Playlist or tracklist

What’s the difference, or why you probably use the wrong word

Rekordbox 5. Example of software that lets you create playlists.

Quite often I see DJs posting their mixes with a list of played tracks, and they call those lists a “playlist”. Well, that’s wrong. A proper word for this is a “tracklist”, or “tracklisting” if you will.

Here is the difference between these two.

playlist is a list of audio or video content that can be organised and played back in any order. The point is you as a user have control over the playback of individual items. You can playback it sequential or you can shuffle it, or you can add more items — like adding songs to a playlist on iTunes or adding videos to a playlist on YouTube.

tracklisting, on contrast, is a list of tracks appearing in a particular given order. In the case of DJ mixes, it’s set in stone, you cannot change it.

So, when a DJ plays a set he may have tracks organised in playlists, but once he recorded his set, the list of the tracks he played become a tracklist.

Perhaps, I sound like a nerd (and I am, indeed) but I hope it’ll help to make things clear.


 5488   2017   Advice   DJing   Music Industry

Since 2015, I’ve run an advice section giving my experience and answering readers’ questions on music production, DJing, performing, marketing, management, and other aspects of the music industry. The purpose of the series is to spread knowledge and cultivate professionalism in the music industry. The advice series works simply: you send me your questions, and I answer them with a blog post when I have something relevant to say. Send me your questions via the form.


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    2 comments
    Irvin Cee 2020

    ha, I’m not alone wondering about that!
    Thank you for making this clear.
    I was right :-)

    Hanyang Liu 2022

    No! Your explanation is very helpful for my SQL learning! ( haha...
    Thank you very much ;)

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