Free Stuff For DJs
Free Stuff For DJs!
Here's a list of all the free stuff DJs can make use of from samples to software and everything inbetween! This is the definitive list of totally free resources for DJs on the internet. If you're a beginner or established DJ you'll find this blog to be worth the read! Make sure you take advantage of all these free DJ tools at your disposal.
In this list we've complied a range of free stuff for DJs to help those of you on a small or nonexistent budget thrive as a DJ. Nowadays, the internet provides us with many free alternatives, so save this blog, bookmark it and explore our list of free DJ downloads and resources!
If you've got some ideas for us to add to this blog of free DJ stuff please contact us! We'd like to update this blog regularly and give you the links to all the best free DJ downloads.
Interested in learning how to DJ or produce? Make sure you contact us about our range of courses!
Free Stuff For DJs #1 - Free Rekordbox & Other DJ Software Programs
Rekordbox is the industry standard software for DJs and is free. Rekordbox is the ultimate free DJ software program that allows you to organise, analyse and export your music to a USB stick so you can play it on any Pioneer CDJ. As Pioneer CDJs are the industry-standard DJ equipment for clubs globally you'll be able to then DJ in any club in the world!
Rekordbox also works as a fantastic DJ software on its own and can be controlled by most Pioneer controllers. A must-have for any DJ that wants professional DJ software but doesn’t want to spend too much money. Rekordbox is used by every major DJ that plays on Pioneer equipment, which the vast majority of headline DJs use. The Rekordbox free version has some features restricted but can be used for most functions.
Get your free version of Rekordbox here.
There are also many other free DJ software programs including Virtual DJ, Serato DJ Lite, Traktor Demo Version, Engine, DJ Pro, MIxxx, Cross DJ & More! To find out more click here.
Free Stuff For DJs #2 - Free Acapella
Take your DJ skills to the next level by adding acapella to your mixes, and make your sets more unique. You can also mix acapella into a track, and then swap the underlying track for another one using the acapella as a bridge between the two tracks.
You can download acapella for free from multiple places (Click here to find out where) but we will suggest Acapellas4U. Acapellas4U has a library of 33K acapella and using their free account you can download up to 30 acapella for free per month.
Free Stuff For DJs #3 - Free DJ Music
If you're on a budget you and still learning how to DJ you probably won't want to spend all your spare cash on music downloads. Lucky for you, there is a wealth of free music online. Of course, there are some sketchy sources like illegally ripped tunes from YouTube but they won't be high enough sound quality to actually use at a gig. Plus, illegally downloading music doesn't support the industry and is essentially ripping off the artists.
Ripping music equals Ripping off the artist.
It's best to avoid this practice. Instead, make use of the many ways to download free music for your DJ sets. You guessed it, we have an entire blog on the subject so click here for more information but here is a breakdown of some of the best sources of free music for DJ sets.
1. Soundcloud
Soundcloud to the rescue! Soundcloud is an open platform for both music listeners and music creators. You can listen and upload music for free as well as download music that has download enabled. Soundcloud has about 255 million tracks that you can listen to and also has thousands of tracks you can download for free, so start digging for those free gems. You'll have to sign up for a free account with Soundcloud to download but the account in itself is a valuable tool for any DJ.
Soundcloud is the best source of free music online. There are many DJs and producers that will allow you to download their tracks in a high quality format for free. This helps them gain exposure and helps give you free music! There are also many high quality remixes and mash-ups on Soundcloud that you can download for free. Soundcloud also connects directly with Rekordbox on performance mode. Just login to your Soundcloud account via the app and you'll have access to all your free Soundcloud music.
You can also get a Mixcloud account for free which is great for uploading long DJ mixes and also streaming live DJ sets.
2. DJ Promos
Many PR companies send DJ promos to DJs, radio hosts and music journalists. You can join many of these mailing lists and get free music in your inbox. Often you will need to submit some feedback in exchange for the free music but this will only take a few seconds if your time. Another great advantage of this is that you can get the music before the release date. This will make your DJ sets sound more exclusive and best of all it's totally free!
3. Direct Messaging
One of the best ways to network and get hold of free music and unreleased music is to directly message the producer. Many people might shy away from this but honestly it's common practice for DJs to message each other and ask for a promo copy, especially on Soundcloud and Instagram. Give it a go, you might be ignored sometimes but you'll be surprised how often DJs will actually message you back. It's a win win, you get free music and a new connection and they expand their reach.
4. Almost Free
There are also many sources of music that are almost free or very cheap. One great way of building a collection is buying older formats like CD or vinyl and then digitise them. In many cases you can pick up CDs for a tiny amount of money, sometimes in bulk, and then easily create WAV, MP3 or AIFF files from them. This is an excellent way to build a collection on a budget of high-quality music. Check yard sales, charity shops and Ebay for some bargains.
