Optimize your Beats for DJ's

​How'd you like to get more DJ's to play your music? How'd you like to see more Rappers and Singers using your beats to make Dance tracks and remixes? How'd you like to be asked to make more remixes for songs? If any of these ideas appeal to you then I have a simple trick that may help increase your chances of producing more popular work.
Stick to the right tempo.
     This seems both weird AND limiting, and in a way, it is. But, the idea is to know what DJ's like to mix and what tempos they like to use when mixing and then to cater to that taste. DJ's are (and have always been) the progenitors of musical trends. There are songs that we now consider classics that would never have gotten radio play if it weren't for DJ's.  So knowing their mixing habits will help you to get your music in front of more people if you make it easier for them to play. You do this by selecting tempos that they are most likely to use when mixing.

​     Modern DJ's use software that automatically detects the tempos of songs, and then they select songs for their playlists that best fit their desired tempo for performances and set. A quick internet search will result an overwhelming amount of results (splitting hairs over genres most beatmakers have never heard of) so, I'm going stick to generalities for this article.

Basic Tempos that I've seen a lot as a DJ:

• Hip Hop/Boom Bap - 80bpm to 90bpm
• Trap 70bpm to 90BPM (or 140 for doubletime)
• Triphop / Grime around 90-110 BPM
• Twerk/Dance 100bpm to 120bpm

Popular Examples

• Every Dubstep/Electro-Pop remix of a Top 40 song I've seen from Pro DJ samplers/DJ pools are either 128bpm, 130bpm (Rarely), or 140bpm. I've almost never seen a deviation form these tempos. 
• Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance 104bpm
• DJ Kool - Let Me Clear My Throat 103bpm
• Wu-Tang - Protect ya Neck 102bpm
• GRITS - Ooh Ahh (My Life Be Like) (feat. Toby Mac) 99bpm
• Every Social Club song 140bpm
• NF - All I Have 135bpm
• Michael Jackson - Bille Jean 117bpm
• Toby Mac - Burn for You 115bpm
• Skrillex - Weekends 120bpm (Zed Remix 128bpm)
• Kesha - Crazy Kids 128bpm
• Missy Elliot - Lose Control 125bpm
• Nikki Minaj - Starships 125bpm
• Katy Perry - Firework 124bpm
• Chip-Man & The Buckwheat Boyz - Peanut Butter Jelly 148bpm​​

As you can see, songs tend to gravitate towards certain tempos in order to maximize their DJ appeal, and other songs are not meant to be used by DJ's. The ideal tempos for me were 90, 100, 120, 128, & 140 depending of the style I was using that night.  I would always base my sets on the speeds I had available first. So if you want my opinion (and I assume you do if you've read this far already), I would suggest using 1 of the 5 tempos for maximizing your dance tracks.
Here are those speeds again:​

• 90-100 Rap
• 100 Twerk
• 120 Dance/Funk
• 128 Electro House Remixes
• 140/70 Trap

I hope this tip helps you get more exposure with DJ's. If it does, be sure to let us know in the comments. We'd love to hear your ideas about this topic as well.
​~X