I want to try something different on my part time job - software question
 

I am putting together a proposal to the people who own a bar where I DJ. I am tired of using scratched up poor quality sounding CDs that continually fail and need to be replaced.

I want to incorporate their library into a PC simply dedicated to playing music and printing lists of said music.

I have the PC and the spreadsheet software that comes with Microsoft Works. I also have an independent external drive to backup all music data in case of failure.

The only thing I am lacking is a good music mix software. It doesn't need to be anything fancy, I am not looking to be DJ Scratchy Wolf. I just simply want something that sorts by multiple routines (artist, genre, song title, etc), provides the ability to build music lists, and allows a fade in/fade out option between songs.

The standard Media Player does not allow multiple routines, it is stuck with the search option nor does it allow the crossfade option.


I figure I can spend up to 80.00 on the software and not go over my proposed budget. Any suggestions?

Free solutions..possibly Winamp? Itunes? The only thing I see a problem is the "routines" you speak of. Heck, iTunes has crossfade and fade in/fade out, and it has a "party shuffle" that completely randomizes all play.

I never want to randomize. We have over 2,500 tunes and I could see a party atmosphere being sucked out of a room when we go from Drowning Pool's Bodies to Murphy Lee's What da Hookup Gonna Be? to Gretchen Wilson's Redneck Woman.

Can I turn off the internet options on Winamp so I don't constantly get an annoying message like "can't connect" or "can't identify"?

I will check iTunes out.

Go for the gusto... back when I first started in Radio people were paying $10k for this software... now you can download it LEGALLY for free!

Digilink Free

DT

I gotcha.

Yes, you can turn off all the internet crap on Winamp. Like I said..randomization WITHIN genres (automatically) is tough, but i'm sure there is software out there that can do it.

That's what I am looking for.

Cool. I will check it out. Is it legally free for businesses as well?

MusicMatch was an excellent $20 investment, IBDHO.

Their site is lacking. Can I sort by multiple criteria in MM? Such as looking by artist for awhile, then by genre, etc?

Yup.

You can even tag songs by rating, mood, tempo and situation and use the "Auto DJ" function to select your tracks. Bob Dole hasn't had the need for crossfade or tempo matching, but there are probably plugins available for those functions...

There's a free version that doesn't have the auto-tag feature, rips slower, etc... But it has all the other functions that might interest you.

Actually, I don't mind paying a few bucks for the full version. I used MM when I got my first mp3 player - but that was several versions ago. I see they are up to 8.0 now.

Yes, they even pimp the fact that radio stations all over the world are using thier free software to make money. They basically threw thier hands in the air back in 2001 when all the other automation companies were kicking thier ass. I still remember that NAB, I was actually there, and that was the talk of the freaking show... at least for us low-life radio folks. The TV guys were all worried about spending ther $12,000,000 budget on the first day of the show.

DT

Oh for god's sake.... with all respect to the posters, not one software solution here is good enough for a professional 'club' or 'mobile' dj... half of them will crash your computer, the others won't mix right... Digilink is the biggest piece of crap of all of them.

Just like in any other business, if you want a solution that is not going to crap out on you and is still going to make you look good as a professional, there is no such thing as free.

I have my own share of, um, borrowed software, but all of my dj systems go out with professional, purchased software. This is also the software that most mobiles in the KC area use that are computerized....

http://www.otsjuke.com

If you can't afford the $249 version, they also have a lite version available. In three years, it has NEVER crashed during a show and is configurable enough to give you the categorization you need with the options you do need (pauses, stops, manual dj, talkovers)

That babbling said, if you want to just be able to fade, there is a fader plugin for WinAmp that works ok (I use it on the Karoke side of the world).. I've never crashed WinAmp either, but I wouldn't dream of using it for a show....

No matter what route you go,

1) Be prepared to go digital... it took me over 6 months to get a 20year music collection (albums, tapes, CD's) into MP3 format

2) Whatever you do, in a bar situation, NEVER, EVER, use downloaded music. You and your bar owners must be able to prove ownership the minute RIAA, BMI, ASCAP, or SESAC walks into the bar. If you cannot prove ownership, they have the rights to seize the suspected equipment, and if you are using an internal hard drive, that means they can take your entire farking computer.

Even though I am digital, I still travel with my entire CD collection, notorized printouts of my Tape & Album collection and all of my ITUNES receipts.

Your in Liberty, right now BMI is raising holy hell in Warsaw, and RIAA and ASCAP are waging war in Sedalia. SESAC pretty much ignores our part of the world.

Every single tune is owned and logged. That I am sure of. That is the reason I would prefer to pay for the software I use as well.

Yeah, I plan on converting all to mp3 format. It will take approximately 10 days, as I stated in the proposal.

Thanks for the link

Realplayer from realplayer.com

Even free one is good.

Build your own play list.

Haven't used the DJ one yet.