How to Find an Unreleased Track ID From a DJ Set

Start by ruling out the easy case. Avery Wang's 2003 paper on the Shazam algorithm, An Industrial-Strength Audio Search Algorithm, describes identifying a short sample "out of a database of over a million tracks". Every recognition tool works that way: no entry in the database, no match. Apple's page on adding music to the Shazam catalog says music gets there through an Apple-approved distributor, which an unreleased track has not been through.

So test it. Try Shazam or SoundHound on the cleanest 20 seconds of the track, away from the blends at either end. Then look up the set on 1001Tracklists or MixesDB. If the row at your timestamp reads "ID - ID", other people have already tried and failed; what a track ID is explains how to read that entry. If the set is on SoundCloud, you can also check whether it is already in MixTracklist's library at /explore, which is free to read, or paste the link at /scan, which costs a credit for a new set. The result puts a timestamp on every track it can name, and a track that has never been released or cataloged anywhere stays unidentified. YouTube and Mixcloud links are not supported.

If an app names a different, well-known record, you may be hearing an edit or bootleg of it. That is a lead: search that title plus "edit" and the DJ's name.

An ID hunt can run for months, so keep a note you can return to:

• The link to the set, plus the event name and date. Uploads get deleted; the event name lets you find a re-upload.
• The timestamp where the track is clearest, to the second, such as 1:12:30.
• The tracks before and after it, if they are known. They help others find the spot in a different recording of the same set.
• A short description: tempo feel, vocal or not, any words you can make out, the sound of the lead.

A DJ who is testing a track plays it more than once. Look through the tracklists of their other sets from the same two or three months. The same track may be named in one of them, or listed as "Artist - ID", which gives you the producer. Also check sets by the DJ's label mates and frequent back-to-back partners, since unreleased music travels in small circles first.

The 1001Tracklists FAQ says the site manually validates tracks after they have been played in tracklists, so a track that appears across several sets is more likely to end up with a proper entry.

Most IDs are resolved by the release itself, so put yourself where the announcement will land. Likely homes are the DJ's own label, the labels they have released on in the past year, and the label of whoever they credit in the set.

• Bandcamp: Bandcamp's post on fan accounts says that when you follow an artist you get a notification whenever that artist releases new music, and that following also adds you to the artist's mailing list.
• SoundCloud: the help article on following other users says their new tracks, playlists and reposts appear in your Stream as soon as they are posted.
• Beatport: Beatportal's guide to artist and label profiles describes the profile as where DJs "follow your releases" and keep track of what is coming next.

Follow the DJ's social accounts as well, since release announcements are usually made there.

Ask once, in the right place, with the details from step 2: a comment on the set at the timestamp, a track ID community, or a short message to the DJ. How to ask for a track ID has the places and a request format. Expect "it's unreleased" as an answer; even that is progress if it comes with an artist name or a label.

The gap between first play and release is often long. Mixmag's report on Joy Orbison's "flight fm" says he first played it at Lost Village in summer 2023 and that it was released on XL Recordings on January 17, 2024.

Set a reminder for three months. When it fires, reopen the tracklist to see whether "ID - ID" has been replaced, run a recognition app on the same timestamp again, since a released track can now match, and read the newer comments under the set. Repeat once or twice before you give up.

Be ready for a dead end. Mixmag's 2017 list of unreleased tracks that need an official release includes DMZ vs MZN's "Justice Day", of which, "as the story goes, there are only 2 copies", and an Âme remix that a fan petition could not get released.

When that happens the recorded set is the only place the track lives. Keep the link and the timestamp, and keep a copy of your note. In our view that is a fair trade: a few tracks you can never own are part of what makes a great set worth replaying.