You might also want to stream music instead of buying individual tracks. This isn't free but it's fairly cheap. A monthly subscription to Tidal will only cost you a small amount of money but give you access to their vast music library. You can then link your Tidal account to Rekordbox and DJ with music from the app.
Free Stuff For DJs #4 - Ableton Live (90-day Free Trial)
Want to create your own song edits or prepare your own loops to further your advantage and beef up your DJ sets, then the 90-day free Ableton trial is for you. Ableton is the most celebrated music creation software out there and can be used to create music but also edit audio files to create loops and make re-edits of existing songs and your first 90 days are free! So go crazy, create hi-hat loops, snare rolls, and vocal loops and mix them in on top of your tracks. Ableton sound library also has tons of free loops included so if you want to use existing library loops then all you need to do is bounce them down and add them to your DJ set - All for free!!
There is even an additional section here on their website where you can download free sample packs.
Other music production programs like Logic and FL also offer free trials so check those out too!
Free Stuff For DJs #5 - Free Music Production Plugins
Now you've got a free music production DAW installed you can extend its capabilities with some free plugins. Plugins are other software programs that plug-in to your DAW (Digital Audio Workstation) and give you more tools to work with. There are lots of free plugins you can use that will help you create unique sounds and obtain a professional sound. Here are some free plugins you should check out.
Vital
Vital is a virtual synthesiser and has many features that will help producers create unique sounds. It has many features including three oscillators. It does take a lot of CPU power to run, more so than other plugins but the results are really incredible. Well worth downloading the basic free version.
Blue Cat Audio Free Plugin Suite
Get a whole bundle of free plugins from Blue Cat Audio with a single downloader. In this suite of free plugins you will get:
- Blue Cat's Chorus
- Blue Cat's Flanger
- Blue Cat's FreqAnalyst
- BlueCat's FreeAmp
- Blue Cat's Gain Suite
- Blue Cat's Phaser
- Blue Cat's Triple EQ
Plus their latest updates allow them to work with Apples new M1 chip. Stay tuned for the M2 update.
iZotope – Vinyl
iZotope Vinyl is a a low-fi plugin that helps producers achieve a nostalgic sound inspired by vinyl records and turntables. They can add a warmth to your music and are especially good for genres influenced by soul, like disco or trip-hop. Use this free plugin to help add some vintage flavour to your music.
TDR Nova
Tokyo Dawn Records have created Nova, a free EQ plugin. Equalisation is one of the most powerful tools when it comes to mixing down your music and making sure sonically everything fits together. While all DAWs have their own in-built EQs it's still worth exploring other options, especially if they are free!
NoizeClick
Noizeclick is a new kick drum plugin from Sick Noise. This plugin will help you craft the perfect kick drum sample for your track, for free! Download this free plugin and kick start your productions, excuse the pun! Its simple design makes it a useful addition to this range of free plugins. Perfect for DJs who produce and want to drive their track forward with a powerful kick drum.
Thirsty for more? Click here for five more bonus plugins
Click here for some paid plugins that would benefit any beginner producer
Free Stuff For DJs #6 - Free Samples For Music Production
There is a wealth of free samples for music producers available online. if you're on a tight budget you can find enough free audio to make modern sounding tracks without spending a penny. Many DAWs have downloadable content which will give you a great start but if you look on their website they often have other free sample packs. Ableton is a great example. They have free content along with sample packs for sale.
Click here for free samples from Ableton
Freesound.org
Looking for something a bit more quirky? Freesound.org is a user generated data base of audio samples that includes the kinds of sounds you hear in everyday life. If you're looking for something a bit more unusual like the sound of thunder or rain this is the best source.
Click here for more places to download free DJ samples!
Free Stuff For DJs #7 - Free AI Tools for DJs
AI (Artificial intelligence) offers many numerous benefits to DJs. Chat GPT is a free AI tool that has been much hyped recently, especially on social media platforms like TikTok. Chat GPT does offer DJs and producers a great tool especially when it comes to writing content and create plans. We have an entire blog on the subject, click here to read our AI and Chat GPT in particular can help you as a DJ. It's free so give it a go!
Want to find out how AI like Chat GPT can help DJs? Click here for the low down.
Free Stuff For DJs #8 - Free DJ Samples & Tools
DJs will often use samples and DJ tools in their sets and mixtapes. A sample can be as simple a short audio clip of a drum, an entire loop or even a stem. Common DJ samples include sound FX like a flare scratch, rave horn or 808 drum sample. They can be useful when transitioning between tracks and creating routines. They are especially used by open format DJs to enable multiple ways to transition from A to B during a set mixing multiple genres that span a large BPM range. We have an entire blog devoted to where you can find free DJ samples so click here to read it.
