How to Use Tags in Rekordbox: The Complete Guide to Filtering Your Library Mid-Set
If you've been using Rekordbox for a while, you've probably noticed the My Tag feature sitting in the sidebar. Most DJs ignore it. That's a mistake - tags are one of the most powerful tools Rekordbox offers for organizing your library and finding tracks fast during a set.
This guide covers everything: what tags are, how to assign them, how to filter by them, and how to use the AND/OR operators that most DJs don't even know exist.
What Are My Tags in Rekordbox?
My Tags are custom labels you can attach to any track in your Rekordbox library. Unlike genres or comments, tags are designed specifically for filtering. Think of them as colored flags you can stick on tracks that let you instantly narrow down your library.
You might tag a track with:
- Genre: Deep House, Acid Techno, Jungle
- Vibe: Peak Time, Warm Up, After Hours
- Region: Detroit, Berlin, UK
- Era: 90s, 2000s, 2020s
The key difference between tags and other metadata fields: tags are built for multi-select filtering. You can combine them in ways that genres and comments can't match.
How to Assign Tags to Tracks
Assigning Tags to a Single Track
- Select a track in your library
- Open the tag panel - click the tag icon in the toolbar, or go to View > Show My Tag
- Click any tag to toggle it on or off for that track
- The tag highlights when active
That's it. No saving, no confirming - it's instant.
Assigning Tags in Bulk
This is where it gets useful. Select multiple tracks (Cmd+Click or Shift+Click), then click a tag. Every selected track gets that tag applied simultaneously.
For example: select all 40 tracks from a particular label you know is Detroit techno, click "Detroit" and "Techno" - done in two clicks instead of 40 individual edits.
Creating Your Own Tags
Rekordbox comes with some default tags, but you'll want to create your own:
- Right-click in the My Tag area
- Select Create My Tag
- Name it whatever makes sense for your workflow
Some DJs create tags based on:
- Energy level: Low, Medium, High, Banger
- BPM range: Sub-120, 120-128, 128-135, 135+
- Set position: Opener, Builder, Peak, Closer
- Technical: Has Vocal, Instrumental, Good Loop Point
There's no wrong answer here. The best tag system is whatever matches how you think about your music.
Filtering by Tags for Set Prep
Here's where tags actually pay off. In the My Tag panel, click a tag to filter your library down to only tracks with that tag.
Click "Deep House" and your 10,000-track library instantly becomes a manageable list of just your deep house tracks.
But the real power comes from combining tags.
AND vs OR Operators: The Key to Powerful Filters
This is the part most DJs miss. Rekordbox lets you combine tag filters using AND and OR logic - and the difference is huge.
OR Filtering (Default)
When you select multiple tags within the same row, Rekordbox uses OR logic. This means it shows tracks that have any of those tags.
Example: Select "Deep House" OR "Minimal" OR "Dub Techno"
Result: all tracks tagged with Deep House, plus all tracks tagged with Minimal, plus all tracks tagged with Dub Techno. You're casting a wider net.
This is great for set prep when you want to browse across related genres.
AND Filtering
When you select tags from different rows, Rekordbox uses AND logic. This means tracks must have all of the selected tags to show up.
Example: Select "Techno" (from your genre row) AND "90s" (from your era row) AND "Detroit" (from your region row)
Result: only tracks that are tagged as Techno AND from the 90s AND from Detroit. You've gone from 10,000 tracks to exactly the vibe you need.
Combining AND + OR
This is where it gets powerful. You can use both at once:
- Row 1 (genres): "Techno" OR "Electro" (OR within row)
- Row 2 (era): "90s" (single selection)
- Row 3 (region): "Detroit" OR "Chicago" (OR within row)
Result: tracks that are (Techno OR Electro) AND (90s) AND (Detroit OR Chicago). You're looking at classic 90s electronic music from the Midwest. That's a very specific vibe found in seconds.
Setting Up Tag Rows for Maximum Flexibility
The row structure is what makes AND/OR work. Here's a setup that gives you maximum filtering power:
| Row | Category | Example Tags |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Genre | House, Techno, Breaks, Jungle, Ambient, Disco |
| 2 | Sub-genre | Deep House, Acid Techno, Dub Techno, Lo-fi House |
| 3 | Region | Detroit, Chicago, Berlin, UK, Japan |
| 4 | Era | 80s, 90s, 2000s, 2010s, 2020s |
| 5 | Vibe | Warm Up, Peak Time, After Hours, Driving |
With this setup, you can do queries like:
- All ambient tracks from Japan: Ambient (row 1) AND Japan (row 3)
- Peak time house or techno from the 2010s: House OR Techno (row 1) AND 2010s (row 4) AND Peak Time (row 5)
- 90s UK tracks for warming up: UK (row 3) AND 90s (row 4) AND Warm Up (row 5)
Using Tags on CDJs
If you export to USB, your tags come with you. On CDJ-3000s and the latest Rekordbox-compatible players, you can filter by My Tags directly on the hardware. On older CDJs, use the search/filter functions with the genre field instead.
The Practical Workflow
Here's how to actually integrate tags into your DJ workflow:
1. Tag everything upfront. Don't try to tag as you go. Set aside time to go through your library methodically. Work through it by label, by folder, by date added - whatever gets you through it. (If you want to skip the manual work, tools like Choon can auto-tag your entire library with genre, region, era, and vibe tags that sync directly to Rekordbox.)
2. Prep sets with AND filters. When you know the vibe for an upcoming gig, use AND filters to narrow your library to exactly the right pool. Export that filtered set to USB.
3. Browse with OR filters during live sets. Mid-set, use OR to browse across related genres. You know you're in a techno groove but want something adjacent - filter by Techno OR Electro OR Breaks to see all your options.
4. Refine over time. After gigs, retag tracks that didn't fit where you expected. Add new tags when your vocabulary evolves. Your system should grow with you.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Too many tags. If you have 200 tags, you'll never remember what's what. Keep it under 40-50 total across all rows.
Tags that overlap with built-in fields. Don't create tags for BPM ranges or key - Rekordbox already filters by those natively. Use tags for the stuff Rekordbox doesn't handle well: vibes, regional scenes, energy levels.
Not using rows strategically. If all your tags are in one row, you lose AND filtering entirely. Organize tags into rows by category from the start.
Tagging inconsistently. If half your house tracks are tagged "House" and the other half are tagged "house music", your filters won't work properly. Pick names and stick to them.
Tags are simple in concept but transform how you interact with your library. The AND/OR system means you can describe exactly what you're looking for - "90s Detroit techno that works for peak time" - and get results in seconds.
The hardest part is the initial tagging. Once that's done, you'll wonder how you ever found tracks without it.