done, you can now personalize your library with custom metadata fields that reflect your unique style. Here are a few ideas:

  • Genre Field: Instead of platform-assigned genres (which can often be inconsistent), create your own genre tags to suit your taste.
  • Star Ratings for Set Moments: Use the star rating to classify tracks by where they might fit into a set. For instance, 1-star tracks could be great openers, while 4-star tracks might be peak-time anthems, and 5-star tracks saved for winding down.
  • Organize by Themes or Elements: Draw inspiration from DJs like Sluwe Vos, who categorizes tracks by elements (earth, water, air, fire) to capture the energy and vibe of each track. He discussed this method on the Bakkie Bakkie Podcast, mentioned in our previous blog about 10 must-watch House and Techno documentaries and podcasts.
  • Atmosphere or Venue Tags: Another creative approach is to tag tracks by clubs or venues that match the vibe of that track’s sound.
  • Specialized Playlists: For DJs with a small bladder—consider DJ Objekt’s tip and create a playlist with tracks over 10 minutes for quick bathroom breaks mid-set!

This part of organizing your library is the most time-intensive, especially if you’re aiming to personalize it without relying on preset tags, but the effort is more than worth it. You can also check out tools like Mixed in Key, Cyanite, MusicBee, or Mixo to analyze energy levels and other track attributes—just keep in mind that many of these tools require a paid subscription.

5. Keep Adding Tracks in a Consistent Way

From now on, every track you add to your collection should go through the same steps above. This will keep your library clean and organized as it grows. One way to stay on top of this is by creating a “To Be Organized” folder, where you can keep new additions before processing them all at once and adding them to your main library.

And remember: quality over quantity is key. It’s essential to know your library inside and out, so you’re never fumbling for the right track. When you’re connected to the music, your audience can feel it too. Familiarity with each track will help you read the room, stay in sync with the crowd’s energy, and keep the vibe flowing effortlessly.

6. Create Playlists and Prepare for Gigs

With your library now organized, creating set lists is easier than ever. Use your DJ software’s playlist feature to build tailored lists for specific gigs, moods, or even themes. Consider curating a top 50 playlist of either all-time favourites or current go-to tracks—this forces you to make intentional choices and helps you stay focused on tracks you genuinely connect with and love to play.

Final Thoughts

Building a clean, organized track library takes time, but it’s worth every second. A well-curated collection means you’re never distracted by endless scrolling, and you’re always ready to find the perfect track to keep the party going. Share your own tips in the comments—every DJ has a unique way of organizing their tracks, and we’d love to learn from you too!