Hip Hop is the most listened to genre of music in the world, so there are plenty of options available when it comes to sourcing new music. Let’s take a look at some of the best ones.
So which is the best hip hop record pool for DJs?
In my opinion, Franchise Record Pool is the best hip hop record pool for DJs. The site is updated with over 100 tracks every day, all versions of tracks are available (clean, dirty, radio, intro/outro) and it is among the cheapest record pools on the market today.
Funkmaster Flex founded Franchise Record Pool in 1996 and it has grown into one of the biggest online record pools. Not only do you get unlimited access to audio files
For me, what sets Franchise Record Pool apart from the competition are the apps that they have developed for their subscribers.
The FRP Live app is a very useful tool that allows you to interact with your audience and chat with other subscribing DJs and is available for both iOS and Android
Their SPINS app (Synchronisation & Publication for the Industry Network System) is the app that really sets them apart. While it is only available for iOS, it can do some really amazing stuff such as share playlists with other subscribing DJs, view requests from the crowd and automatically download music to specific folders on your computer that have been created using the app.
Positives:
- Over 300,000 audio files available
- Android and iOS apps for organising music on the move
- Video files of both old and new tracks
Negatives:
- The website interface could be cleaner
- So many features available means it could actually be overwhelming for new users
Website: franchiserecordpool.com
Price: $19.99 per month
Billing Cycle: Monthly
Are there any other record pools for hip hop music?
Franchise Record Pool definitely gets my vote for overall value, quality and member features, but there are many other excellent record pools available.
The Runner-Up
Digital DJ Pool
Digital DJ Pool is quite possibly the cheapest hip hop record pool available for DJs. (I would say it is definitely the cheapest, but there may well be a cheaper one that I just haven’t heard of yet!)
Digital DJ Pool do service other music styles as well as hip hop, but their library is updated on a daily basis with an abundance of urban tracks.
I just logged in to check and they have added 31 new hip hop tracks today and 82 new hip hop tracks yesterday. In the last 3 days, over 150 new hip hop tracks have been added to their library.
The Digital DJ Pool interface is one of the cleanest of all the record pools and you are able to search for tracks by artist, title, track version, year, key and many other options
If you are curious and want to check it out for yourself, Digital DJ Pool offers a 5-day trial for just $1!
Positives:
- A huge available selection of hip hop with scores of new tracks being added every day
- One of the most user-friendly interfaces of all record pools
- A 5-day trial for just $1 to see if it is the right record pool for you
Negatives:
- I have noticed that some tracks get added at 192kbps bit rate
- A very small amount of remixes sound like they haven’t been mastered correctly
- This is an
audio only pool, there are no videos available
Website: digitaldjpool.com
Price: $15 per month
Billing Cycle: Monthly
The best of the rest
Club Killers
Club Killers has been around for a long time and continues to be one of the leading record pools.
They boast possibly the best team of editors which guarantees the exclusives and edits they put out are dance floor ready. The “CK Cuts” are always trending on the site, showing that their subscribers agree
Club Killers offer both audio and video files within their monthly subscription cost, but the reason that they are not featured higher in this list is that they are a little more expensive than the other record pools. Having said that, you do get what you pay for.
Positives:
- Unrivalled amount of quality club edits
- User-friendly interface
- Good customer support
Negatives:
- No mobile app
- Some broken links on the website (music files are always fine)
Website: clubkillers.com
Price: $40 per month (the last time I subscribed I was notified in the email that the price would soon increase to $50 per month, but I am not sure if or when that will happen)
Billing Cycle: Monthly
Crate Connect
The monthly price of Crate Connect is very slightly higher than some of the hip hop record pools listed here, but if you sign up for 3 or 6 months, the savings actually make it only a couple of dollars more expensive than the cheapest option, Digital DJ Pool.
While Crate Connect
Having said that, the selection of exclusive hip hop remixes, edits and DJ intros is vast and you will do well to find a record pool with more diversity.
Positives:
- Access to lossless file formats such as WAV and FLAC
- More than 30 different genres spanning a 30 year period
- Ability to preview the entire song
Negatives:
- No mobile app (although you can add tracks to a zip file to download at your convenience)
- Website load time is sometimes slow
Website: crateconnect.net
Price: $22 per
Billing Cycle: Monthly (Discounts available if subscribing for 3 or 6 months)
Late Night Record Pool
Late Night Record Pool is the most expensive hip hop record pool in this list and one of the most expensive around.
With that in mind, they do boast that they offer the largest selection of throwbacks of all the record pools. (Franchise Record Pool also have an incredible back catalogue, so I might see if I can get a definitive answer as to which hip hop record pool really does have the best selection of throwbacks).
Late Night Record Pool makes the tracks in their library available for download as individual files or as a zip pack. The zip packs will always include at least the clean and dirty edit of tracks, as well as the mix show edits, instrumentals and acapellas if they are available.
Positives:
- Huge selection of throwbacks (Possibly the largest)
- Individual and zip pack download options
Negatives:
- More expensive than most other hip hop record pools
- Some tracks only available at 192kbps (only throwbacks that aren’t available in higher quality)
Website: latenightrecordpool.com
Price: $47 per month
Billing Cycle: Monthly (10%, 20% or 30% discount available if subscribing for 3, 6 or 12 months)
Urban DJ Pool
Urban DJ Pool is a subsidiary of iDJPool. While iDJPool service all genres of music, Urban DJ Pool only service hip hop, r&b, rap, reggae and gospel music.
Urban DJ Pool is a fantastic record pool and the only reason that it isn’t included higher up this list is that subscribers have to live in the United States, thus eliminating a large amount of their potential target market.
For those of you that are based in the United States, then you are able to access a great hip hop record pool for a great price.
Positives:
- Solely hip hop, r&b and other urban genres
- Standard download facility as well as FTP access
Negatives:
- Only available to subscribers living in the United States
Website: urbandjpool.com
Price: $25 per month
Billing Cycle: Monthly
What about record pools for other genres of music?
As stated before, hip hop is the most listened to genre of music in the world. Having said that, a lot of DJs will be required to play multiple genres of music.
If you are an open format DJ and also require a subscription for other music styles, you should check out the articles I wrote about the best house music record pool and the best
Better DJing Top Tip
Whenever I review record pools, I always advise DJs to subscribe to a record pool for a month or two and then subscribe to a different one.
By moving around from pool to pool, you can maintain a bit of diversity in your sets by playing the exclusives of each record pool, rather than being limited to the exclusives of a single record pool.
Hip Hop Record Pool Conclusion
The list of hip hop record pools here have all served me well at one time or another.
I recommend taking a closer at the ones that you feel will suit you and then choose accordingly.
I hope that this article has helped you in some way. If you have any questions about the hip hop record pools listed here, or any suggestions for other record pools that I may have missed, please feel free to leave a comment.
