Versions & edits
Flip
A flip takes a record and turns it into something else — usually a different genre or tempo — while keeping a recognisable piece of the original. It is looser than a remix and more transformative than an edit.
In practice
A flip moves a record somewhere it could not otherwise go — usually a different tempo or genre.
Keep one element genuinely recognisable, because that is the entire payoff: a flip nobody recognises is just a new track. The vocal hook is the usual choice. And be honest about the label when you share it — flip, bootleg, edit and remix mean different things to the people you are sending it to, and using the wrong one reads as either overclaiming or not knowing the difference.
1
Recognisable element needed
Tempo
What it most often moves
No stems
What separates it from a remix
Where these come from: Release-vocabulary convention and production practice, not catalog figures. For what we can measure, see the restrained version.
Why it matters
The word exists because "remix" implies permission and "edit" implies restraint, and a flip is neither. It is what a producer calls a version that reimagines a track without stems, without clearance, and without much interest in preserving the original arrangement.
For a DJ the useful property is tempo relocation. A flip is how a record that only works at 124 becomes usable at 174, which is exactly the problem a set spanning genres keeps running into — and it is a more musical answer than pitching something twenty per cent.
Frequently asked
What is the difference between a flip and a remix?+
A remix usually implies permission and access to stems; a flip implies neither. A flip reimagines a record from the released audio.
Is a flip the same as a bootleg?+
They overlap heavily. "Bootleg" emphasises the unofficial status and "flip" emphasises the transformation, and plenty of tracks are honestly described as both.
How much of the original should survive?+
Enough to be recognised, and usually that means the vocal hook. A flip nobody recognises is simply a new track with extra legal risk.
Related terms
Edit
An edit is a rearranged version of an existing record — a longer intro, a trimmed breakdown, a drop moved — made by a DJ for their own sets. The original parts stay; the running order changes.
Bootleg
A bootleg is an unofficial edit or remix released without the rights holder’s permission. It circulates on USB sticks and private links rather than through stores, which is exactly why you will not find many for sale.
Mashup
A mashup combines elements of two or more separate records into one — most often one track’s vocal over another’s instrumental. It is distinct from a bootleg, which is an unofficial edit of a single record.
Remix
A remix is a new production built from another artist’s parts — usually a different arrangement, often a different genre and tempo. The original vocal or hook survives; almost nothing else has to.
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