Set craft
Mixtape
A mixtape is a recorded, continuous DJ mix released as a piece of work in its own right rather than as a document of a gig. It is arranged for listening rather than for a dancefloor.
In practice
Arranged for a listener, not a floor. Shorter, more varied, and willing to go quiet in a way a set is not.
Build it as a piece rather than recording a gig: forty-five minutes to an hour is plenty, and a mix that moves between moods holds attention far better than one that sustains a single energy. Use the quiet sections a dancefloor would not tolerate — they are what make the loud ones land in headphones. Then check where you are uploading it and supply a tracklist, because that is both what gets the artists paid and what makes the mix useful to the people who like it.
45–60 min
A workable length
Varied
Not sustained
Tracklist
Always supply one
Where these come from: Mix-production practice, not a catalog figure. For what we can measure, see what happens when you upload it.
Why it matters
The difference from a recorded set is the audience and therefore the shape. A dancefloor needs sustained energy; a listener needs variety, and a mix that works for two hours in a room can be exhausting through headphones on a train. Mixtapes are usually shorter, more varied and more willing to drop the energy right down.
It is also the most durable thing a DJ makes. Gigs are gone the next morning; a mixtape circulates, gets shared, and is what a promoter listens to when deciding whether to book you — which makes it worth considerably more attention than most DJs give it.
Frequently asked
How long should a mixtape be?+
Forty-five minutes to an hour is plenty. A listener is not a dancefloor and does not need two hours of sustained energy.
Can I just record a gig?+
You can, and it will read as a gig recording. A mix arranged for listening moves between moods in ways a floor would not tolerate, and that is what makes it work in headphones.
Should I include a tracklist?+
Yes. It is how the artists in the mix get attributed and paid, and it makes the mix far more useful to anyone who likes it.
Related terms
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.
Mix licensing
A recorded DJ mix contains other people’s recordings and compositions, so putting it online is a use that needs permission. Some platforms hold blanket licences covering it; others do not, and the difference decides what happens.
Live stream
A live stream is a set broadcast in real time to an online audience. The mixing is the same; the room is not, and almost everything that makes a club set work is missing from the feedback loop.
Set list
A set list is the running order a DJ intends to play — the sequence rather than the collection. How long it needs to be is arithmetic: slot length divided by how long the records actually run.
Explore: Tracklist maker · Planning a radio mix · Mix licensing · All DJ terms