At the end of a long night behind the decks, it’s tough to remember all the tracks you’ve played over the course of a few hours. Thankfully, both Serato and Traktor have a few very useful built-in features for sharing your sets. Read on to learn some of the lesser-known playlist secrets in both softwares.
TRAKTOR PRO HISTORY + PLAYLISTS
The Archive
Our first tip is that Traktor hides historical set lists in an non-obvious place. You might have hundreds of old sets from weeks, months, or even years ago with a complete track listing and not even know about it. To find them, go to the library navigation section, and open Explorer>Archive to view every single set list you’ve played in Traktor. This list only gets reset if you do a completely fresh reinstall of Traktor.
Archived sets contain a bit of extra metadata info beyond the normal ID3 tags:
- Start Time: The clock time when the track was started
- Duration: How long the track was played for
- Deck: Which deck (A/B/C/D) the track was played in
- Played Public: If the track actually was mixed in or if it was just pre-cued. (This won’t work if mixing externally)
History: What You’ve Played Today
The History playlist in Traktor’s library nav bar is a bit deceptive – it’s just a temporary record of the tracks you’ve played during the current session. It resets every single time you restart Traktor, and it’s not very useful aside from being a good reference for what songs you mixed earlier in the gig.
Exporting Your Playlists
Traktor’s “Export Playlist” option (accessible by right-clicking any playlist) is a great way to take a playlist or set that you’ve played and send it to a friend or import it into a different software.
- export as M3U: Allows for playlist importing into any media player software
- export as NML: Allows for playlist importing into Traktor. Can also be used to add a tracklist to a Mixcloud upload
M3U and NML files both include associated file paths to the tracks in the playlist. If you open either of them in a different software, the playlist will continue to reference that same location. If you share the playlist to a different computer, use “Copy Tracks To Destination” to move all the referenced tracks into the same folder as the playlist file. This only works when the files have been imported into Traktor’s Collection. If you pull them on the fly from iTunes or your desktop, no files will be copied.
Save Playlists As Webpages
Traktor can also export an HTML file of any playlist. Just right-click and select “Save As Webpage”, and select from the list options what metadata tags you want displayed in the resulting chart. This makes for good post-gig social media posting material as well, especially if you didn’t record the mix but still want to share the set list.
This is probably the best way to print out a playlist (mobile DJs, take note), just open the file in your browser and use your usual print command.
Here’s an example of a Traktor HTML setlist from a gig on Friday night. We’re hoping Traktor improves this in the future – maybe taking a page out of Serato’s book (see below) and building a good online interface for sharing set lists.
SERATO DJ: PLAYLISTS
Serato (DJ and SSL) has a much more streamlined way of dealing with post-set playlists. In addition to keeping a complete history log of all the tracks played, organizing them by session and offering .txt, .m3u, and .CSV export support, there’s an option in the export window that allows users to upload to “Serato Playlists”.
As long as you’re connected to the internet, the selected set list will automatically send the complete metadata to Serato’s own Serato.com/Playlists, which allows any registered Serato user to share their set lists and mix times. Other users can digitally trainspot your set and leave comments, and it’s not a bad way to promote yourself either.
Serato Playlists has a number of smart features, including setting sessions to public or private visibility, suggesting potential genres based on the played tracks’ ID3 tags, adding in additional tracks (if you mixed in a CD or vinyl record), or even hiding tracks that you want to keep secret.
Finally, Serato Playlists also has integration with Mixcloud. Once you’ve got a set on Serato Playlists and you’re uploading an audio file of the set to Mixcloud, there’s an option for using a Serato.com playlist to fill out the entire track listing. Drop in your URL and the complete playlist shows up. Mixcloud even uses time information from the Serato Playlist to automatically time stamp the tracks in the mix, eliminating a particularly arduous process for longer mixes.
Have your own post-set routines and ways to share your tracklists? Let us know in the comments.
[…] For more detail on the topic, one of my favorite tutorials this year came from Dan White at DJ TechTools, covering both Serato and Traktor export options: After The Show: Sharing Sets In Traktor + Serato DJ […]
[…] sustento y más aún cuando hablamos de cada vez más música que es comunicada o directamente reproducida desde software digital, el cual permite reportar directamente de forma nativa con toda una serie de metadatos que crean un rastro digital y que por tanto podrían tener mucho […]
well after a mix, i post the playlist to my site. mix: http://youtu.be/K2k5PfOl5Vs and
the playlist: http://www.frankbash.com/music/playlists/
i opened the exported html with xcode (or another editor) and copy the text to my wordpress site, is so extrem easy 🙂
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
This was very helpful and informative! Thank you!
