Djs Software And Spotify

[Teez 0]

Hi all,

 

Just installed DJS on my laptop so that I can connect with my Pioneer MEP 7000 (Recommend it).

 

I would like to play Spotify through the DJS software. I'm sure there's a trick somewhere and I'm surfing the net but no luck so far.

 

I can plug the laptop in direct with the MEP but would like to use the DJS.

 

Anyone out there tried this?

 

Thanks in advance

 

DJ Teez

[vokf 0]

Hi all,

 

Just installed DJS on my laptop so that I can connect with my Pioneer MEP 7000 (Recommend it).

 

I would like to play Spotify through the DJS software. I'm sure there's a trick somewhere and I'm surfing the net but no luck so far.

 

I can plug the laptop in direct with the MEP but would like to use the DJS.

 

Anyone out there tried this?

 

Thanks in advance

 

DJ Teez

 

Hi DJ Teez,

welcome to the forum. Perhaps you would like to introduce yourself to the other members HERE

 

 

I'm not sure what you're asking. Spotify is an online service, with a commercial side where you can purchase the ability to listen to music without adverts. I use it in the office.

 

Their terms will almost certainly say "no public performance", and the quality will be very poor (compared to CD or HQ MP3).

This will not be suitable for DJing.

If you are asking to save the streamed music for public performance, then no.. I know its possible, but not legal and the quality will be poor.

As a DJ you'll be playing poor quality downloads and your reputation will suffer.

As you have an MEP user, I'm sure you won't want to play poor quality sound through this nice bit of hardware.

 

If you wish to use digital downloads then the following sites may be helpful;

www.7digital.com

www.amazon.co.uk

iTunes

 

You should read the terms of each site to ensure you are entitled to use the purchased music for DJing.

 

 

I hope this helps,

Jason

 

 

[gadget 0]

I'm not sure what you're asking. Spotify is an online service, with a commercial side where you can purchase the ability to listen to music without adverts. I use it in the office.

 

Their terms will almost certainly say "no public performance", and the quality will be very poor (compared to CD or HQ MP3).

This will not be suitable for DJing.

If you are asking to save the streamed music for public performance, then no.. I know its possible, but not legal and the quality will be poor.

As a DJ you'll be playing poor quality downloads and your reputation will suffer.

As you have an MEP user, I'm sure you won't want to play poor quality sound through this nice bit of hardware.

 

The premium (9.99 a month) version has much better quailty tracks than the standard (free) one.

 

You can't do anything with the files (legally) cos they're stored as random "cache" files... Also their terms do say you can't DJ with them!

 

Someone asked me the other day Why I didnt use spotify. My reason was that it's not allowed by Spotify, plus I prefer to actually own my music!

 

Cheers,

 

David

[Teez 0]

Thanks for your comments guys.

 

I understand the quality question re Spotify but Premium does seem to pump out an adequate quality (I'm not talking Ibiza nightclubs here) I think I'm getting MP3 equivalency of about 320kpbs.

 

I know that Spotify says no public performance as a condition of the £10 fee .... but..... here's a thought for the grey area of downloads....

 

The reason why Spotify says no public performance is that their license doesn't cover it. Fair enough.

 

The Digital DJ LIcense / Produb allows you to play legally obtained downloads in public. I would have thought that this license bridges the gap between commercial and public. After all, all CD's and downloads start off as commercial sales to domestic/private users. It's the subsequent conversion to commercial that needs to be protectd.

 

I suspect that the answer is that there is no anwer and this is might be an untested area as the Spotify offline downlaods have only been going since this October.

 

Spotify would be a great solution for handling requests for startup DJ's like me without having to overbuy loads of CD's on a 'just-in-case' basis.

[Robster 0]

Thanks for your comments guys.

 

 

The Digital DJ LIcense / Produb allows you to play legally obtained downloads in public.

