21 best sites for DJs to download music (free and premium services)

There are many websites out there for DJs to download music. From regular online stores to specialized in electronic music. From free ones to record pools. What sites should you consider as a DJ to download music?

First I have crafted a summary table of all the platforms DJs mostly download on. Then, you can have a look at my in-depth analysis of each site to help you decide what suits your needs.

Site	Service type
Beatport	Electronic music store
Juno	Electronic music store
Digital DJ Pool	Record pool
DJ City	Record pool
BPM Supreme	Record pool
Late Night Record Pool	Record Pool
Direct Music Service	Record Pool
iTunes / Music	Digital music store
Google Play	Digital music store
Amazon	Digital music store
Soundcloud	Free
Facebook	Free
Trackitdown	Electronic music store
Traxsource	Electronic music store
Bleep	Electronic music store
Boomkat	Electronic music store
Bandcamp	Free
Jamendo	Free
Soundclick	Free
Reverbnation	Free
Last.fm	Free

Electronic digital stores (premium)

Most DJs download their music on platforms specialized for electronic music. That’s why these are the first I present in this list. If you are more of an “Open format” DJ then consider reading the “mainstream digital stores” heading.

Beatport

The most popular platform for DJs to buy songs. Beatport is the biggest guy out there. Specialized in electronic music, many songs have a temporary exclusivity on Beatport. Therefore, if you want to have songs before others, that’s the place to go. The exclusive songs come at a higher price though. It exists since 2004.

Beatport is well known for its top 100 tracks. This top exists for all tracks on the platform and per style. As a producer, having one of your tracks in the top is good for your career. For DJs, it is a good way to see what is popular right now in your style (house, trance, techno, etc.). Other platforms also propose their tops, but Beatport being the most used, it is the most representative.

For an MP3 at 320 kbps, recent tracks are at $1.99, exclusive at $2.49 and old songs at $1.49. Beatport proposes also WAV file and AIFF at a higher price. Beatport also has a subscription service at $14.99 to stream all its catalog to Rekordbox, Virtual DJ and WeDJ. It’s called Beatport Link. Please note it does not allow you to download songs, only stream it.

Beatport also offers DJ Charts and track selections made by DJs. Therefore you can download the songs played by your favorite DJ.

Beatport is definitely an option to consider if you are a DJ.

Juno

Probably one the oldest internet music platform out there. Juno exists since 1997 to buy CDs and Vinyl. Since 2006 you can download songs in digital format. The platform proposes MP3s, WAVs, AIFFs, and FLACs.

One of the largest catalog for electronic music. If you don’t find your song there then it will be hard to find. JunoDownload is basically the same service as Beatport: new releases, tops, DJ charts, etc. Do not propose a streaming service to their catalog though. It seems they have fewer exclusivities than Beatport does.

However, Juno proposes to buy physical copies of music on Juno.co.uk. Something Beatport does not. But Juno.co.uk and JunoDownload.com are separated sites with no bridge between them.

Juno is usually cheaper than Beatport.

Other alternatives

Trackitdown

A cool alternative to Beatport and Juno. Though I do find the interface a bit outdated now.

• Site: https://www.trackitdown.net

Traxsource

Have the advantage to propose an Android and iOS app. The genre classification is not great from my opinion though.

• Site: https://www.traxsource.com

Bleep

Do not propose tops by genre but is cheaper.

• Site: https://bleep.com

Boomkat

See Boomkat as an alternative store. You won’t find big tunes but may find hidden gems. Indeed, as said on their about us page:

“Our focus is not on any one particular type of music; instead we are constantly on the lookout for what we consider to be the most innovative, exceptional, interesting and often overlooked music out there – regardless of where it has come from or who it is made by.”

• Site: https://boomkat.com

Record pools (premium)

Record pools are a good way to update your library regularly at a lower cost. Record pools work against a subscription per month instead of the per song purchase.

The second difference is that libraries on record pools focus on fresh stuff. In other words, you won’t find old songs on those. That’s not the case of all the pools though, but the latter is rarer.

The purpose is to be a no brainer for DJs. You connect, download what is new and popular and you are ready. At a cheaper price than regular stores on top of that!

Some record pools also have “promos” agreement with record labels. Meaning the songs will be available on the record pools before the official release!

Record pools are a good way to have remixes of popular songs from the charts (by that I mean pop, etc). Very useful for mobile DJs that play weddings, etc.

They are a good complement to regular digital stores. You may find most of the songs you need at a lower price. Then for the songs not present on the record pool, you purchase it on the regular stores. You should save money this way. But the important thing is to find the record pool that suits your style!