Nice Dan! Never heard of this!
Great article
2 times with Traktor and a Macbook Pro my playlist got wiped out. This never happened to me using a pc. I can drag and drop the same exact song from the top right magnifying glass and it will load but in my playlist it simply says “file cannot be played”. This really throws a wrench in things when mixing live. I also can’t stand searching for music on a mac when reading a crowd and picking that certain song you can never seem to find. Should I make playlists elsewhere and stop relying on Traktor? If it happens again I’m thinking a hammer will be the final fix
PLEASE… always include the playlist with your mixes if you post then online. This is essential, it gives respect for the artist’s work.
I like to play a lot of under the radar producers I find via good old Soundcloud, I do specaial underground selector mixes as I call them… hoping to get the fresh new talent a few more followers etc.
When I play out, I carry the oldskool paper and pen if anyone asks.
Music is a gift, made to share. The poor chap NoEDM has lost what the very essence of what DJing its all about, true.. it was like this back in the early days of dance music, very competitive and a lot of ego flying around the DJ booth. (with other DJS)
Hehe…. we used to cover up our twelves with white stickers etc so other DJs could not see who or what we was playing. BUT if a guest asked “What Was That ?” .. I used to give them the name.. if it was out.. but I used to play a lot of zinc acetates called dubplates .. so it was not always possible. Now its not a problem cus I have gone the evil way of digital…. mainly to save my ageing back and the music I support is mostly wav release. 🙁
Golden rule of djing……….. be nice to people… even if they are a James Hunt.
Have fun working on that style, so nobody can steal that.. 😉
very good. now i know how to write up my list for when i burn the cd’s thanks
I am happy you have discover what I have been doing since Traktor came out. I save thee playlist from every gig.
HA! loool!
I always have written out the tracks by hand! What an easy way…
THANKS A LOT!
i still write them out by hand when making a set list. i find it easier to make modifications on the fly as to create a concept of flow, eventually refining it into something that gets played out. creating either a static mix or saving the history when “on the fly”.
yeah, but it takes very long, if you write it out by hand…
Solid article Dan, very well researched. Spot on with the Mixcloud integrations for both Traktor + Serato.
Great article.
Getting great music out to the public is the best service any DJ can do with the craft. To have someone crave to know the song you played says more about your crate digging ability than an individuals interest in copying your exact style.
DJ’s are more responsible for breaking new music than just about anyone in any other medium, whether they are on the radio, mobile, club or that great DJ friend you know.
Though it makes perfect business sense in the short term to NOT disclose that incredible gem you found after hours of digging, in the long term, people will eventually understand that the great DJ is just that…all about money.
It seems ironic that thinking like that presents itself here… on a site all about sharing ideas, music, equipment, software reviews and teaching new techniques.
Some of the best DJ’s, producers and musicians have shared EXACTLY how they created a song,a transition, the exact routine, techniques, equipment and influences that cost them hundreds of hours of “digging”…so to speak.
You the DJ breaking a track, vocal, instrumental or musical element into the most incredible mix is the highest form of flattery an artist can have…something that moves people that wouldn’t have had the privilege to hear that artist before.
Make no mistake, without that artist or musical element (excluding your own creations), DJ’s as we know them would not exist.
It does not benefit the original artist, the audience or your own long term business survival to TRY to keep another artist work strictly within your own knowledge vault.
Our belief is that the future of DJ’s will depend on the most complete knowledge of the material and their craft. That knowledge WILL be shared to continue evolving DJ’s as a whole.
Poignant and reasonable response to this commentary! I am brand new to learning this craft less than 2 years and truly all I want to do is play for people that will listen and have fun. I can understand the passion behind wanting to make this a career however this obviously not something every DJ is going to make cash doing. appreciate your post, thx
After exporting the playlist as html, I usually open it in excel for a quick polishing and layout of the tracklist.
Traktor native tools for exporting the tracklist really aren’t helping at all, for instance: why do we have to untick every single option we don’t want for each export?
thanx for the wonderful tip
Good article – and nice that Traktor and Serato are compared for the same feature.
