How to choose the song length for an AI DJ track (2:00 to 5:00)

Set length under 05 · Groove in the Club Ready Music studio: the Length select runs from 2:00 to 5:00 in 30-second steps, with 5:00 as the default. Length is sent to the model as a target duration, and your intro, breakdown and outro bars have to fit inside it, so pick the length after you know the arrangement. At 126 BPM a 5:00 track is about 157 bars; a 2:00 track is only 63.

Steps

1. Convert your BPM to bars per minute

One bar of 4/4 lasts 240 ÷ BPM seconds. At 120 BPM that is 2 seconds, so 30 bars per minute. At 128 BPM it is 32 bars per minute. At 174 BPM it is 43.5. Keep this number in your head while you pick the length.

2. Add up the arrangement you chose

Take the values from 06 · DJ mix edit. With the defaults, 16-bar intro plus 16-bar break plus 32-bar outro is 64 bars of edges and breakdown before any verse, chorus or drop. With a 32-bar intro and 64-bar outro it is 112 bars.

3. Pick a length that leaves room for the body

Subtract the edges from the total. At 126 BPM, 5:00 gives 157 bars, minus 64 leaves 93 bars for the body, which is plenty for two drops and a vocal. At 3:00 the total is 94 bars, minus 64 leaves 30 bars: enough for one drop and not much else. Choose 4:00 or longer for full DJ arrangements.

4. Choose by use

5:00 is the extended mix: long edges, two drops, room for a breakdown. 4:00 suits peak-time tools with 16-bar edges. 3:00 to 3:30 suits vocal tracks you will share more than mix. 2:00 to 2:30 suits quick ideas, jingles that need a bed, or testing a brief before committing to a long render.

5. Set the Length select

Open 05 · Groove and pick the value. The result tag on the right shows the length next to BPM and key, and the waveform intro and outro labels scale with it. On a phone the control is on step 4.

6. Check the drop bar still fits

Drop at bar must land inside the body. With a 2:00 track and a 32-bar intro, a drop at bar 48 is three quarters of the way through the file. Shorten the intro or move the drop to 16 when the track is short. See place the first drop.

7. Render and compare the real duration

After the render the file duration shows in the crate and in the DJ pack cue sheet. Models land within a few seconds of the target. Cue points for outro start are computed from the real file length, so they stay correct even when the duration is slightly off.

Tips

• Default to 5:00 for anything you will mix. You can always mix out early; you cannot stretch a short file.
• Lower the length for test renders. A 2:00 render costs the same credit but tells you quickly whether a brief works.
• Longer length, longer outro. If you choose 5:00, a 64-bar outro is affordable; at 3:00 keep the outro at 16 or 32.
• The suffix is separate. The (Extended Mix) checkbox under the song name only changes the title; it does not change the length.
• Lyrics scale with length. The built-in writer keeps lyrics under 1,200 characters, which fits a 3:30 to 5:00 track. For 2:00, cut the draft to one verse and chorus.

Common problems

The track ends before the lyrics finish. The length is too short for the words. Move to 4:00 or 5:00, or trim the lyrics to a verse, chorus and drop.

The body is almost all intro and outro. Your edges are eating the length. At 3:00 and 126 BPM, 32-bar intro plus 64-bar outro leaves two bars. Choose 16 and 32, or raise the length.

The file is a few seconds shorter than I asked. That is normal. The hard start also trims leading silence. Cue points are recomputed from the real duration, so nothing in the tags is wrong.

The second drop never arrived. There was no room. Each drop needs 16 to 32 bars plus a build. Pick 4:30 or 5:00 and an 8- or 16-bar break.