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Forthcoming
Forthcoming means a track is signed and scheduled but not yet released. DJs are given it early to build demand, usually with an agreed date before which it should not be shared or posted.
In practice
Signed, scheduled, not out. Know the date, do not post it early, and say "forthcoming" when asked.
Keep forthcoming material tagged so you can find it and, more importantly, so you know what is in a mix before you upload it — automated matching will find an unreleased track in a recording and the label will hear about it. Ask what the terms are rather than assuming: some producers are happy for a track to appear in a mix immediately, some want the date respected, and the only way to know is to ask when you are sent it.
The date
What to know
Tag it
So you know what is in a mix
Ask
What the terms are
Where these come from: Promo and label-relationship practice, not a catalog figure. For what we can measure, see what happens when a mix goes online.
Why it matters
It is the currency of a DJ’s relationship with labels and producers. Being trusted with forthcoming material is what makes a set feel ahead of the room, and breaking that trust once — posting a mix with an unreleased track in it before the date — reliably ends the supply.
It also produces the most common awkward moment in a booth: someone asking what a track is when you are not allowed to say. The honest answer is that it is forthcoming and the date, which is a better response than either lying or naming something you were asked not to.
Frequently asked
Can I play a forthcoming track out?+
That is generally the point of being sent it. Recording and posting it is the part that usually has terms attached, so ask when you receive it rather than afterwards.
What do I say when someone asks what it is?+
"It is forthcoming on [label], out on [date]." That is a real answer, it respects the arrangement, and it is more useful to the person asking than a name they cannot buy.
How do I keep track of what is unreleased?+
Tag it. You need to know what is in a recording before you upload it, because automated matching certainly will.
Related terms
White label
A white label is a record pressed with a blank or minimal label, sent out ahead of release or issued without official credits. It carries no artwork and often no artist name at all.
Dubplate
A dubplate is a one-off record cut for a single DJ, historically onto acetate. In sound-system culture it is usually a personalised version of a track recorded specially for that DJ.
Guest mix
A guest mix is a recorded mix made for someone else’s platform — a label’s series, a radio show, a podcast, another DJ’s channel. It reaches an audience that has not chosen you, which changes how it should be built.
Track ID
A track ID is a request to name a record played in a set — and, in a tracklist, the placeholder "ID" standing in for a track that is unreleased or deliberately withheld.
Explore: Promo pack triage · White label · Track ID · All DJ terms