I would love to see a text file export for the Traktor. I export the html file now and with the queued tracks left off and type in my playlist for my mixes on soundcloud. I did not know about the nml being used for Mixcloud. I have been planning to start putting all on there but would need to track out again but this will make that easy. thumbs up on that.
I usually accomplish this by dragging the history, etc. from Traktor into a new playlist in iTUNES. From there you can export it as .txt. It’s more drawn out than it needs to be, but it works.
yeah there a re a few ways to get it to a text file all of which take time and well we live in an age where everything should be easier :). It would just be nice to a straight to txt playlist that’s all. Now I just export 3 options track, artist, duration to html and the retype in a text.
Why should i share my set? I dont want a noob to have my songs to copy my style and stealing my job because he does it for free beer. Of course beatport and co want us to share so anyone buys the tracks but i have to protect my business too!
If you have to ask this question, it’s obvious you have no clue what DJing is really all about.
You speak like a noob who never earned a single dollar from djing. Youre romantic and idealistic view is something for dreamers but reality looks different.
Im a noob. I have no clue. My thought is however that I could probably copy your style given enough time but why? I want to give the craft my own style and if I use “your” tracks to do this so what? you didn’t produce the music you just found it before I did.
there is a difference between newb and noob. a newb is new to playing electronic music; a noob plays EDM for the free party.
“I dont want a noob to have my songs to copy my style and stealing my job because he does it for free beer.” If your songs and style are that easy to copy maybe its you who is the noob? In general people who use the word noob still live in their parents houses because they are children.
It’s an art form man, having the tunes is only a part of it, knowing what to play when is the main thing. For example you could have every single song ever made in the history of mankind but you would still be one of the worst DJ’s ever because you wouldn’t know how and when to play what. Spend more time practising and maybe you won’t have to worry so much about other kids stealing your awful DJ gigs
I can understand these days why people who have taken the time to find rare tracks don’t want to give up the thing that makes them stand out from 100 other DJs. And you don’t want every DJ sounding the same.
On the other hand, I think ultimately a DJ is there to share music so it doesn’t make sense to me not to reveal track names.
Good debate though…
Wow, this is very informative and I thought I already utilized the playlist features well on my own. The timestamping with Mixcloud integration is a very very nice feature. Awesome read, thanks DJTT!
Learn something new everyday. Great article.
Thanks for reading, Chaser.
Crate digging for hours to find unique and rare masterpieces and then publishing every single track id afterwards, so the lazy DJs out there can simply copy them? Nah man, that is not what djing is about.
Luckily stupid services like Shazam are still unable to find the majority of my tracks.
Well if you post your mix on websites like Mixcloud, they require a track listing. This simplifies that process a lot.
What are you playing Mr Exclusive Secret Tracks Guy?
Beatport top 10. The dude digs deep. He also has no idea that the purpose of the DJ is to educate and spread knowledge about good music and who’s making it. He must be famous.
Ultimately isn’t DJing about sharing music with other people? Is it that bad that people get excited and interested in the same music that you consider a unique and rare masterpiece? Those people could potentially support those artists, paving the way for them to make even more masterpieces that you love.
I think that the concept of having a track that’s unidentifiable (and isn’t unreleased, a private edit or a white label release) is highly unrealistic – but best of luck in keeping your gems unknown!
Djing is about entertaining the crowd and making money for the dj its not about helping wannabe djs to take away business from them.
I’ve come to the realization that yes the crowd and sucker dj’s alike should be educated by our playlists. After all unless you made the track who gives you the right to deny another knowledge of that tracks existence. Years in the future they could be saying” Man I love this track, I first heard it when midiman played it. that dj rocks…”
If you really want to have exclusive cuts and protect yourself from biters make your own edits/remixes and let them try and search the web for those…
hey lamar, i’ve come to the realization that people don’t really want to know what i play, save other “dj’s”. when i play real hip hop and not that “hop pop” crap…. i mean throwin’ down some gift of the gab, dj krush, lyrics born or chali tuna, while all the crowd knows is eminiem or drake. how about playing techno in the 90’s and the trendies were all about dance club music. my speedy j or plastikman vs. their ace of bass.
it’s the same as today, people ask me what i play and i say “i play electronic music”. the answer i get is “so, you play EDM?”. the answer to the is “NO, i do not.” i play techno, minimal, tech house, deep house, hiphip, triphop and drum and bass. softserving media to the public has made us lazy. we rely too much on media to tell us what we like and how much to like it.
if people are not finding quality in music these days, it may have something to do with the public embracing the mediocre music that is mass produced by mediocre producers… just keep digging deeper.
that being said… if a person were to come up to me while i was playing, i may just throw them the name of the track due to interest. we talk about dj’s being social creatures and most are, but how socially interactive is a playlist compared to thanking the dj for his selection and asking him what that one banger was?
