Library & files
Playlist vs crate
A crate is a collection of tracks you might play; a playlist is a running order you intend to play. The distinction is order — a crate is a box, a playlist is a sequence.
In practice
If the order carries information, it is a playlist. If it does not, it is a crate — and mixing the two costs you both.
Keep crates broad and unordered, and build a playlist per gig from them on the day. That way the crate stays a working store you add to for months, and the playlist stays short enough that its sequence is a real plan rather than a suggestion you ignore by track three. A useful test: if you would be annoyed to find it re-sorted alphabetically, it is a playlist.
Order
The only real difference
Broad
How a crate should be
Per gig
How a playlist should be
Where these come from: Naming and workflow conventions across Rekordbox, Serato and Traktor — not catalog figures. For what we can measure, see what a running order is worth.
Why it matters
Confusing the two is what produces a 400-track "playlist" that is really a crate, and a 12-track "crate" that is really a set. The cost is that neither can be used the way it was meant to: you cannot browse a sequence and you cannot follow a box.
In most software they are the same object with a different name, which is why the discipline has to come from you. Rekordbox calls everything a playlist; Serato calls everything a crate; the useful line is whether the order means anything.
In Mixgraph
A flow is a running order: tracks in sequence, each scored against its neighbours, so the order is the thing being judged.
Frequently asked
Is a crate the same as a playlist?+
Technically in most software, yes — the same object under two names. In practice a crate is unordered and broad, and a playlist is a sequence you intend to follow.
Should I build a playlist for every gig?+
Build one on the day from your crates, and keep it short. A running order assembled weeks ahead stops matching the room it was written for, but the crates behind it stay useful for months.
Why does my playlist have 400 tracks in it?+
Because it is a crate wearing the wrong name. If the order carries no information, stop treating it as a sequence and build the sequence separately.
Related terms
Crate
A crate is a folder of tracks inside your DJ software, named after the boxes vinyl DJs carried. A track can sit in as many crates as you like without being copied, because a crate holds references rather than files.
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.
M3U playlist
An M3U is a plain text file listing paths to audio files in order. Almost every application can read one, which makes it the lowest common denominator for moving a running order between programs.
Energy curve
An energy curve is the shape a set makes over time — where it starts, how steeply it climbs, where it peaks. It is the plan behind a running order, and the thing a crowd feels without being able to name.
Explore: Flow Builder · Set list · Crate · All DJ terms