 

 

 

 

 

err no it doesnt if i have my facts correct ..Its only for the CONVERSION of tracks from one format to another if you download a track as is to the performance drive no produb is required. as long as the T&C of the download allow public performance

 

venues generally have a licence for public performance of music a PRS licence

 

streaming is new and they havent a licence for thatas far as i know ...yet!

spotify is a home user product and i can see where your coming from (and i suggested a pro system some while back as a concept) but as for now spotify legally cant be used this way

Edited October 22, 2009 by Robster

[vokf 0]

Thanks for your comments guys.

 

I understand the quality question re Spotify but Premium does seem to pump out an adequate quality (I'm not talking Ibiza nightclubs here) I think I'm getting MP3 equivalency of about 320kpbs.

 

I know that Spotify says no public performance as a condition of the £10 fee .... but..... here's a thought for the grey area of downloads....

 

The reason why Spotify says no public performance is that their license doesn't cover it. Fair enough.

 

The Digital DJ LIcense / Produb allows you to play legally obtained downloads in public. I would have thought that this license bridges the gap between commercial and public. After all, all CD's and downloads start off as commercial sales to domestic/private users. It's the subsequent conversion to commercial that needs to be protectd.

 

I suspect that the answer is that there is no anwer and this is might be an untested area as the Spotify offline downlaods have only been going since this October.

 

Spotify would be a great solution for handling requests for startup DJ's like me without having to overbuy loads of CD's on a 'just-in-case' basis.

 

I guess this is a question for Spotify and the PRS/MCPS?

 

I would expect a typical mobile DJ to have an adequate collection of music for the job they have quoted. No DJ has all the music - that would be a waste of money, but if you're doing teenage parties, then not having the latest hits in your collection would be bad.

 

I doubt you would have time mid-gig to download tracks, run the software to extract to MP3 and then play- it also relies on having a good mobile phone signal. Its a neat trick if you do have an assistant, but something I wouldn't want to rely on.

 

You can find collections of "Now" CD's on ebay for not much (I paid about £130ish for Now 23-Now 68 - all originals)

The Now CD's are great for most (not all) of the popular tracks. Then get the "100 Hits - Rock/60s/70s/80s/90s) and identify the gaps. The "Playlist" section in this forum will help - you'll find many tracks are very popular.

 

I now use 6Digital/iTunes etc to download last minute tracks- or the odd gem from an Album that has nothing else usable... When I'm in town, I nip into the Charity shops - lots of Bargins there, and also the odd chart CD from the superstore.

 

Yes.. it does cost money, but so did your MEP7000 , and NI, TAX and other expenses.

 

For about £200, you should be able to get a reasonable collection from scouring ebay/2nd hand shops (I picked up "Snap" World Power for £1 a few weeks ago..)

This will give you a physical collection, rather than a bunch of dubious MP3s that have no true value.

As you'll be able to offset these purchases against TAX, you'll find its not that painful - in 1 or 2 gigs, you will have paid for your music collection.

 

Jason

 

[Robster 0]

I can see any service that does start up to be like any media subscription ie sky TV it starts out cheap and is cheap for home users then it gets silly subscription per month once established for businesses .. better in my opinion to stick to jasons idea and buy your own stuff

[deejaymitch 0]

Pro-Dub only comes into the question when legally acquired media has been format-shifted (MP3 burned to CD, CD ripped to MP3). You can use legally acquired downloads without a Pro-Dub licence as long as you are playing them from the computer/laptop you downloaded the track onto directly.

 

As Spotify is a streaming service, and therefore you are not purchasing the track, I cannot see anyway that it can legally be used for public performance.

[Bouncy Dancefloor 0]

if we ignore spotify for a moment and concentrate on the part where it says not for public performance

 

 

ever read the small print on EVERY cd you've ever bought? They all say not for public performance!

 

 

This is why the PRS/ppl etc licences are required by venues, so this should allow you to play spotify tracks too

 

i dont know much about the quality/feasibility of it though

[Teez 0]

I agree with Bouncy.

 

The initial 'small print' purchase restrictions on actual CD's are the same as downloaded, streaming, whatever.

 

Yes, the replaying CD's in public question has been answered but that's because the legislation caught up with CD's. The DJ License I think is there to cover the evolving grey area of downloads. I'm not convinced the principle of differentiating legitimate downloads versus legitimate streaming is a strong one.

