Guide
How record labels track DJ support across their roster
For small labels: one sheet for the whole roster, what to check after each weekend, what to tell your artists, and a report at the end of each campaign.
A small label might have four releases in promo at the same time, each sent to a different set of DJs, and every artist asking the same question: “has anyone played it?”. Without a routine, support is found by chance, reported late and forgotten by the next release. With one, it becomes the label’s most useful record: who supports your sound, and which releases they reach for.
This guide is a routine a small team can run in about an hour or two a week, plus a short report at the end of each campaign.
One sheet for the whole roster
Keep everything in one shared spreadsheet, with three tabs:
- Sends: release, artist, DJ, Instagram handle, date sent, version, and whether they opened or downloaded it.
- Plays: release, DJ, date, event or venue, city, type of evidence (club clip, set recording, radio, tracklist), link, the second the track starts, who posted it and the views.
- DJs: one row per DJ, with their tier, their sound and the releases they have played. Over time this tab becomes the label’s real promo list.
One person owns the sheet. Artists get reports from it rather than access to it, because it holds DJs’ contact details.
The weekly routine
| Day | What to do | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Check the weekend's gigs by DJs on the active send lists: their posts, the posts that tag them, venues and promoters. Log each play you are sure of. | 45–60 min |
| Tuesday | One polite follow-up to DJs who got a promo the week before and haven't answered. Once only. | 15 min |
| Midweek | Send the next promo group: DJs plan their weekend sets midweek. Check radio shows and recorded sets released this week. | 20–30 min |
| Friday | A short update to each artist with a release in promo: new plays, the running total, what's next. | 15 min |
For where to look on the Monday, our guides to finding Instagram clips and festival plays have the full search order.
Which releases to watch closely
- Active releases, from the first send until about four weeks after release day: every week.
- Catalogue: a monthly look. DJs who keep playing an older release are worth knowing about for remix packages, re-releases and the artist’s next record.
What to tell your artists
Weekly or every two weeks during a campaign, and short. Artists want to know who played it and where; they don’t need the full sheet. Be honest when it’s quiet: “no new plays this week” is a fine update.
[Title] – week 3 New plays: [DJ] at [event], [city], Saturday [date]: [link], 0:42 [DJ] on [radio show]: [link], 1:12:30 So far: 6 of 40 DJs, 9 gigs. First play on day 5. Next: second send to 15 DJs on Tuesday.
Don’t pass on DJs’ contact details or private feedback without the DJ’s agreement.
The release-campaign report
Write one about four weeks after the first send, and update it about four weeks after release. One page:
- A summary line: “Played by 7 DJs at 11 events in 5 countries before release.” Only numbers you can link to.
- The strongest plays first, with links.
- Play rate, repeat plays, plays by DJs you didn’t send it to, and the day of the first play.
- What you’ll change next time: who gets the next release first, who comes off the list.
The same page works for the artist, the distributor, press and the artist’s booking agent. Our guide on measuring a promo campaign explains each number.
The roster-wide view
Once a few campaigns are in the sheet, look across releases, not just within them:
- DJs who play several of your releases are the label’s core supporters. Send them first, invite them to label nights, think of them for remixes.
- DJs who download everything and play nothing can move to stream-only, or off the list.
- Releases with the highest play rate tell you something about the sound DJs want from you. That is useful in A&R meetings.
Count support the same way for every release. After a year you can compare releases fairly and see which DJs carry the label.
Starting from zero
If you have no sheet yet, don’t try to rebuild every past campaign. Start with the releases in promo now: export the send lists from your promo tool or your sent mail, and begin the weekly routine this Monday. Add the last two or three releases if you have the links to hand. Within a couple of months you will have a fair picture of who supports the label.
Common mistakes
- Every artist keeping their own record in DMs and screenshots. Support gets lost, and nobody sees the whole picture.
- Reporting downloads to artists as support. It sets expectations the plays won’t meet.
- Sending every release to the whole master list. DJs learn to skip your emails.
- Promising numbers (“we’ll get you 20 supports”) before a campaign starts.
- Forgetting the catalogue. Plays of older releases tell you who keeps your music in their bag.
Share the work
Artists are often the first to see clips, because fans tag them. Give them one easy way to send in what they find (a shared form or a single email address) with the link and the date, and log it the same day. The label checks every clip before it goes on the sheet.
Questions
How often should a label check for DJ support?
Weekly during a campaign, ideally on the Monday, when most clips from the weekend's gigs are up. Older releases can be checked monthly.
Should artists see the label's promo list?
Share results, not contacts. Artists should see who played their track, where and when, but DJs' contact details and private feedback stay with the label unless the DJ is happy for them to be shared.
What should a release-campaign report include?
A one-line summary, the strongest plays with links, the play rate, repeat plays, plays by DJs you didn't send it to, and what you'll change for the next send. One page is enough.
How many DJs should a small label send each release to?
It depends on the release and the label's sound. Many small labels keep a larger master list and choose a shorter list for each release by fit, rather than sending every release to everyone.