· CueID

Export a mix tracklist to Rekordbox, Traktor, YouTube chapters or a CUE sheet

Which export format to pick for a DJ mix tracklist, and what each one is good for — from YouTube chapters to Rekordbox XML.

A tracklist is only useful once it’s somewhere you need it. CueID exports to ten formats, and each one suits a different job. Here’s which to pick.

Posting a mix online

YouTube chapters. YouTube turns timestamps in a video description into clickable chapters. The format is a timestamp at the start of each line, beginning at 00:00. Export as YouTube chapters and paste it straight into the description.

Mixcloud. Mixcloud asks for a tracklist when you upload. Export as Mixcloud and paste it into the upload page’s Tracklist & Timestamp box: each line is artist, title and start time, the layout Mixcloud reads. Mixcloud also accepts the CUE sheet.

1001Tracklists. Cue times and tracks ready for the site’s Add Tracklist page, with any section nobody could name listed as ID - ID, the way the site writes an unknown track.

Plain text or Markdown. These are for SoundCloud descriptions, Reddit posts, forums and show notes. Markdown keeps it tidy wherever formatting is supported.

Working with the audio

CUE sheet. A .cue file sits next to a single long audio file and marks where each track begins. Many players (foobar2000, VLC and most hardware media players) then let you skip track by track through one continuous recording. It’s also the standard way to archive a mix with its tracklist.

Split into files. If you’d rather have separate files, CueID can split the recording into one audio file per track instead.

Prepping your own sets

Rekordbox XML and Traktor NML bring the recording itself into your DJ software, with a cue point at the start of every track (the first eight as hot cues too), named after the track. Import it and you can jump around a recorded set from the pads, or study how someone else built theirs. Switch on Include BPM and key and each cue name carries the track’s tempo and key, so you can see at a glance what will mix with what.

Everything else

  • CSV opens in Numbers, Excel or Google Sheets, with BPM and key columns. Use it to keep a log of every set you’ve scanned, or to sort by tempo.
  • M3U is a plain playlist format most media players understand.
  • Apple Music playlist isn’t a file. CueID builds the playlist in your library from everything it found, in order.

Exporting is free, so you can do all of this after your first free scan.