Some record pools propose unlimited downloads whereas others may have a limit number per month.

Most record pools propose 320 kbps MP3s.

Digital DJ Pool

This is the first record pool I am listing because that’s the only one that has a trial period. For $1 you can test the service for 5 days. On other platforms, you will have to pay the entire monthly fee of $20-30 / month.

Slick interface, easy to use and useful information where it should be. Digital DJ Pool has one of the best interfaces. You can search for songs by artist, song, genre, and BPM. The site even has charts per style and its own social network. Follow DJs you like, see what they download and download the same songs! It works also for artists and labels.

Digital DJ Pool is one of the platforms to also have an iOS and android app.

DJ City

DJ City is one of the oldest Record Pool out there. Really great for open format DJs because it has a very good selection of pop and hits.

It has a big team of editors, guys that edit songs to create versions easy to mix. They add intros, remove dirty words, etc. As such, it classifies all its library with this particular edits:

• Radio
• Club ready
• Clean
• Dirty
• Acapella
• Instrumental

Compared to Digital DJ Pool, it lacks electronic music categories. But on the other hand, DJ City has many pop songs. Something Digital DJ Pool is less complete (more remixes than originals). It really shows that it is important to find the record pool that suits you.

It has many sub-categories of Hip-Hop if you are into this.

It doesn’t have a monthly subscription, you have no choice but to buy 3 months for $90. That may discourage some people.

No social network to follow DJs. Have mobile apps and a desktop app. The interface could be improved, a bit behind its competitors.

BPM Supreme

In my opinion one the best pool regarding genre categories. Looking for Hardcore, Trance, Tropical House or Future Bass? BPM Supreme has a very comprehensive list of genres which is pretty rare. Go have a look at their complete list of genres here.

On top of that, they still have non-electronic music: pop, rock, country, etc. So BPM Supreme is also great for Open Format DJs!

I also like that they have big categories and subcategories. Like Dance -> then House / Trance / Techno. Therefore, if you want to look at the record pool charts for all electronic music, you can. Want to look specifically at house charts? You can too! Very useful.

You can browse by style, artist, title, BPM but also key! Browsing by key is a nice addition compared to other pools. It also has playlists and curated sets.

The monthly subscription is $20. You can register for free to have a look at the catalog without downloading. The interface is also really great.

Late Night Record Pool

Late Night Record Pool is among the premium pools with… a premium price! At $47 a month, it definitely isn’t suited for everyone. However, you have nice features coming with the price.

Late Night Record Pool is the kind of pool that does not focus on new stuff only. Indeed, it has a throwback section and decades categories. 70s, 80s, 90, 00s and 10s, LNRP got you covered! That’s the main reason for the price of this pool. Indeed the catalog is huge (50,000+ songs) and keeps growing.

The interface is ok. The site proposes also edits. Can browse by genre, artist, decade, BPM, but not by key. It does not have mobile apps. The difference in price is really due to its catalog size. Because of that, it makes it great for open format DJs.

Direct Music Service

Another premium pools among the record pools. As “Late Night Record Pool”, you can find old stuff in there. DMS is the most expensive pool out there because of its catalog size. Price is $29.95 per month for only 40 downloads! In fact, it is one of the oldest record pools out there. That’s why they claim their catalog is the biggest, hence the price!

Direct Music Service is also known to have among the best edits out there. In 2016, it was told they had 15 people working 24/7 on the edits, which is mind-blowing. Some people complain they do not propose radio edits sometimes, only “intro” ones. I don’t believe this is a real problem as long as you put your CUE after the intro.

The interface goes straight to the point and functional, though not being the best good looking one. You can filter by style, decade, type of edit and BPM. It has mobile apps and – as LNRP – categories by decades.

I don’t really like that you cannot have a look at a sample view of the catalog. Difficult to tell before subscription if this pool is right for you. Considering the price of this pool, it may bother many of you not to know beforehand.

Mainstream digital stores (premium)

If you are more of an “Open Format” DJ, then this is where to look at. Open format DJs do not stick to one music style in particular. Wedding DJs or mobile DJs fall into this category. In particular, that is where to look for something different than electronic or hip hop music.

iTunes / Music

Well, this is no surprise to find Apple here. iTunes was one of the first platforms to propose digital downloads. It exists since 2003! It’s kind of the leader today to legally download music. Great to have files in 256 kbps AAC (apple format), which have a better quality to size ratio compared to MP3.

