ANSWER · MASTERING & EXPORT
What Files Does a DJ Need for a Track?
“What files does a DJ need for a track, and what is in a DJ pack?”
A DJ needs a properly tagged audio file above all: an MP3 at 320 kbps or a WAV, with the title, artist, BPM, key and cover art in the tags, mastered to club loudness. Beyond that, cue points in a form their software can import, a rekordbox XML for Pioneer users, and a plain-text cue sheet for everyone else turn a download into a track that is ready to play in minutes.
The essentials
| File | Why |
|---|---|
| MP3 320 kbps CBR | Universal. Plays on every player and in every application. Carries tags |
| WAV 24-bit 48 kHz | Lossless for DJs who want it and for further mastering; plays on current CDJs and Engine players |
| Cover art JPEG | Shows on the deck and in the browser; helps the DJ find the track |
The tags that matter
Every DJ application reads standard tags, so get them right:
- Title and artist, with "(Extended Mix)" in the title when it is one.
- BPM as a whole number in the tempo tag.
- Key in the key tag as a musical name, plus Camelot and Open Key in extra text tags for applications that prefer them.
- Genre so the track files correctly.
- Comment listing the cue positions and the intro and outro lengths in bars, which lets any DJ set cues by hand in a minute.
- Embedded cover art.
Cue points and grid
Cue points are proprietary. Serato reads them from frames inside the MP3; rekordbox imports them from XML; Traktor, VirtualDJ, Engine DJ and djay need them set in the application or imported from one of the other two. A complete pack covers all three cases: Serato frames in the file, a rekordbox XML and a text cue sheet.
A beat grid anchored at the first downbeat with the BPM, delivered the same three ways, saves the DJ from re-analysing.
The DJ pack in Club Ready Music
Every generated track has a DJ pack download, a zip containing:
- The MP3 320 with ID3 tags: title, artist, album, genre, BPM, musical key, Camelot and Open Key, a comment with cues and bar counts, cover art, Serato hot cues (intro end, first drop, outro start, vocal in where present) and a Serato beat grid locked at the track's BPM.
- The WAV 24-bit 48 kHz, when the track was rendered with WAV on.
- The cover JPEG, rendered at 3000 pixels.
- cue points.txt: a human-readable sheet with BPM, key in all three notations, intro and outro bars and each cue in minutes, seconds and milliseconds.
- rekordbox.xml for that track, with a tempo marker at zero and the cues as position marks.
- README.txt with the import steps for Serato, rekordbox, VirtualDJ and Traktor.
A crate-wide rekordbox XML covering every ready track is also available from the Studio.
What a DJ edit delivers
A DJ edit of an uploaded song is delivered as an MP3 320 and, when requested, a 24-bit 48 kHz WAV, each tagged with title, artist, BPM and a comment listing the intro-end and outro-start times. The edit page player has Intro, Drop in and Outro buttons so the positions can be heard before they are set in software.
Sending tracks to other DJs
Share the Club Ready Music track page so they can hear the whole song, then send the pack. Name files consistently, "Artist - Title (Extended Mix).mp3", so they sort correctly in a browser, and keep the club master and any streaming master in separate folders.
Frequently asked
Should I send DJs MP3 or WAV?
Both if you can. MP3 320 is what most DJs load; WAV is what some insist on. A 24-bit 48 kHz WAV is the standard high-resolution delivery. Club Ready Music's pack includes both.
What is in Club Ready Music's DJ pack?
The tagged MP3 320 with Serato cues and grid, the 24-bit 48 kHz WAV when rendered, the cover JPEG, a cue points text file, a rekordbox XML and a README with import steps for each DJ application.