Cut my DJ collection down to 636 songs!

That’s good to hear Phil. Just last week i deleted about 2000 legally purchased songs.. A lot of money wasted but i am very satisfied, i now know what and where i have stuff! 🙂

U31, post: 3053 wrote: No no no.
Id keep everything on an external drive, nothing goes unless its rubbish and was downloaded in a fit of madness or corrupted.

Id agree with keeping the amount of tunes on the lappy manageable tho..

I used to think the same as you until it got to a point where i hadn’t listened to an album for about 7 years so just started deleting stuff.. Never regretted it!

Also i normally keep between 10 and 50 tunes on my iMac/Macbook at all times.

Phil Morse, post: 3048 wrote: I have today cut my DJ collection down to 636 songs, or about 2 days’ music. And I’ve been DJing for over 2 decades! That’s about one song for every 2 weeks I’ve been DJing.

I will post on the blog as to my reasons and why I think this is the right thing to do, but just thought I’d let you know that I’ve done it, and I feel VERY good about it. 🙂

Very Much Looking Forward to this Article Phil :);
And the Answer to the Question I am going to ask will Hopefully be in the Article :);
If You (or Anyone Else) has 600 Tracks and play 3 Gigs a Week for 6 Months (even with the ‘One In – One Out System’; bearing in mind that we Can’t Possibly Find Great Tracks Every Day/Week to Replace the Tracks we have – unless we are Verging on the Top 40 DJ); Surely Our Sets would Begin to Sound ‘Familiar’ ?

Yes; there is Truth and Rationale in what you say Mike;
And I am not here for an Argument; or even a Disagreement; or Conflict Of Opinions;
However; if I went to see Dave Clarke/Carl Cox in Brighton; then in Sheffield the next night; then Birmingham the next night; then London the next night; and he Basically Played The Same Set; I would be Extremely Angry; whether it was Brilliant or not; I am not Interested in Paying £40+ to hear the Same 30 Tracks 4 Nights In A Row
On my Radio Show I Play a Completely Different Set on Every Show; Never Do I Repeat A Track; People would Stop Listening and Downloading my Sets if they were Virtually The Same;
And I would become ‘One Of Those DJ’s Who Always Plays The Same Set’
A ‘Different Set’ is a ‘Unique Set’; just like a Piece Of Art (an Oil Painting in other words)

Yes Mike :);
If I were to pay £170 or whatever it is to see AC/DC; Led Zepplin; Status Quo; and Not Hear their Hit Records I would Feel Absolutely Cheated; as Most of the Reason they Fill Stadiums is for their Previous Great Work;
But; I Agree; DJ’s are Different; as unless they are Producers/Composers; they are (Me Included) Basically just playing ‘Other Artists’ Works; and although ‘Some’ become Very Famous; without those Tracks; that are ‘Not Their Own’ they may as well Turn Their Equipment Off;
I Highly Appreciate your Apology; or Acceptance of Our Misunderstanding; as I am Only Here to ‘Help Others’ with Encouragement when I have No Knowledge of their Circumstances; or Show My Appreciation Of Their Work/Mixes if they Choose to Share that with Me (Us);
With Kind Regards to You;
Emma

The difference between hearing the same sets from a DJ and a band is that unless the DJ is a producer people want the DJ take them on a journey using prerecorded music where as with a touring band, they want the band to play the songs they know and love. So if I were to follow a DJ from show to show, I would expect to hear different tunes that fit each venue and crowd where as if I were to follow a touring band, I would expect them to play the similar sets every night and maybe throw in a couple extra songs here and there.

As far as trimming back tracks, I don’t like to get rid of songs. I may move them out of my current playlist, but I almost never get rid of songs once I have them. You never know when you will need them. You may say hey I would love to drop a huge throwback track in my set or even doing a throwback night playing classics. Or as a producer you may want to go listen to older tracks for inspiration or samples. To me it makes no sense to completely delete music. I would suggest if you don’t want to carry it with you to get an external drive and store them there and just limit how many songs you may take to a specific gig. Personally, I bring almost all my music to my gigs, but I have several playlist that limit what songs that I have easy access to, but if I need a classic song or something I haven’t played in a very long time I still have it. Perfect example…a few months ago I was doing a club night and I actually played the Macerena (don’t flame me)…I haven’t played that song in probably 4 or 5 years…but it was what the club needed that night and it went over huge. If I had totally deleted that song because I haven’t played it in a few years..I would have missed that moment.

Jem, post: 3136 wrote: Graham Park always said that he only added records to his record boxes if they were better than (and therefore could replace) ones already in there. Like you say, one in : one out.

The problem is what song maybe better for one crowd may not be better for another. I don’t get this need for musical competition. I could point to lots of older songs that are better than whats currently in my current playlist… If we were to go by that line of thinking then we would all have nothing but old classic bangers in our collection but that is not the case.

Bold move, Phil !