own the set

For DJs who find music on streaming apps

Own the set.

Your playlist lives on Spotify or Apple Music. Your gig doesn't. Own the Set turns your playlist into tracks you can DJ with, without an evening of searching store by store. It starts with the music you already own, then finds the cheapest way to buy the rest in DJ quality.

Get early access How it works

Free during the beta · Mac first, Windows and Linux to follow

Why it exists

Spotify is where you find music. A gig needs files you own.

When you start DJing, you use the tools you already know. For most new DJs, my son among them, that means Spotify: it’s where you find tracks, build playlists and plan your first sets. Then you want to play one at a party or a gig.

Spotify’s own terms rule out “playing mixes in clubs, venues, events, or livestreams”. So every track on the playlist has to be bought: the right mix, in a format a DJ can use, from whichever store has it. Doing that by hand takes an evening of browser tabs, and usually a few radio edits bought by mistake.

Own the Set does that evening’s work in minutes: it checks every track against your library and the stores, and hands you one list to buy from.

How it works

Three steps from playlist to crate.

  1. 1

    Drop in your playlist

    Select the tracks in Spotify and drag them in. Or drop an Apple Music playlist export, a CSV from TuneMyMusic, or Exportify's zip of all your Spotify playlists, or paste a track list.

  2. 2

    See what you already own

    Your music folders, your DJ software and the tracks you've marked as in your record pool are checked first. Owned tracks cost nothing.

  3. 3

    Find where to buy the rest

    The right mix, in WAV, AIFF, FLAC or MP3 320, at the cheapest store, without searching each one yourself. Whole EPs when they cost less, and second-hand CDs for tracks no store sells as a download. Then you buy on each store's own page, ticking tracks off as you go.

Step by step: your first plan, in the docs.

The plan

Your library first, then the cheapest way to buy the rest

Every track gets the cheapest way in: your library, your record pool, a free download, a whole EP, then the best single price. Second-hand CDs fill in for tracks no store sells as a download. A track in three playlists is on your list once. Own the Set does the searching, so you don't open a tab for every track.

Friday warm-up · 8 tracks
To spend on 8 tracks £7.39 5 to buy · 3 you already have

Downloads to buy 4 tracks · £5.39

  • Drift Theory (Extended Mix) Seren Quay Buy Volumo · WAV £1.39
  • Late Bus, Floodlight, 4AM Signal Pell & Ardent Whole EP Bandcamp · cheaper than its tracks £4.00

Already yours 3 tracks

  • Lantern (Extended Mix) Mira Kaye In library Lantern.wav · WAV –
  • Mercury (Club Mix) Low Season Record pool DJCity –
  • Breakwater (Original Mix) Oslo Static Free Bandcamp · FLAC £0.00

Physical copies 1 track · £2.00

  • Ghost Frequency (Original Mix) Vela North CD Second-hand, no download sold £2.00

Includes 1 second-hand CD: its postage is extra. £12.03 less than buying every track one by one.

An example plan. Tracks and prices are illustrative.

See it

One page for every track, one total for the set.

Track Workspace: the demo playlist's tracks grouped into Downloads to buy, with each track's store, format, price and when it was checked, and the playlist's totals beside them.
Track Workspace: every track, grouped by what happens to it.
A track page: the plan says buy on Bandcamp in FLAC for £1.89, with tabs for each store's versions and a panel of things to check.
A track page: the plan, each store's versions, what to check.

Screenshots of the built-in demo playlist. See every feature.

Features

Built for the way DJs buy.

What you own comes first

Point it at your music folders, or let it read your DJ software: Rekordbox, Serato, Traktor, Engine DJ, VirtualDJ, Lexicon or Apple Music. Tracks you already have cost nothing, so they’re never on the shopping list.

In the docs

Hundreds of playlists, ready when you are

Upload Exportify’s Export All zip and every playlist waits in the app, sorted by when you last added to it, until you choose which to import. Long playlists keep their newest 50 tracks, repeated tracks are removed, and a newer export updates the playlists you’ve already imported.

