Hey everyone, I wanted to ask something that’s been on my mind lately. I spend quite a bit of time on YouTube digging for tracks, watching DJ sets, tutorials, and sometimes just discovering new music. Because of that, I’ve been considering getting YouTube Premium mainly to get rid of ads and use background playback while doing other things.
For those of you who use YouTube regularly for music discovery or DJ-related content, do you find YouTube Premium worth the cost? Has it actually improved your workflow or listening experience in any meaningful way?
Also curious if anyone uses the YouTube Music side of it for crate digging or building playlists. Does it work well for that, or do you still rely more on other platforms?
Defifnitely worth it, in my opinion. No ads mainly, and all the other bells and whistles. YouTube Music is a great tool as well. Lots of playlists to browse through, although the sound quality is not as premium as other platforms, but I really can’t tell the difference. Also, it doesn’t allow streaming in DJay like Apple Music and Tidal. Not sure why they don’t invest more in their music app. I guess the video revenue is good enough lol. Been waiting patiently for years for Google to join the DJ service club, but it’s not looking good.
Yeah, I like YouTube Premium for crate digging. Main thing I like is regular people posting all kinds of things you won’t find in curated services like Spotify or Apple Music. Also, the search algorithm is broader so it throws up a lot of stuff. You can go down rabbit holes that sometimes just keep going and going. SoundCloud can also be interesting, but many times feels harder to search.
Spotify and Apple Music are great for what they are, but music is very curated. Though I do like the Spotify recommendations.
I have Youtube Music premium account. Its pretty good. I can find new music or i can like a hard to find old track or Single I used to have on YouTube or a freakin vinyl mix or something and it appears in my Youtube Music account. (I’m a very old Postpunk disco bastard trying to do open format with an eye to good new dance music for a mainstream crowd)
…er disclaimer - please dont hate on me I’m an unpaid mainly bedroom DJ … but …
I can then use “AnyMusic” downloader (?? $30 one off payment) to download the tracks and then mp3tag (??freeware) to tidy up the metadata
i think thats a fairly smooth workflow to try out tunes and the sound quality is v good
the YTM algorythdm sent me Yungbluds When We Die Do We Still get High? - which I’ve since bought on vinyl from my local record shop which only stocks about 50 7”singles - plus Einmusik Solee’s We talk about Dreams which is the best everyone loves it (your granny, the postman, any passing proper dj) tune I’ve heared this year [Edit ok it was last year]
That’s a good point about the rabbit holes. I’ve definitely experienced that on YouTube — you start with one track and suddenly you’re three hours deep into vinyl rips, obscure edits, or some random DJ set from 2009.
I also agree about the difference with Spotify or Apple Music. They’re great, but sometimes they feel a bit too curated. YouTube feels more like digging through a huge messy record store where people upload everything from rare singles to full mixes.
SoundCloud is interesting too, but I’ve also found the search there a bit frustrating sometimes. On YouTube it’s easier to stumble on unexpected stuff just through related videos.
Good to hear that perspective as well. The ad-free part alone seems like it would make a big difference if you’re spending a lot of time digging through videos or watching long DJ sets.
I’m leaning toward trying it for a month just to see if it actually changes how I use YouTube for music discovery. If nothing else, background playback while browsing other things would probably be pretty convenient.
That actually sounds like a pretty practical workflow to be honest. Using YouTube/YT Music to test tracks and rediscover older stuff, then deciding what’s worth properly adding to the library later makes a lot of sense.
I like that you mentioned vinyl rips and older singles too — that’s another thing I’ve noticed on YouTube. Sometimes the only place you’ll find certain mixes or obscure versions is from someone’s personal upload.
Also no judgment here about bedroom DJing a lot of people start (and stay) there just because they love the music. And honestly those random algorithm discoveries can sometimes lead to surprisingly good tracks.
One reason I’ve been considering YouTube Premium, is exactly for that kind of digging — the ad-free experience and background playback while browsing other things. I’ll have to check out that Einmusik & Solee track you mentioned as well.
I think YouTube is the best service hands down. You get no ads and YouTube music bundles. It has more underground music than anywhere else, has to put a playlist together for a new venue YouTube music helped and suggested great songs to add.
It’s unmatched in value man, but most importantly it’s a platform Djs can actually grow and earn a revenue on.
I could go on but yeh if you use it a lot it’s a no brainer for me
Hi @evelyngrace, I completely agree with what’s being said here about digging for rare tracks. I actually decided to try YT Premium myself recently, mainly because of the impossibility of finding FLAC versions for certain edits, and I have to say: it is completely viable. You can find everything from original tracks to rare remixes that simply don’t exist on record pools or SoundCloud.
Regarding the sound quality, I’ve found it to be perfectly acceptable for a live gig. However, here is my biggest warning and recommendation: I strongly advise against it if you want to keep your metadata clean, organized, and faithful to the original releases.
If it’s just one specific track, it’s fine. You can easily edit the metadata or match it with MusicBrainz using Mp3tag or directly within Djay Pro. But if you start downloading files massively from YT, you will waste an unbelievable amount of time fixing tags. After years in the booth, I’ve realized something crucial: having the actual track is just as important as having your library properly managed.
Currently, I pay for the premium versions of Spotify, Apple Music (which integrates beautifully with Djay), and Deezer. Yes, it’s a lot of platforms and a lot of money, but I simply cannot risk playing tracks with poor audio quality or weird sound effects.
Because of this, my library is 98% strictly local and in FLAC format. I only recommend streaming for very specific, one-off track requests. I leave YT Music exclusively for those rare remixes that I absolutely cannot find anywhere else.
sent me Yungbluds When We Die Do We Still get High? - which I’ve since bought on vinyl from my local record shop which only stocks about 50 7”singles - plus Einmusik Solee’s We talk about Dreams which is the best everyone loves it (your granny, the postman, any passing proper dj) tune I’ve heared this year [Edit ok it was last year]
a lot of people start (and stay) there just because they love the music. And honestly those random algorithm discoveries can sometimes lead to surprisingly good tracks.