In my opinion, djing is delivering the audience an experience that they have never had before. I want to be known for playing those gems that you only hear in my set and not everywhere else. Making every track public destroys my concept. People should come to me to listen to those tracks again.
The internet is such a gigantic source of music and yet so many Djs tend to play the same stuff, whereas the choice and the potential of this medium is much bigger. Look at all those EDM guys earning crazy amounts of money, their sets are really really familiar.
When I go to the clubs by myself, my evening was best when I did not know a single track the dj was playing. Expanding ones horizon every night.
To those great guys who where asking about my sources: some online stores but mostly local vinyl shops 🙂
As a newcomer (age 42) to this world of electronic music, Burning Man and festivals abound I have been everything from a country music enthusiast , beastie boys to Ottmar Liebert and have somehow found myself an owner of some equipment and now several hundred dollars if not over a thousand dollars in newly purchased tracks from across mediums and genres only in hopes to fumble my way through a set for my closest friends and hopefully a great turn out at our next house party. I have taught myself, watched countless youtube videos and asked questions of dj’s willing to swallow there pride and ego to help out a guy who’s just trying to have fun, no jealousy here over the big guys with familiar sounds…I don’t really even like that sound…Interesting and talented (i think) but not my style. Im still not angry because they have found success, nor am I angry at the thought of someone appreciating the tracks I select and hoping to find out what they are only in hopes of enjoying them once again or in my case in hopes of sharing them once again. I was fortunate enough to play a house party for new years eve in tahoe and afterwards i had several compliments and requests for info about the the tracks i played….It felt amazing to have them appreciate this simple task. I mean seriously, i didn’t write the music, i frigging played it. Really, are you striving for greatness and wealth? or are you truly creating an experience? Let go and be giving, try it just once….Maybe with a new guy like myself and see how it feels. You just might get a new sense of gratitude for your craft.
You’re a total fool man. Darius Syrossian is a House and tech DJ out of Leeds in the north of England. He plays all over the world and has been a very well respected DJ and producer since long before I even knew what house music was. He worked in a record shop in Leeds and now he has his own weekly night starting in Sankeys Ibiza this summer and he digs out some absolute gems in his set and can rock a crowd every night of the week. To be fair he is everything you probably want to be but never will be because you sound like a total spoon. Darius has made it but he still keeps a pen and piece of paper with him because if you ask him what a tune is when he is playing he will write it down for you. It could be 4am with a wedged dance floor and he will still be a nice guy and give you the name of the track that you don’t know because he knows you get allot further in life by not being a dick to people. World class DJ vs. some guy with a chip on his shoulder cause his career never went anywhere…. whos the douche?
ok… now i’m stopping my set because of this. wow dude, you talk about being a douche? you reduce yourself to name calling and being derogatory toward a person making a valid point.
i personally, dig through beatport for about 6hrs a week. i do my homework… that being said, why would i share my tracklist with anybody, save my friends? you want to hear the best music that you’ve never heard before, tune in and listen to me on the radio or streamed… or at the local clubs.
i don’t know about you, but i like sounding unique. the craft isn’t about sounding like every other EDM dj that thinks that he knows what’s going on… it’s a about share a musical experience with a crowd of people. although i do use this feature for logging due to cnrbc regulations.
people ask me all the time “where do you get your tracks, oddie?” and i tell them “beatport” they look at me with wide eyes and say “why can’t i find those tracks?”… maybe the answer is that you are too lazy to do what we were doing years ago in record shops. do some crate digging and put in your time!
good article dave, thanks for the info.
edit CRTC*
heehe, the html traktor list containst links to mp3 download sites, Ex: Punks Jump Up – Mr Overtime ft. Dave 1 (Club Version) (CahulHouseMafia.Net) + UZ-TRAPSHIT V13 Justin Martin Remix -www.mrtzcmp3.net, but yes thanks to the tip!
solid tips dan – didn’t know about Serato’s playlists site at all.
Me either, until I started researching this article!
a wasted day happens when you learn nothing new.