Library & files
Folder structure
Folder structure is how the audio files sit on disk, which is a separate question from how the library is organised inside DJ software. The software points at files; folders decide whether that pointer survives.
In practice
Organise inside the software and keep folders boring. Every folder you reorganise is a relink you scheduled for later.
One root, then a scheme that never needs revising — by purchase month, by label, or simply by artist. Never by genre and never by gig, because both change and neither is how you will search. Keep the root on one drive, keep the same absolute path on every machine that opens the library, and if you must move things, move them from inside the DJ software so the database follows.
One root
How many top folders
By date
A scheme that never changes
Never genre
The scheme that always breaks
Where these come from: Library-management conventions across Rekordbox, Serato and Traktor — not catalog figures. For what we can measure, see what happens when it breaks.
Why it matters
The mistake almost everyone makes once is organising folders the way they organise crates — by genre, by vibe, by gig. Then a track turns out to belong in two places, or a genre gets renamed, or a file gets dragged, and the database is pointing at a path that no longer exists. Every relink is a folder decision coming back.
The structure that survives is boring and permanent: something you will never need to change. Organisation belongs in the software, where a track can be in nine crates at once and moving it costs nothing, and the folders exist only to hold files somewhere stable.
Frequently asked
Should I sort my music folders by genre?+
No. Genre is the one thing your software already indexes and the one thing that changes its mind. Sort folders by something permanent and let crates and tags do the genre work.
Does it matter if files are on an external drive?+
Only that the drive mounts at the same path every time. A drive letter or volume name that changes between sessions produces a library full of missing files for no other reason.
Can I move files after importing them?+
Move them from inside the DJ software, which updates the database as it goes. Moving them in Finder or Explorer breaks every reference and leaves you relinking.
Related terms
File naming
File naming is the convention behind the filenames themselves — usually artist, title and mix name. It matters because the filename is the one piece of metadata that survives when tags are missing, stripped or wrong.
Relinking missing files
Relinking points your library’s database back at audio it can no longer find, after the files were moved, renamed or unplugged. The track entry survives with its grids and cues; only the path to the audio is broken.
Backup
Backing up a DJ library means copying two separate things: the audio files, and the database holding the cues, grids, playlists and history. Losing either one loses years of work, and they live in different places.
Library database
Your DJ software keeps its own database of everything it knows about your collection — file locations, beatgrids, cue points, crates, play history. The audio files sit elsewhere on disk; the database is what turns them into a library.