 

Why is it OK to play iTunes music in public under license but not Spotify?

 

I would point out that there is no need for an assistant to do anything with Spotify.

 

It either plays instantly in streaming mode (yes you do need an internet source) or more relevantly, you can now download and store on up to 3 media systems up to 3,330 tracks. These are there, no need for conversion, no delay or anything.

 

There could be a dubbing issue, as I am trialling converting Spotify tracks into mp3 320kbps and the sound quality is pretty good!! With some tweaks on the mixer the sound is good enough.

 

I'm not here to fall out with anyone, just want to use Spotify as an option for public performances, with the right license. If there is a way forward with this, it would benefit everyone.

 

Thanks for the pointers on CD's, there is no argument that the more kbps the better!!

[Dukesy 0]

Remember the recent youtube and PRS battle? Now go figure!

Interesting reading here and here

 

 

 

 

 

[Teez 0]

I guess this is a question for Spotify and the PRS/MCPS?

 

I would expect a typical mobile DJ to have an adequate collection of music for the job they have quoted. No DJ has all the music - that would be a waste of money, but if you're doing teenage parties, then not having the latest hits in your collection would be bad.

 

I doubt you would have time mid-gig to download tracks, run the software to extract to MP3 and then play- it also relies on having a good mobile phone signal. Its a neat trick if you do have an assistant, but something I wouldn't want to rely on.

 

You can find collections of "Now" CD's on ebay for not much (I paid about £130ish for Now 23-Now 68 - all originals)

The Now CD's are great for most (not all) of the popular tracks. Then get the "100 Hits - Rock/60s/70s/80s/90s) and identify the gaps. The "Playlist" section in this forum will help - you'll find many tracks are very popular.

 

I now use 6Digital/iTunes etc to download last minute tracks- or the odd gem from an Album that has nothing else usable... When I'm in town, I nip into the Charity shops - lots of Bargins there, and also the odd chart CD from the superstore.

 

Yes.. it does cost money, but so did your MEP7000 , and NI, TAX and other expenses.

 

For about £200, you should be able to get a reasonable collection from scouring ebay/2nd hand shops (I picked up "Snap" World Power for £1 a few weeks ago..)

This will give you a physical collection, rather than a bunch of dubious MP3s that have no true value.

As you'll be able to offset these purchases against TAX, you'll find its not that painful - in 1 or 2 gigs, you will have paid for your music collection.

 

Jason

 

 

Vokf

 

Thanks for the pointers regarding CD's. Sometimes the obvious is the one that gets missed.

 

Just had a mad moment on Amazon (much cheaper in many cases than Ebay) and bought a load of the 100 Hits albums (many from Amazon dealers as they were 30 - 80% cheaper) plus some others and have ended up with 2,000 tracks for £90.

 

If anyone wants a sideline, it looks like some people are buying these off Amazon and reselling them at a premium on Ebay!!

 

I won't go any further off topic and look for answers about cataloguing/copying etc elsewhere.

 

Many thanks again

[deejaymitch 0]

Why is it OK to play iTunes music in public under license but not Spotify?

 

Maybe because you buy music on ITunes, as you would with a CD, whereas on Spotify you haven't bought the music and don't own it. I don't know if that's legally correct but it would be my answer.

Edited October 22, 2009 by deejaymitch

[vokf 0]

Just had a mad moment on Amazon (much cheaper in many cases than Ebay) and bought a load of the 100 Hits albums (many from Amazon dealers as they were 30 - 80% cheaper) plus some others and have ended up with 2,000 tracks for £90.

 

If anyone wants a sideline, it looks like some people are buying these off Amazon and reselling them at a premium on Ebay!!

 

Cool! I think I got all mine from Tescos, and probably paid much more :damn:

I've got quite a few of the 100 Hits range. There are some gaps, and lots of duplicates, but are are a great way to get started.

Now CD's are also pretty good - but again, some artists will be absent.

 

I subscribe to the "Pro Disc" from Mastermix @ £15/month. This provides many chart releases on CD. However, if you're aiming at more mature markets (as in your welcome message), then there shouldn't be a need to be bang up to date.

