FAQ

For any unanswered question try MixesDB:Special pages.

What is MixesDB all about?

MixesDB is the database for DJ mixes, radio shows and podcasts.

The mixes are added by music lovers from all over the world. Our slogan: We care about correctness because most do not.

We don't offer any downloads or secret ways to get download links.

We're building on top of the legacy of MixesDB which closed down June 29th, 2024 and had been collecting information since December 16th, 2006.

Although the information on MixesDB is added with care, there might be mistakes. Feel free to leave a comment or correct them. Everyone can contribute.

How can I download?

You can't. This site is not for downloading sets, but you can google them. Also a fair number of mixes have a player which may offer a direct download. But in general there are no hidden links, nothing.

The reason is quite simple: Live sets are not 100% legal. No matter what others want you to believe, they simply are not. Plenty of other sites offer downloads, but we don't take the risk to be closed one day. We only deliver information and facts. That's the only safe way to still be around in the future; which is the main purpose of this database.

Compared to all those blogs and forums our goal is not to provide download links or to make money with ads or one-click hosters, but to have all this data archived and available online for the future.

For hard to find mixes try SoulSeek.

How can I help?

Everyone is welcome to contribute. May it just be a comment or even adding new mixes. Below a list of things you can do to help us even if you didn't read this help section completely yet:

Post a comment whenever you see something incorrect. This advise is just for new users; experienced users can fix things directly by editing the page.
Add tracklists. When you have the playlist or can fill ID's please don't comment but edit the page. This saves us double work.
Fill missing file details. Example
In general it is best to just edit what you think is wrong instead of leaving it wrong and unnoticed.
You can't damage things on here. Everything can be undone or restored.

For more experienced users:

Check MixesDB:Maintenance regularly.
Fill the artist category pages with information and homepage links.
If you add new mixes, be sure you have read the help pages.
We always look for more or less dedicated users who regularly add new mixes with tracklists for regular shows.

Why do you have mixes without tracklists?

Because we don't concentrate on tracklists only. We concentrate on existing mix files and the artist categories, clubs etc. A complete tracklist is just the cherry on the cake.

Like mix pages without tracklists, also pages without file details already have a database value. Besides the fact that it's easier to add / start a tracklist if the mix page already exists.

What is the best way to find a track ID?

If you're looking for a track that is missing in the tracklist:

Search the mix on trackid.net – if it doesn't exist, submit a player URL (requires premium account).
SoundCloud has active discussions so try that as well.
Asking for track IDs in the comments helps but motivates nobody to listen to the mix for you.

If all these fail: Add a Sample ID to the tracklist. This way everyone can play it directly and comment or fix the tracklist.

Why are so many shows missing?

You should consider this: We explore shows step by step as we find them. Also we only add all episodes of a show if they come with a tracklist and are exclusive.

Furthermore the database is built by volunteers and nobody likes adding stuff nobody cares about.

Can I add my own mixes?

Yes. All homemade mixes / mixes by unknown or so-called bedroom DJs are allowed. But they must be / have been available online (don't add a download link though). If the mix was not recorded in public, aired on radio or spread as an independent podcast, you should add it to [[Category:Promo Mix]].

I posted a missing track as comment, but nobody changed the mix page?

It takes some time until somebody sees your comment via Recent Changes so the user can edit the mix page. But why not edit the mix page directly yourself?
Of course posting missing tracks or mistakes about the tracklist is quick & easier for you and it's ok, but actually it creates double work. So better log in or create an account and edit things directly.

Can I get the logo / link to you?

If you want the logo for linking to us, here are a few versions. Resize it to your needs and thanks for the link.

Is the database regularly backed up?

Yes. The complete website (all data: the database, website files, uploaded files, comments etc.) is backed up daily. The backup can easily be restored at any time in the unlikely case of a hacker attack, abuse or data-loss. Keep in mind that we're almost as safe against attacks as Wikipedia is.

Why do the titles sometimes use "Live", "@" or "-"?

The reason is simple: We care about correctness. Most mix titles you read on the internet are totally crappy.

Live PA & DJ recordings

"Live" is a widely spread short form for "Live PA" which is a "Live Performance Act". A live act is performing his own music with studio equipment* in comparison to a DJ set where the DJ just plays tracks on turntables, CD players or a laptop (more info). So we would add "Live" to Skudge but not to Sven Väth mix page titles.

* Most live acts don't perform live anyway these days. Mostly it's just a "show" with pre-produced track arrangements. They press play on the laptop and move some faders or play on the effects while trying to look busy and talented. Some "artists" like Justice even forget to plug their equipment, pft!

