Throwback Tracks - Where To Get Them
Karl Thomas here and I hope you are all having a great day! One of the most commonly asked questions I get as a DJ is, where do I find older music. You know those tracks that you must have in your collection but they are just, well, a bit….old!
Lets face it record pools, whilst they are good, pretty much only focus on the latest releases and if you miss them, after 6-12 months they are removed from the site. I have compiled my favourite sources to download older tracks and some of these you may not have come across before reading this!
Please note I do not work nor have any affiliations with the services mentioned below.
iTunes/ Amazon
These 2 sites are absolute GOLD when it comes to older music with a tonne of music from all decades, genres and styles. You can find old albums and compilations and so much more on both iTunes and Amazon and the great news is that if you find an album or compilation, you don’t always have to download everything so you can focus on the music you would like to have in your collection.
Whilst downloading from these sites is fairly cheap per download (as little as $0.99 per track), you do have to bear in mind that you are paying per download and so if you are downloading a lot then costs can mount up so just keep an eye on your basket before you hit the buy button! In addition, you will not find DJ friendly edits since these sites are designed for everyone and are not specialist for DJs.
The great news though is once you have the track, it is yours to keep and do as you wish, no restrictions playing it without having an internet connection and you will be able to use it with STEMs in your DJ software and record using the track directly in your DJ software too.
2. Themashup.co.uk
Yes it is a record pool however when it comes to throwback tracks, The Mashup probably has the the largest collection which I have seen. Will it have everything? No, however if you are looking for a record pool and don’t wish to pay per download then this is probably your best bet.
What’s even better is that for older tracks whereby the original version was recorded with real instruments you can often find a quantized version of the records for easier beat matching (no tempo fluctuations) and even DJ friendly intro versions. These are pretty hard to come by in general as tracks back then weren’t really made with DJ’s front of mind.
At the time of writing this guide, The Mashup is a monthly subscription service with the standard subscription costing £20.00 per month (it’s a UK based site however available worldwide). That will allow you 150 downloads per month.
Much like with iTunes and Amazon, you are downloading individual tracks which are yours to keep so they will work without an internet connection, STEMs and internal DJ software recording.
Check them out here;
3. Mastermixdj.com
Mastermix has been around for YEARS however it’s not really spoken about much these days. They were a go to promo service back in the day and sold music via CD. To this day they still offer DJs collections of new releases however they also have great complications of music from across various decades which are guaranteed floor fillers.
Not only that they offer pre-mixed albums and so if you need an hour or so of music in one continuous mix this is a great service for you to look at.
Highly recommended collections to consider from Mastermix for throwback music are;
The Essential Hits collection
DJ Re-grids (quantized versions of tracks)
100 collections
Mastemix collection (pre-mixed)
Retro Mixes
Everything is downloaded from Mastermix, meaning music is yours to keep, plus the offer both subscriptions and a pay as you go service.
Check them out below;
4. Spotify/ Apple Music
Whilst not the first choice of many DJs due to the constant need to be connected to the internet, plus limitations on using STEMs, you cannot ignore the fact that if you have a subscription to one of these services you literally have access to millions of tracks at your fingertips and these services apply to both new and old music.
Of course there are dedicated playlists to help you with finding those floor fillers and for a low price you won’t be the scale of the collection you have the ability to play now these services directly integrate with your DJ software. Just please bear in mind that you need a goos solid and constant internet connection with these 2 services as no offline playback in DJ software is currently available.
I am sure there are other sources out there too however these 4 should help you out and get you on the right track! Happy crate digging!