Versions & edits
Original mix
The original mix is the producer’s own primary version of a track, as distinct from remixes and edits of it. On dance releases it is usually the longest and most DJ-friendly cut on the record.
In practice
The producer’s own version, and usually the DJ-friendly one. Original does not mean shorter or plainer.
When a release offers original and radio versions, take the original for club use without thinking about it — it has the intro and outro you need. Keep the version name in your filenames and tags, because "Artist - Title" with no version is how you end up loading a three-minute radio cut in front of a full room. Where a release has multiple remixes, the original is also the reference: know how it goes before you judge whether a remix is worth carrying.
The artist's
Whose version it is
Longest
Usually, on a dance release
In the tag
Where to keep the version
Where these come from: Release conventions and tagging practice. The measured median lengths per version type are on the extended mix and radio edit pages. For what we can measure, see the measured length comparison.
Why it matters
The label is doing a specific job on a release that carries remixes: it tells you which version is the artist’s and which are somebody else’s reading of it. Where a release has no remixes, the tag often appears anyway out of convention, which is why it can look redundant.
It is also worth knowing that "original" does not mean "unedited". A club original is frequently a longer arrangement built for mixing, with an intro and outro the radio version does not have — so the original is the DJ cut rather than the plain one.
Frequently asked
Is the original mix the same as the extended mix?+
Often, on dance releases — the original is built for DJs and is already long. Where a release lists both, the extended is the longer of the two.
Why do some releases tag a version when there is only one?+
Convention, mostly. Stores and distributors expect a version field, so "Original Mix" gets filled in whether or not anything else exists to distinguish it from.
Should I keep the version name in my filenames?+
Always. Versions of one record share a title, and a filename that cannot tell them apart guarantees you load the wrong one eventually.
Related terms
Extended mix
An extended mix is the DJ cut of a release — a longer intro and outro with more bars of beats at each end, so there is room to mix in and out. It is the version that belongs in a set.
Radio edit
A radio edit is a shortened version cut for airplay — usually under four minutes, with the long intro and outro removed and the arrangement tightened. It is the version that gives a DJ the least to work with.
Clean version
A clean version has explicit language removed, muted, reversed or replaced; the dirty or explicit version is the original. Which you need depends entirely on the room rather than on the record.
Remaster
A remaster reprocesses an existing recording — level, EQ, sometimes noise reduction — without changing the performance. Nothing is re-recorded and nothing is rearranged; only the presentation changes.
Explore: MP3 metadata editor · Extended mix · Radio edit · All DJ terms