My "competitor" in my local pub, only gets Now CD's (so doesn't normally have any current chart tracks) - but he does fine, playing to the older crowd.

 

Cheers,

Jason

 

[gadget 0]

Cool! I think I got all mine from Tescos, and probably paid much more :damn:

I've got quite a few of the 100 Hits range. There are some gaps, and lots of duplicates, but are are a great way to get started.

Now CD's are also pretty good - but again, some artists will be absent.

 

I subscribe to the "Pro Disc" from Mastermix @ £15/month. This provides many chart releases on CD. However, if you're aiming at more mature markets (as in your welcome message), then there shouldn't be a need to be bang up to date.

My "competitor" in my local pub, only gets Now CD's (so doesn't normally have any current chart tracks) - but he does fine, playing to the older crowd.

 

Cheers,

Jason

 

I also have many of the 100 Hits CDs although the other week I made the error of buying the same one I already had (dammit!). Cheapest I've seen is Tescos though - prices between 6-8 quid for 5 CDs worth. Quite a bit is repeated though. The 101 Hits ones aren't too bad either - there are some tracks on there which aren't on the 100 hits ones I've found, although there is a lot of crossover between them. The same can be said of the 100 Hits series between their own releases (e.g. girls night and party collections / 70s and the disco ones, etc)... But for the price(s) you can't really go wrong.

 

I've now got Now 10 - 73 except 12, 15 and 19. The Now Millenium Series is good for the 80s selection.

 

Although as said above - there are quite a few noticable missing artists. Madonna only ever appeared on "The Hits" collection (I've got these on CD as well).

 

I also buy Mastermix Pro Disc series, but think it seems to miss out quite a few of the important chart tracks, and some tracks on 111/112 I've never even heard of! (or doubt they'll ever chart!).

 

Cheers,

 

David

[Teez 0]

I also have many of the 100 Hits CDs although the other week I made the error of buying the same one I already had (dammit!). Cheapest I've seen is Tescos though - prices between 6-8 quid for 5 CDs worth. Quite a bit is repeated though. The 101 Hits ones aren't too bad either - there are some tracks on there which aren't on the 100 hits ones I've found, although there is a lot of crossover between them. The same can be said of the 100 Hits series between their own releases (e.g. girls night and party collections / 70s and the disco ones, etc)... But for the price(s) you can't really go wrong.

 

I've now got Now 10 - 73 except 12, 15 and 19. The Now Millenium Series is good for the 80s selection.

 

Although as said above - there are quite a few noticable missing artists. Madonna only ever appeared on "The Hits" collection (I've got these on CD as well).

 

I also buy Mastermix Pro Disc series, but think it seems to miss out quite a few of the important chart tracks, and some tracks on 111/112 I've never even heard of! (or doubt they'll ever chart!).

 

Cheers,

 

David

 

 

Well I've just raided Amazon for the Now collections. I've taken a chance and gone for the "Good" or "Very Good" quality second hand CD's (I dont care too much what the box/sleeve looks like as long as the sound is good. The average price I've paid is £2.31 per album !!!

 

I'm convinced people buy from Amazon dealers and relist on Ebay. There were some excellent quality Now's going for £3 on Amazon and being sold as Buy Nows on Ebay for £24 !! I think I'm going to have to do this as a sideline!!

 

I've now got 3 through to 70 with a few of the teens missing, only because the asking price is high and I'm watching a few cheap ebay options.

[vokf 0]

 

 

Well I've just raided Amazon for the Now collections. I've taken a chance and gone for the "Good" or "Very Good" quality second hand CD's (I dont care too much what the box/sleeve looks like as long as the sound is good. The average price I've paid is £2.31 per album !!!

 

I'm convinced people buy from Amazon dealers and relist on Ebay. There were some excellent quality Now's going for £3 on Amazon and being sold as Buy Nows on Ebay for £24 !! I think I'm going to have to do this as a sideline!!

 

I've now got 3 through to 70 with a few of the teens missing, only because the asking price is high and I'm watching a few cheap ebay options.

 

If you're mainly missing the early teens, but some 80's/90's compilations will fill the gaps without paying silly prices.

