The blog

DJ news and guides for every style: new DJ software and gear, big nights and polls, DJ apps compared, streaming plans, where to buy music, set prep and more.

• Is Serato DJ Pro free? What the big DJ Pro apps cost in 2026: Serato DJ Pro is free only with hardware that unlocks it, otherwise $11.99 a month or $299 once. What Lite, djay Pro, rekordbox and the rest give you for free.
• The best DJ music subscription for you: record pools vs streaming: Streaming plans, record pools or buying per track: what each DJ music subscription costs in October 2026, what you get, and which one fits your style and gigs.
• Free video DJ software in 2026: which apps mix music videos: VirtualDJ mixes music videos free at home, rekordbox shows a caution message until Creative, and Traktor, Engine DJ and Mixxx skip video. Prices, gear and rights.
• Ultra Miami 2027 lineup: Calvin Harris and Marshmello b2b Subtronics: Ultra named its first 2027 Miami acts on October 14: Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix, Armin van Buuren, Dom Dolla and a world debut b2b for Marshmello and Subtronics.
• Three famous IDs came out on October 16, 2026: Sara Landry, Prospa and KETTAMA, and Giuseppe Ottaviani with Hypaton released tracks DJs had played as IDs for months. What is out and how to catch the next ones.
• How to close a DJ set: choosing your last tracks: Closing the night is its own skill. How to land the last half hour, end on time, handle "one more", and what Martin Garrix, FISHER and Black Coffee really end with.
• What to play when you open for a big DJ: Opening for a headliner is its own skill. What to play, what to leave out, and what James Hype learned opening for David Guetta in Ibiza.
• The number one track in every DJ style: The track found in the most recorded DJ sets, for each of our 20 styles. Trance has the biggest number, and one track is number one in two styles.
• Calvin Harris announces first North American headline tour: Calvin Harris plays 18 arenas in the US and Canada from April 1 to May 27, 2027. The dates, the ticket sales, and the tracks of his that DJs play most.
• Josh Baker, KETTAMA and Prospa go b2b2b at Creamfields 2027: The three will headline the Creamfields ARC stage together on Friday, August 27, 2027. What was announced, who they are, and their sound in our data.
• AlphaTheta launches HDJ-F9 wireless DJ headphones at $349: The on-ear HDJ-F9 goes wireless with a delay as low as 9 ms. The specs, the real price with a transmitter, and what wireless cueing means in the booth.
• Hidden gems: tracks big DJs play that few people stream: One track per style that turns up in many recorded DJ sets but gets streamed little, picked from our own data, and why such gems exist.
• The tracks big DJs play across styles, by the numbers: 377 of the 3,827 tracks in our 19 genre crates sit in two styles or more. The biggest crossovers, the styles that share the most, and how to use them.
• How to play a b2b set: format, gear and booth etiquette: Two DJs, one booth, one set. How to agree the format, share the gear, prepare music that fits together and read your partner in a back to back set.
• How to read a crowd as a DJ: what to watch and how to react: Where to look from the booth, the signs a track works or fails, how to test a new direction and pull back, and how to answer requests kindly.
• How to switch styles in a DJ set without losing the floor: Afro house into tech house, house into drum and bass: how to plan the bridge, six ways across, and real tracks that sit in two style crates.
• Hot cues and acapellas: how to prepare them and use them in a set: How many hot cues each DJ app gives you, a color system that works on any controller, and how to lay an acapella over another track at the right moment.
• Festival set vs club set: how to plan one hour or four hours: A one-hour festival slot and a four-hour club night are different jobs. How many tracks you need, the shape of each set, stamina and starting on time.
• DJ gig bag checklist: what to bring and what to ask before the night: Two prepared USB sticks, spare headphones, the right cables, small lifesavers and the questions to ask the promoter. A gig checklist for any app and any gear.
• How to record your DJ sets and post them without takedowns: Record in WAV with headroom and a backup, film with the mixer's sound, then post where DJ mixes are licensed. Each platform's rules, checked October 2026.
• How to protect your hearing as a DJ: Booths are loud and sets are long. What the WHO and NIOSH say is too loud, which earplugs suit DJs, and booth habits that save your ears.
• John Summit's Monaco set cut short after Travis Scott took the stage: On June 7 in Monte Carlo, Travis Scott took the stage during John Summit's set, and Summit said his show was shut down. What was reported, and what DJs can learn.
