Best Export Settings for a DJ Mix on SoundCloud and Mixcloud (So Loud Mixes Don't Distort)

You recorded a two hour set that went off in the club, you play it back at home and it sounds great. Then you upload it, press play on your phone, and something is wrong: the kicks are smeared, the hats sound crunchy, the drop that hit so hard in the room now distorts. Nothing is wrong with your mixing. The problem is what happened between the recording and the stream.

SoundCloud and Mixcloud both re-encode whatever you upload into their own streaming formats. If your file is clipped, already compressed, or pushed right up to 0 dB, that second encode is where it falls apart. This guide gives you the export settings that survive both platforms, with hard techno and other loud genres in mind.

What is the best file format to upload a DJ mix in?

Upload a lossless file whenever you can: WAV, AIFF or FLAC. SoundCloud's own help centre recommends lossless formats for the best final quality, and both platforms accept them. Mixcloud lists WAV, AIFF, FLAC, AAC, OGG, M4A, MP2, MP3 and WMA, while SoundCloud accepts WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis and several others.

The reason is simple. Every lossy encode throws information away. If you export a 320 kbps MP3 and the platform then transcodes that MP3 into its own streaming format, your mix has been compressed twice, and the artefacts stack. A lossless upload means the platform's encoder starts from the cleanest possible source.

• Best: WAV or FLAC at the sample rate and bit depth you recorded in.
• Acceptable: 320 kbps MP3 if you are on a slow connection or a file size limit forces it.
• Avoid: anything below 320 kbps, or re-exporting an MP3 that was already an MP3.

FLAC is worth knowing about because it is lossless but roughly half the size of WAV, so uploads finish faster on festival Wi-Fi or a hotel connection.

Which sample rate and bit depth should you export at?

Export at whatever your recording was made at. Most DJ software and club recorders capture at 44.1 or 48 kHz. Upsampling a 44.1 kHz recording to 96 kHz adds file size and no quality, because the platform will convert it again anyway.

For bit depth, 24 bit is ideal if your recording or editing session was 24 bit, especially if you plan to adjust levels or add a limiter afterwards. If your source is 16 bit, exporting at 16 bit is fine.

File size is rarely a problem in 2026. Both SoundCloud and Mixcloud accept files up to 4 GB, and SoundCloud's current limit is 24 hours per track. Some quick arithmetic for uncompressed stereo audio:

• 16 bit, 44.1 kHz WAV: about 10.6 MB per minute, so a two hour mix is roughly 1.3 GB.
• 24 bit, 44.1 kHz WAV: about 15.9 MB per minute, so a two hour mix is roughly 1.9 GB.

Only very long sets, such as an all night recording at 24 bit, get close to 4 GB. For those, FLAC solves it without losing quality.

How loud should a DJ mix be for SoundCloud?

This is where most hard techno mixes go wrong. SoundCloud's help centre recommends a master around minus 14 LUFS integrated with true peaks kept below minus 1 dBTP, and says that if your master is louder than minus 14 LUFS, you should keep true peaks below minus 2 dBTP. The lossy formats it streams in can create peaks that were not in your file, and louder material is more likely to distort in that conversion.

Very few techno DJs will bring a mix down to minus 14 LUFS, and you do not have to. Hard techno lives at loud levels and listeners compare you with other loud mixes. The practical rule is about peaks, not loudness:

• Put a true peak limiter at the very end of your export chain with a ceiling of minus 2 dBTP for a loud mix.
• Let the limiter catch only the occasional peak. If it is working on every kick, turn the input down instead.
• Never upload a recording that already hit 0 dB in the booth recorder. Fix it with gain and limiting first.

If you recorded straight from the mixer's record output and the meters were in the red, the clipping is baked in and no export setting can remove it. Next time, record a few dB lower than you think you need. Headroom is free and distortion is permanent.

Does Mixcloud need different settings from SoundCloud?

The audio settings are the same: lossless file, sensible peak ceiling, original sample rate. What differs is what Mixcloud does with the result and what it expects from you.

Mixcloud has described its standard streams as 64 kbps AAC+ on the free tier, with higher quality audio of at least 160 kbps Opus for Pro listeners. At low bitrates, dense loud mixes suffer most, which is another reason to leave headroom rather than slam the limiter.

Mixcloud is also built around licensing. Uploads over 15 minutes count as shows, and they follow Mixcloud's Featured Artist Rules, which limit how many tracks you can play from one artist or one release. For shows the guidance is at most three songs from the same release, with no more than two in a row, and up to four songs from one artist, with no more than three in a row. Label showcases and artist tribute mixes can break those limits, so check before you upload a full label night.

Mixcloud also uses your tracklist to report plays to rights holders, so add it at upload. Timestamps make the mix easier to navigate and help listeners find the track they came for.

What should you fix in the mix file before exporting?

Export settings matter less than a few minutes of editing. Open the recording in any audio editor or DAW and work through this list.

• Trim the dead air and the booth chatter at the start and end, then add a short fade in and a two to three second fade out.
• Check the level of each transition. If one part of the night was recorded hotter, use clip gain to even it out rather than compressing the whole file.
• Remove or shorten anything you would not want on the internet, such as a long gap while a USB was swapped.
• Listen to the loudest five minutes on headphones and phone speakers before exporting. That is where encoder problems show up first.
• Name the file with your name, the event or series and the date, so you can find the master later.

Keep that lossless master safely on your own drive. Platforms change their formats and their limits, and you will want the original if you re-upload, cut clips for social media, or pitch the mix to a radio show.

Is SoundCloud's free plan enough for uploading DJ mixes?

Not if you upload regularly. SoundCloud's help centre lists 2 hours of total upload time on a free account, 3 hours on Artist and unlimited on Artist Pro. A single long set can use up a free account. Mixcloud is built around long shows, which is one reason many DJs keep full sets there and use SoundCloud for shorter mixes, edits and premieres.

Whatever plan you use, uploads are stored in the original format on SoundCloud, so a lossless upload also works as a backup copy and gives listeners the full quality file if you enable downloads.

Your export checklist for this week

Take your most recent recorded set and run it through this process once. After that it becomes a ten minute routine after every gig.

• Check the recording for clipping. If it hit 0 dB in the booth, plan to record lower next time.
• Trim, fade and even out the levels in your editor.
• Add a true peak limiter at minus 2 dBTP for a loud mix, minus 1 dBTP for anything around minus 14 LUFS.
• Export WAV or FLAC at the original sample rate, 24 bit if your session was 24 bit.
• Upload the same master to SoundCloud and Mixcloud, add the tracklist with timestamps, and check the Featured Artist Rules for Mixcloud.
• Play the uploaded stream on your phone before you share the link.

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