How to Get DJ Support for a Release (With Data)

Getting DJ support for a release is not about reaching as many DJs as possible. It is about reaching the right few, early, and earning their trust release after release. We looked at every promo sent on PromoLink, 316,750 times a DJ received a release, and two numbers stand out. The top 10% of downloading DJs account for 70% of all downloads. And a DJ who downloaded one of a label's promos before downloads its next one 25.2% of the time, against 0.3% for a DJ who never has. Here is what DJ support really is, and how to get it.

Real DJ support is a DJ playing your track, not only downloading it. The download and the comment are where support starts; what moves a release is the track in a set, a Beatport DJ chart, and an ID on 1001Tracklists.

Each of these is visible, and each one is worth something different:

• The download is the DJ's first answer: they want the track in their library. On PromoLink, about 5.6% of promo sends end in one.
• The play in a set is the support itself. It reaches a crowd, and often a video.
• A Beatport DJ chart puts the track in front of the DJ's followers and of the people who watch charts.
• An ID on 1001Tracklists is the public record that a known DJ played it, and the line labels and curators look for.

A comment is welcome, but most written feedback is short courtesy; our DJ feedback guide shows the numbers. Judge support by what DJs do with the track.

Most of a label's DJ support comes from a small core. On PromoLink, the top 10% of downloading DJs account for 70.1% of all downloads.

And that core comes back. A DJ who has downloaded one of a label's promos downloads its next one 25.2% of the time. A DJ on the same list who has never downloaded from that label: 0.3%. That is the single strongest number in this article.

Repeat downloads mean the DJ trusts the label: when its promo arrives, it is worth their time. That trust pays twice. The DJ plays the next release, and a DJ who is also a producer is more likely to send that label their next demo. Support and A&R grow from the same relationship.

So find your core before you widen anything. After each release, look at who downloaded and who played it out, and put those DJs first next time.

The fastest way to lose DJ support is to send every release to everyone. A promo list works because DJs trust that what arrives is worth opening; blasting it with every small release teaches them to stop.

Size shows it too. On PromoLink, lists under 100 DJs see roughly 18 to 21% of sends end in a download; lists over 1,000 DJs, about 1%. A small list is not better because it is small, it is better because a label with a hundred contacts usually knows each one.

• Send each release to the DJs who play its sound, not to the whole list.
• Widen the send when you release a big name, and the wider list will open it.
• Hold a release you are not fully sure of. A weak promo costs more trust than it earns.
• Remove dead addresses: about 5% of promo emails bounce.

Our guide on how to send promos to DJs covers the list in more detail.

Send the release to your top names first, about five weeks before release, then to the wider list three to four weeks out, naming the DJs who already support it. That cascade is how an unknown artist's track earns attention.

The second wave works because a recognised name in the "supported by" line pulls more attention than an unknown artist's name. On PromoLink, promos whose text named support converted 6.9%, against 5.6% for the rest; only 32 releases did it, so read that as a signal rather than a rule. Never invent support: a false "supported by" gets a label quietly ignored.

Timing matters because DJs download early. 78% of DJ promo downloads happen before release day, half of the DJs who download do it within three days of the send, and 71% within a week. Give each wave that week before you judge it. Our article on the best day to release music has the full timeline.

DJs support what is easy to hear and easy to take. Every extra step between the email and the track costs plays.

• Only finished, mastered tracks. A DJ judges a track in seconds and rarely comes back to it.
• One click to listen, in the browser, with no login and nothing to download first.
• The format they play: MP3, WAV or AIFF. About half of all promo downloads on PromoLink are lossless.
• The release facts in one place: artist, title, catalogue number, genre and release day.
• A review only if you need it. On a paid plan a label can ask for a short review before the download; 93% of the DJs who met that step wrote one and downloaded. Without it, the download itself is the answer.

Use the support you get. Early downloads and plays are the raw material for everything that comes next.

• Collect the proof. DJ charts, videos from sets and 1001Tracklists IDs, gathered the week before release, are what you post on release day.
• Pitch with it. When a top DJ supports a track, that is the moment to ask them about their chart. Beatport's own support pages advise naming the DJs who support a release when you pitch it for a feature.
• Let the chart work. On PromoLink, the tracks DJs download most make a public chart, and DJs in the pool mostly pick what is already near its top. The more your own list downloads, the further the release climbs and the more new DJs notice it.
• Write to people, not lists. A thank-you to a DJ who played your track builds the relationship that brings the next play.

Every release either strengthens a label's DJ relationships or wears them down. A label that sends the right music to the right DJs, early, earns a core that downloads, plays and comes back, and that core is what carries the next release further.

That is also how a label grows its roster. DJs who trust a label send it their own music. The 25.2% who come back are the label's future.

How do I get DJs to play my track? Send a finished, mastered track to DJs who play its sound, top names first, about five weeks before release. Make it one click to hear and easy to download in their format, and name early supporters in the second wave.

How do I know if a DJ played my track? Look for their Beatport DJ charts, videos from their sets, and IDs on 1001Tracklists. The download shows interest; those show support.

How early should I send a promo to DJs? At least two to three weeks before release, and the top names earlier, around five weeks. 78% of DJ downloads happen before release day.

Should I send my promo to as many DJs as possible? No. Send each release to the DJs who play its sound. Lists under 100 DJs convert around 18 to 21%; lists over 1,000, about 1%. Blasting every release wears down the trust that makes a list work.

Should I follow up with DJs who did not download? Give each wave a week first: most downloads come within it. Then send something useful, such as the second wave naming the DJs who already support the track, rather than a reminder.

What is the most valuable kind of DJ support? A known DJ playing the track out, with a Beatport chart or a 1001Tracklists ID that shows it. Downloads and comments are where it starts.

Send your next release on PromoLink to your own list, to the DJ pool, or to both, top names first, and see by name who listened and who downloaded. Your first 20 releases go to the pool free, and the support checklist from this article is below as a PDF.