Its nice to have a complete collection, but the same as most on here - by the time the Now CD comes out, I've got most of the tracks through the mastermix or individual download... but still stump up the cash for the CD.

 

I guess one thing I learnt, was not to be too worried if you don't have a request. I normally ask for a selection of tracks from my clients and ensure I have these. When I first started out, I found myself playing catch-up, and felt pretty bad if I didn't have a track.

 

Now the only gig that normally catches me out is my local pub - where I'm happy to shrug my shoulder and promise to get it in next time.

 

I guess - services like Spotify will start to enter professional DJing at some point, and then most requests can be serviced.

 

I still like the idea of having something physical in my collection, and when I get a request I don't have, I go and have a listen - if its a new/old artist I've not heard of, I'll listen to their Album. With 10,000,000 ish tracks, and the ability to pull most songs- will it make us lazy?

 

 

[deejaymitch 0]

With 10,000,000 ish tracks, and the ability to pull most songs- will it make us lazy?

 

Yes. I found the switch to digital made me very lazy and made my shows stale for a while, which is why I've gone back to a predominantly CD based performance.

[Teez 0]

With all these CD's landing on my doorstep, the next question is going to be whether or not to transfer them to my hard drive. My player is geared up to take USB/Hard drives so I'm thinking that if I transfer these CD's it will save me caryring loads of cases of CD's around and with my Pioneer I can queue up entire playlists and stay a bit ahead. What do you guys find is the better option and why?

 

If I do rip these CD's, is the best format mp3 320kbps?

 

Thanks in advance

 

PS: Was in Maplin today and noticed they do Tbar/lighting goalposts for only £60. gave them a shake and they really seem quite sturdy! Now that's much cheaper than the usual DJ websites??

[vokf 0]

With all these CD's landing on my doorstep, the next question is going to be whether or not to transfer them to my hard drive. My player is geared up to take USB/Hard drives so I'm thinking that if I transfer these CD's it will save me caryring loads of cases of CD's around and with my Pioneer I can queue up entire playlists and stay a bit ahead. What do you guys find is the better option and why?

 

If I do rip these CD's, is the best format mp3 320kbps?

 

Thanks in advance

 

PS: Was in Maplin today and noticed they do Tbar/lighting goalposts for only £60. gave them a shake and they really seem quite sturdy! Now that's much cheaper than the usual DJ websites??

 

If you Change format (ie rip to wav/mp3/ogg etc) then you may need to purchase the ProDub Licence for dubbing (copying) for professional public performance.

 

This has been discussed at length here over the last year or so;

5 pages of topics

 

320Kbps is very good quality, and still gives a decent filesize compared to uncompressed WAV. (~10MB vs ~40MB) I won't use anything less than 256Kbps (which some downloaded tracks have been)

Obviously the best quality will be a direct rip to WAV, but you will need a larger HDD.

 

What ever you do, remember that all your music will be on a mechanical disc, spinning at 5400RPM/7400RPM, and be fairly fragile. Get a back-up HDD and use something like "SyncTool" (free software) to keep them mirrored.

The hard drive will fail - and you need to be ready.

 

 

I was in Maplins a few months ago and didn't think their stands were that solid.

Check what fixtures are actually on it - 2 or 3 small LED lights will be fine - but if you get it 7' up and put anything substantial on it, will it still be stable?

 

T-Bars are normally cheap anyway; I can see cheap ones online for £40.

I mainly use t-bars, as they give good flexability with set-up and can accomodate low ceilings.

I use a Giraffe 4' wide stand (but don't often use the overhead goalpost) and either have 1 or 2 t-bars loaded evenly.

Watch out for where you place them - you don't want the legs being a trip-hazzard (for you or guests!)

 

For many small-medium parties a single t-bar will be fine. Check out the photos of my set-up for a recent wedding;

http://www.dj-forum.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=25355

The center "dynaroll" is about £180, and the 2 LED Cobalts (master/slaved) where about £90 ea. If you visit an actual DJ store, there are deals to be had - and its also checking out 2nd hand gear which has been cared for.