Tips To Avoid Choosing An Inferior Online Record Pool

With the changes in technology today, the quality of music has taken a backseat to the ‘got to have it now’ society we live in. That is, some record pools have a tendency to post a song regardless of the source it is coming from because of the perception that they have to be the first to showcase it. This becomes a problem when the record pool doesn’t care what kind of quality the record is in.

Browse through their library and get some information on how many tracks they post in a month. This is extremely important because a record pool would be no use to you if the music being posted would never get played during your set. It’s hard to trust a record pool who says they post 2,000 new tracks monthly when it’s tough enough to pinpoint 100 relevant artists?

Most record pools permit you to browse through their collection prior to you signing up. Take into consideration how their libraries are sorted out. This could help you save lots of time when searching for a particular genre of music. Also, pay close attention whenever they provide a ‘search’ tool. How different ways would it allow you to look for a track (i.e. Title, Artist, Genre, BPM). Most of all check and pay attention that they don’t post a majority of “filler” music.

Take a look at the quality of mp3s posted. Some record pools usually tend to post a song regardless of the source it is originating from. It’s crucial that you take a look at the quality of the songs being posted. There is a huge difference in sound quality between a 128 kbps and a 320 kbps or high quality VBR mp3. When visiting a record pool website, look for information concerning the types of mp3s they post. Most information can be found on their Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. A high quality mp3 should be at least 192 kbps or above.

Make sure you know exactly what you’re signing up for. Not all online record pools have the same privilege. There are some who allow you full access. That is, you have to pay a fee every month for unlimited downloads. Some pools might prevent you from downloading the same song after a certain number of times while others provide you with free reign. Other credit based pools, give you access to search through the entire library but you only have the ability to download music depending on how many monthly credits you purchased. As soon as all of the credits are used for the month, you will need to wait for the next billing period to download any more music.

They should be able to answer all the technical questions you have. If they cannot, it’s probably best to move on to another record pool.

Christian has been managing a record pool for a long time and maintains a record pool for DJs where you can get answers to the rest of your questions.