• AlphaTheta launches rekordbox Studio Plan with Bitwig for $7 a month: AlphaTheta now rents Bitwig Studio Essentials, linked to your rekordbox library, for $7 a month. What it does, the catch, and the other new rekordbox features.
• DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2026: David Guetta wins a record sixth title: David Guetta topped the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll for a record sixth time on October 6 in Ibiza. Anyma rose to No. 3 and Indira Paganotto won the first Psy DJ award.
• Amsterdam Dance Event turns 30: dates, passes and highlights: ADE 2026 runs October 21 to 25 in Amsterdam for its 30th anniversary. The dates, passes, confirmed highlights and practical tips for DJs who go.
• Serato DJ 5.0 beta adds Lucid Beatgrids and Open Streaming: Serato DJ 5.0, in public beta since September 9, rebuilds beatgrid analysis to follow tempo changes and lets you use several streaming services at once.
• AlphaTheta's $1,699 CDJ-1500X leads the new DJ gear of 2026: The CDJ-1500X puts the flagship screen in a $1,699 player. Here is what else is new in 2026, from the DJM-V5 and XDJ-AN to Denon DJ, Rane and Hercules.
• Best DJ software in 2026: which app fits your gear and budget: rekordbox, Serato, Traktor, VirtualDJ, djay Pro, Engine DJ and Mixxx compared on price, platforms, streaming and stems, with who each app is for and the catch.
• WAV, AIFF, FLAC or MP3: which format should DJs play?: Lossless when it costs nothing extra, 320 kbps MP3 for most gigs, never below 256, and never turn an MP3 into a WAV. What each format loses, costs and weighs.
• The cheapest streaming plans that work inside DJ apps, compared: What Beatport, TIDAL, SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Amazon cost in October 2026, which DJ apps take them, and the cheapest pick for your gigs.
• Where to buy DJ music in 2026, and what a track really costs: Beatport, Traxsource, Bandcamp, Qobuz, iTunes and more: what a track costs in 2026, which formats you get, and how to pay less without ripping anything.
• Streaming or buying: what is right for your DJ sets: Stream to discover and for low-stakes gigs, buy what you play often, and never trust a booth to stay online. Prices, gear support and the legal side, checked.
• Free DJ software for PC and Mac in 2026: what is free, when to pay: Mixxx is free with nothing held back, and every big app except Traktor has a free tier to learn on, on PC or Mac. What each keeps back, and when to pay.
• Best DJ controllers for beginners in 2026: what to buy first: Buy a two-channel controller with real jog wheels that unlocks the app you will keep using. Eleven current models compared, with prices checked October 2026.
• How to plan and prepare a DJ set: one routine for any style and slot: Know the slot, pack twice the music you need, fix your first three and last three tracks and leave the middle open. A routine for any style and any set length.
• Harmonic mixing explained: three safe moves on the Camelot wheel: The full Camelot wheel chart, the three key moves that always work, the two that lift the energy, and when to ignore the wheel completely.
• Tempo guide: the BPM of every DJ style and how to move between them: Most dance music sits between 120 and 130 BPM. The ranges of 20 styles, the half-time trap in your DJ app, how far the pitch fader goes and how to plan a night.
• How to organize a DJ library you can play from in any app: One folder, playlists for sets, a few tags, cues on every track and a backup you have tested: a DJ library system that works in any DJ app and survives a switch.
• Laptop or USB stick? How to show up ready for any DJ booth: Two prepared USB sticks for club players, your own controller and laptop for everything else, and a plan B in the bag. How to export, format and sound check.
• Stems in DJ software: what AI separation really does for your sets: Live stems are great for an acapella over another track and for cleaner mix-outs, not a substitute for mixing skills. How each app does it, and where it falls apart.
• How to find the tracks your favorite DJs really play in 2026: Tracklists, play counts, Shazam, recorded sets and the DJs' own charts: the digging methods that work in 2026, free and paid, and how to turn them into a crate.
• Do DJs need a license to play music? Who pays, country by country: In most countries the venue pays the public performance license, not the DJ. The few cases where the bill lands on you, country by country. Not legal advice.
• How to build an afro house set that actually lands: Start warm, build the groove, save the anthems. A simple plan for a set that keeps the floor with you.
• Free downloads, the legit way: Producers give away more music than you think. Where to find official free downloads, and why rips from streaming sound worse.
• What is an ID? How DJs find unreleased tracks: "ID - ID" in a tracklist means nobody outside the booth knows the track yet. How IDs work, and how to catch them first.