Free Stuff For DJs #9 - Free DJ Groups
One of the best ways to expand your DJ career is through networking and collaboration. There are many free DJ groups and communities available on Facebook and Discord. We recommend starting with our DJ Gym Group by clicking here. In the group you will find people from all over the world who are interested in DJing and production. What's more is we also host another group called LSA Alumni which is only for graduates of our DJ and production courses. To get access to this group you'll need to complete either our full DJ Course program or our Music Production Courses.
Groups are great for many things including:
- Finding DJ Gigs
- Gaining Followers
- Promoting Your Mixes & Releases
- Support and Advice
- Networking
Free Stuff For DJs #10 - Free Blogs & Learning Content
There is a massive amount of free educational content and self help content available on the internet. The only issue is trying to dig through the low quality content to find the good stuff. Luckily for you, we've created two blogs that offer some of the best free educational content for DJs, producers and people in the music business.
Our two blogs offer short and long articles that will help you progress your DJ and production careers. The include many subjects ranging from blogs helping you find freebies like this one to in-depth articles like this one explaining the history of DJing.
Click here for the London Sound Academy blog homepage
Click here for the DJ Gym blog homepage
In addition to blogs there are a ton of free videos on YouTube that will help you learn specific skills. Other social media platforms like TikTok are also becoming new sources of free information so be sure to sign up and make of them.
Click here to follow London Sound Academy on TikTok
Free Stuff For DJs #11 - Free DJ Promos
One of the best ways to build your music collection and to get new music before general release is to join a free DJ promo list. DJ promo services send new music to DJs so that they can review the music, provide feedback and air them on the radio.
The best free promos will be sent to bigger DJs, radio DJs and music journalists. If you want to get access to the best promo lists including you'll need to have some power in the music industry. We suggest that you start with a music blog that reviews new releases. Once you have some following you will find it easier to get onto a free DJ promo list. Some of our favourites are Fatdrop and Your Army.
Another great benefit of getting music for free from free promo lists is that you often get access before other DJs, in some cases months before the release date. This means you'll always be one step ahead of other DJs and people will tune into your radio show for the freshest music.
Free Stuff For DJs #12 - Free Followers & Free Promotion
Don't believe all the services that offer free followers or free plays. They are all scams. What's worse is that if you pay for followers or plays algorithms will detect this action and shadow ban your accounts. There is no shortcut to getting followers on any of your social media accounts other than just paying massive amounts for advertising.
However, there are some things you can do for free to increase your reach and help you gain more followers and plays. It's all about collaboration. Remember those groups we spoke about earlier? make sure you find other artists who are open to collaboration. You can now work together and cross promote your pages and profiles. Simply get them to post about you, in return for you posting about them. This cross pollination of audiences will help you both. It's a win-win and totally free.
Free Stuff For DJs #13 - Free Templates
DJs often need to create certain documents to help them in their DJ careers. Unless you have a lot of experience it's quite hard to know what to put in these documents but luckily there are free templates to help you. Here are some document templates and free guides that can help DJs and producers.
- How to Write a DJ Biography
- How To Create an Event Proposal
- How to make an EPK
- Free Flyer Templates on Canva
It's worth noting that Canva is one of the best free tools for DJs to use. Canva allows you to create profesional looking graphic design using their free templates, everything from posters, flyers, EPKs to newsletters and more! Make sure you learn how to use Canva to get the most out of the most powerful free graphic design tool.
Free Stuff For DJs #14 - Free Logo
Having a logo is essential for pro DJs and producers. Paying a graphic designer is sometimes just too expensive for some artists when they are starting out so one option is to make a free DJ logo. There are some downsides to using free DJ logo tools though. Some of the designs just aren't very cutting edge and sometimes they are a bit too corporate so if you have the budget try and pay a designer to make one for you. It's best to find a designer who works for DJs and electronic music artists and has specialise knowledge on the latest EDM design trends.
There are lots of places you can generate a free logo online! Try logo.com first.
Free Stuff For DJs #15 - Free Online Seminars (Webinars)
In addition to free educational video content on YouTube and other social media platforms you can sign up for a range of free online seminars or webinars. Online seminars are often live streamed events that are often free to watch. Many large institutions that receive funding will offer some content for free. One of the best places to find such free seminars is Eventbrite. In some cases you will also be able to attend seminars in person or even music conferences so make sure you spend some time searching online and following some of the larger musical institutions in your area. Who knows, you might even land a free scholarship!
Conclusion
There are many sources of free stuff for DJs on the internet. Make sure you're making the most of these budget-friendly options and exploring all the possibilities before you open your wallet! Don't feel pressured to spend big on your DJ and music production career and remember a lot of things can be done yourself with little or no money. Make sure you wisely choose where to invest you available cash for the maximum impact on your DJ or production career.
If you would like to learn more about our training and mentorship click here to contact LSA.