In the docs

Every store's versions in one place

No tab per track: each track has its own page listing the versions each store sells, with formats and prices side by side. Tick the tracks you’re ready to buy and check just those prices, one at a time.

In the docs

DJ quality only

WAV, AIFF, FLAC or MP3 320, and MP3 256 or iTunes’ 256 kbps AAC when no WAV, AIFF, FLAC or MP3 320 download is on offer (you can switch that off). Anything lower is flagged for an upgrade, and the plan never points you to it.

In the docs

Finds tracks where you might not look

A label’s own Bandcamp page, a free or name-your-price download, a whole EP that costs less than its tracks, or a second-hand CD for a track no store sells as a download (postage extra). Own the Set checks these for you, so you don’t need to know where to look.

In the docs

Record pool maths

Mark what’s in your record pool (DJCity, BPM Supreme, ZipDJ or Digital DJ Pool) and, if you subscribe, those tracks cost nothing. Not a member? It tells you whether a month’s subscription would pay for itself.

In the docs

Checks Bandcamp, Volumo, iTunes and Discogs today. More DJ stores are on the way. Every feature, screen by screen.

Questions

Good to know.

Does Own the Set download music?

No. It works out where to buy each track and links you to that track’s page on the store. You buy it there, at the store’s own price.

Do I need to sign in to Spotify?

No. Select the tracks in the Spotify app, drag them onto Own the Set, and that’s it. You can also paste a list or drop in a CSV export.

Does it only work with Spotify?

No. Spotify is the quickest: drag the tracks straight in. From Apple Music, export the playlist (File > Library > Export Playlist) and drop the file in. From YouTube Music, TIDAL, Deezer, SoundCloud or Amazon Music, export the playlist as a CSV file with TuneMyMusic first. Exportify and Soundiiz CSV files work too, and so does Exportify’s Export All zip of every Spotify playlist: you choose which to import. Get your playlist in has the steps for each. You can also paste any track list, one “Artist - Title” per line: a tracklist from a mix, a chart, or a list a friend sent.

Why can't I just DJ from Spotify?

You can practise with it: Spotify Premium plays inside Rekordbox, Serato, djay, VirtualDJ and other DJ software. But Spotify is for personal, non-commercial use, and its terms rule out playing mixes in clubs, venues, events or livestreams. To DJ in public, you need to own the files.

Can I DJ from a streaming service instead?

Only if the internet connection holds for the whole set. Streaming in DJ software needs a connection: Spotify only plays while you’re online, and when the connection drops, so does the music. A few DJ streaming plans (Beatport Streaming Professional, TIDAL’s DJ Extension, SoundCloud’s DJ plan) let you keep some tracks offline, but those copies expire unless you log in again, stay tied to one computer and DJ app, and can’t go on a USB stick. Files you own play on any setup, with no connection.

Which stores does it check?

Bandcamp, Volumo (with your own Volumo API token), iTunes (256 kbps AAC, used when no WAV, AIFF, FLAC or MP3 320 download is on offer) and Discogs (for second-hand CDs) today. Bandcamp doesn’t allow searching, so Own the Set only finds the Bandcamp releases that MusicBrainz, the open music database, links to. More DJ stores are on the way.

What happens to my data?

It stays on your computer. There’s no account and nothing is uploaded. The privacy page lists the services the app looks tracks up with.

How much does it cost?

It’s free during the beta, with limits: up to 10 tracks in a playlist, 3 playlists at a time, and prices checked for 30 tracks a day. Each beta version runs for 60 days, then asks you to download the latest.

After the beta, there’ll be a free version with those limits and a paid licence that removes them. The licence is a one-off payment, not a subscription. Second-hand CD prices from Discogs stay free in every version, and you can switch them off. Early access members will hear the price first, with a discount.

Mac, Windows or Linux?

Mac first, with Windows and Linux builds to follow.

Get your set.

Join the early access list. We'll email you when the beta opens, and that's all.

No spam, no sharing. Privacy.