Over To You: Should I Share My Playlists With Other DJs?

A nice question came on over on our Facebook Page, from Sam, who asks: “Hey guys got a question for you and the community. How do you feel about sharing music libraries? I have spent a lot of time building my library and paying for music. I have these DJs who are just starting that are asking me what the best songs are.

“I’m pretty apprehensive towards doing anything for them because I learned what works for my crowds the hard way. Anyway, would appreciate some feedback!”

Digital DJ Tips says:

We always feel it is great to share a song or two with anyone who asks (customers, other DJs etc.). Equally though, we also advocate gently explaining to people who think DJing as all about simply copying someone else’s playlists that it doesn’t work that way, any more than getting rich isn’t about asking people who have money to just give it to you.

DJing is about picking the right tune for the people in front of you right now, and even if a new DJ has your complete playlist, unless he or she knows how to do that, they’re going to fall flat. Also, it is about the transfer of emotion from DJ to crowd – and you can’t get emotional about tunes you don’t really care about (because you didn’t have any investment in collecting them in the first place).

So in short: We think it’s good to share your best songs and explain why they work for you; sharing the love is the only way to get it back, after all – but even if you were saintly enough to share your entire playlist with someone else, you wouldn’t really be helping them by doing so, and really your job is to make them understand that.

Finally of course, we’d never advocate actually giving the tracks themselves to other DJs – they should always go out and buy their own copies. 🙂

What do you think? Has anyone ever tired to get you to let them see your complete playlist or collection, with a view to copying your best tracks? Or have you been tempted to ask someone else the same? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments…