A crate that runs out at midnight is worse than one that is twice too big. Each block of the night has a length and a feel, and each feel has its own average track length — a three-minute dance edit and a five-minute dinner cut do not fill the same amount of clock.
A three-hour dance set at 3.5 minutes a track needs 52 songs cued, not the 40 that “feels like plenty.”
The example
Three blocks of a reception, each with its own length and its own typical track length.
| A | B | C | D | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Block | Hours | Avg min/track | Tracks |
| 2 | Cocktail hour | 1 | 4.5 | 14 |
| 3 | Dinner | 1.5 | 4 | 23 |
| 4 | Dance set | 3 | 3.5 | 52 |
The formula
Convert the block to minutes, then divide by the average track:
How it works
Read it left to right:
B2*60turns the block length into minutes, because track lengths live in minutes./C2is the honest part: your average track length for that block. Dance edits run short, dinner selections run long.ROUNDUP(...,0)rounds up because a half-prepped track is not a track.- Sum the column and you have the size of the crate for the whole night.
Prep beyond the number. The count tells you the floor; a read-the-room DJ wants roughly half again as many options loaded.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the block length and the average track length for that feel.
Variations
Crate with a 50% cushion
Load half again as many so you can skip and still finish.
Whole-night total
Sum the block column for the size of the full crate.
Pitfalls & errors
Track your own averages from a few real gigs. Most DJs cut dance tracks to 2:45–3:30 and let dinner selections run full length — guessing a single average across the night overfills one block and starves the other.
Transitions steal time in the other direction: a long blend means fewer tracks fit, so a beat-matched dance set uses slightly more clock per song than the tag says.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Is there a rule of thumb for songs per hour?
Should requests change the number?
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