On the other hand "DJ live at club" is a true information. The DJ was live in the club yes, but what else should he be if not live? A holographical stream from the past or future? ;) Until the first Trance DJs do exactly this, we handle it this way: "DJ @ Club" and "Artist (Live PA) @ Club".

Now the difference between "@" and "-" is that "@" is only added to club and event mixes while "-" is used for everything not live. Like radio shows, podcasts or promo mixes, because the artist was not "@" the radio show or podcast.

Radio shows

An exception are recorded Live PAs from an unknown gig, aired on a radio show or spread as podcast. Those use "Live Act (Live PA) - Show Name".

Nowadays almost no radio show has live guests. A few examples from the past are old Clubnight and Dance Under The Blue Moon shows. Those use "DJ @ Show Name". Essential Mix never had live guests, except when it was a live broadcast from an event, so they use "DJ - Essential Mix".

These days radio shows are mostly pre-produced by the DJ at home or part of a recent club recording. When they have a guest mix they just play a mix file. Such a guest mix can be: a file found on the internet (repeats / fakes), a mix sent by the artist to the radio host or a mix sent by the DJ or his management on request (these can be repeats as well if the mix was handed out multiple times). The recorded show is then sent or uploaded to the radio station which broadcasts it "live" on the scheduled date.

Live podcast videos

A quite confusing case of this matter are live recorded podcast videos: They're live and would need an "@" in the title, but "DJ @ Some Podcast" would be incorrect (you can be live on/at some radio show, but not live at a podcast).

In order to use "@" we have to add a feign location name to the mix title. Examples:

Be At Podcast: "DJ @ B@ TV Studio (Be At Podcast)"
DJ-Sets: "DJ @ Studio 80 Studio (DJ-Sets X)"

There is no need to create a category for the new location name when there are no other recordings from there and only these podcast episodes would be in that location category.

The artwork titles should ignore the location and use "Artist - Some Podcast X".

An exception are cases where the podcast title is the same as the location, e.g. Category:Beatport: They're recorded live at the Beatport offices in different cities. It's ok to only use "DJ @ Beatport" in this case, since "Beatport" means both, the location and the podcast.

Summary

Skudge are one of the few real live acts …
Justice can beam their music into your brain …
Dave Clarke live in the Clubnight studio 2004 …

It should be easy now to understand the differences in those titles:

The page doesn't refresh?

The system uses cache for proper performance. But sometimes it can happen you need to see the updated system view. E.g. when you're on a category page and rename one mix page of it and come back to the category, you'll still see old name listed. This will refresh your cache for the page you're on atm:

Firefox, Internet Explorer (Windows): press Ctrl+F5, Chrome, Opera, Konqueror: press F5, Safari: press Cmd+Opt+E

If that doesn't help, add ?action=purge at the end of the URL and press return (enter).

Someone edited my contribution, grrr!!

Wikis live from collaborative editing. One of the fundamental principles is to "assume good faith".

If you contribute a mix page or tracklist, you shouldn't take later edits personally. We all just want to improve the database.

Unsortable facts

Comments

While editing pages is restricted to logged in users, comments can be left by everyone.

Please don't post mistakes of the mix page, but edit the page to correct it directly.
Please don't post comments judging the mix like "This mix is dope!" (imagine where this would end).
The section is actually thought for discussing "more serious" issues, esp. tracklists.
It is not allowed to add download links on the mix pages or to post such as comment.
Durations: Please note that we use a standard tracklist format and durations are listed as full minutes mostly: [87] = 1h:27m, [140] = 2h:20m.

Namespaces

The database consists of pages in different sections, so called namespaces.

You can find out in which namespace a page is by the prefix of the page title (except mix pages in "Main"), e.g. Help:Search is in the "Help" namespace. Other: comments are in "Talk", uploaded Images and ID sample files in "File", database function pages in "Special" etc.

Mass text replacements

'Replace Text' is a feature run by User:WikiBot (contribs) to replace text on multiple pages at once.

Note: Edits by bot users do not appear on Special:RecentChanges (better performance).

The feature can also:

Replace regular mistakes
Replace repeated text per namespace or category
Rename a whole category instead of changing each page manually
Change a category to a disambiguation category page
Move pages with title replacements, e.g. "Radio Show Name, Station" to "Radio Show Name"

Since this feature is very powerful (and easy to abuse), it is not accessible for everyone.

If you want stuff fixed, post on Discord in the dedicated #wikibot-requests channel about what to replace with what and where (when only certain titles, categories or namespace).

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