The Lowdown
DJcity is a promotional music subscription service that provides professional DJs with the latest club and radio music in full-quality 320kbps MP3 format. It focuses on new music only and costs US$90 for three months. For that, you get unlimited downloads and each MP3 comes pre-filled with metadata for the artist, track title and BPM. Standardised cue points and beatgrids are also included, ready for easy use with the DJ software of your choice. Overall, a solid record pool for professional DJs who need the latest chart and club hits for their gigs.
Video Review
First Impressions / Setting up
DJcity record pool has a very simple, clear design; everything you might need to do is easily accessible from the main page. You can browse the latest additions to the pool, or check out some “top picks” which are suggested tracks to grab based on your previous download activity. You have a search box and a more advanced filter further down, while you can filter by genre from the top.
DJcity specialises in club and radio music for DJs, including hip-hop, house, R&B, latin, trap, twerk, EDM, reggae, dancehall and other popular genres. This makes the pool ideal for mobile and wedding DJs but less so for those playing sweaty basement techno raves.
In Use
After a quick browse around the latest tracks and charts, I tested out the preview player. It’s another simple affair, as you can see in the picture above. Flicking through the track works a treat and the preview clip is long enough to get a good feel for the track. I still prefer a player to pop up at the bottom of the screen though.
One thing that is lacking here though is that you can’t just click “Jay-Z” and have all of his tracks come up; you have to manually search for artists that way.
Downloading
In order to download a track, first of all you have to leave some feedback in traditional record pool style. When you have left a star rating (leaving a comment is optional), you are given the option to download different versions of the track in 320kpbs quality MP3 format. The download process went without hitch; just one click and the track was in my downloads folder on my computer.
Another thoughtful addition to the downloads page was on some tracks, extra info is given before you download. I saw, for example: “Note: Track tempo fluctuates between 88 and 90 BPM”. This is useful for manual beatmixing.
Trends
The “Trends” section of the site is a monthly collection of charts intended to help DJs discover new and emerging club music. These tracks are recommended by DJs for DJs; great for those who need a bit of digging inspiration.
I was pleasantly surprised when I clicked to preview a track that a more contemporary player popped up at bottom too. Again, the preview player loaded and worked perfectly.
Conclusion
I liked the simple, stripped back design and the site is generally easy to navigate. However, the addition of artist links on the site would make browsing and digging around much easier. It is a well-curated pool and the trends section of the site is excellent for those who need a little nudge in the right direction to find some gems.
DJs will especially appreciate downloads having pre-filled metadata, with standardised cue points and beatgrids also included. Some might not like the fact that there are no classics to be found here but all of that is explained in the FAQ. DJcity’s licences only allow for the promotion of new music.
Overall, DJcity record pool is a solid option for professional DJs who need the latest chart and club hits for their gigs.