If you have an iPhone or an iMac, then that’s probably your best shot. It is often better to stay in an Apple environment for convenience. Indeed, having a good workflow is important to keep motivation!

Please note that iTunes may disappear someday to be completely replaced by “Music”. It is already done on mac OS. iTunes still exist on Windows, but for how long?

The library is huge. In fact, many electronic musics available on Beatport at release also finish on iTunes after some time. As it proposes also non-electronic music, that makes iTunes something really complete. If you are willing to wait, you can create your complete music collection from there.

New or popular songs are usually at $1.29 and others at $0.99.

Google play

Google Play is like the equivalent of iTunes with a google environment. As for many google solutions, it does not propose a desktop app. On computers, you will have to use the web-based application instead.

It is kind of sad because with iTunes the song is automatically classified in your music library. iTunes is a music player and a library manager at the same time. Something Google does not offer.

With Google Play you will need to use an external software. That’s not a real problem though as most DJs organize their music in the DJ software itself. This is a good habit because DJ software have usually more functionalities. So I won’t bother with that.

Like iTunes, many musics available on Beatport at the beginning eventually finish on google play. That leads to a huge library for both electronic and non-electronic music. Songs are 320 kbps MP3s, whereas iTunes songs are 256 kbps AACs.

The price per download is similar to Apple. New or popular songs are usually at $1.29 and others at $0.99.

Amazon

The strength of the Amazon store is to have CDs, Vinyl and MP3s all in the same store. That’s the only platform to offer everything on the same website with such a large music library.

It is similar to iTunes and Google Play in terms of price and music available. Like Google Play, Amazon does not have a desktop application.

Personally, I don’t really like the interface. I feel it really is outdated nowadays.

Free

There are many free websites out there. But most of them will be a loss of time for you. Many garbage tracks, bad interface, etc. That’s why I will only list the ones I believe are both useful and efficient.

Soundcloud

Soundcloud is the social media the most used by DJs. DJs mostly use it to post their mix. But they also post their music sometimes, especially when they want to offer it free. Indeed, if there is one place to download something free from an artist you like, it’s Soundcloud!

Simply follow the artists you do like. Then just regularly check your social stream. Even if there might not be free songs every time, you will at least discover songs from your favorites artists! This should be a sufficient enough reason for every DJ.

Note that if you subscribe to Soundcloud Go+ ($9.99 / month). You can directly stream the music in some DJ software.

Facebook

Artists do offer free music sometimes on Facebook. Of course, Facebook is not specialized in music like Soundcloud is. However, it can also have other benefits like: videos of your favorite artists showing their gear, behind the scenes, fresh information, etc.

In order to not miss the free stuff, subscribe to the page or profile. Then do not forget to modify your subscription into “see first”. This way you won’t miss any post.

Don’t lose your time on these

Below is a list of websites often mentioned to download free music. But personally, I believe they are not worth the effort. It is true that they do offer free music, but mainly from unknown artists!

In short, you will spend a ton of time and effort to find a few good songs. From my point of view, that’s not an effective way to find new tunes.

Those platforms are great for other reasons, don’t get me wrong. But as a DJ, spending time on other platforms will be much more efficient for you.

Bandcamp

Great platform for independent artists or labels. Creators can build a page easily with the possibility to offer music for free, against an open donation or a fixed fee.

Site: https://bandcamp.com

Jamendo

Similar to Bandcamp but less popular.

Site: https://www.jamendo.com

Soundclick

One of the oldest platforms online that offered to download music legally. Now is mainly used by independent artists like on Bandcamp. Bandcamp is much more popular though.

Site: https://www.soundclick.com

Reverbnation

Similar to Bandcamp but less popular.

Site: https://www.reverbnation.com

Last.fm

Last.fm main feature is to create your own listening charts by installing a little software on your computer. From that, it creates your own data and tells you what songs you listen to with statistics. In that regard, its kind of a social network.

Site: https://www.last.fm

Conclusion

If you had to keep 3 sites to download music with, I will advise Beatport + iTunes or Google Play + Soundcloud.

Buy most of your songs on iTunes or Google Play, according to your preference of environment or file type (AAC vs MP3). If you cannot wait for a Beatport exclusivity to be lifted, then only buy it on Beatport. That’s probably the most cost-effective way to get music!

Then, Soundcloud will be to download the few free songs and follow your favorite DJs.

Record pools are not for every DJ, but if you want to try one I would advise having a look at BPM Supreme. If you are looking at free DJ pool alternatives, please have a look at this post.

But remember, buying songs does not prevent you from paying a music license when you play in public!