Making the perfect Muxtape

No, that's not a typo, it does actually say Muxtape. If anything is stroking my nerd chub right now, it's this, hardcore. The concept is extremely simple. Pick a user name, upload up to 12 songs (that you have permission to use, of course), and share away! The interface is simple and well designed, the functionality works great, and aside from the occasional problem that could arise from allowing it to play over and over for an extended period of time (a.k.a Muxtaping myself to sleep the other night), it plays like a charm. Not to mention, unlike most music "players," it involves absolutely no flash, which means it downgrades quite nicely on my iPod touch.

I'm fascinated by this project from an idea standpoint but I also have a number of questions that hopefully will be answered soon.

  • How the hell are they going to get away with this? I know that they are only individual songs and that certain copyrights allow the use of audio content within a certain time constraint but it almost seems too good to be true.
  • Will I ever be able to make more than one mix per account/login? I feel like a pay service would be perfect for something like this but again, I think that treads in really shaky territory from a copyright standpoint.
  • How are they going to keep this afloat without a pay service or advertising once it really takes off? I'm only now beginning to form a fundamental understanding of how sites like this stay alive but even to the "experts" this is still a real gray area.

All questions aside I'm going to be keeping my eyes on this and probably making a few more mixes with the various e-mail addresses I hold on to. If you get around to making one, share it with me! I've already learned about tons of new music just from a few days of poking around. Also, if you're bored and looking for something to listen to, check out my first Muxtape.

Mark

Co-Owner/Managing Editor/Web Developer/Podcast Co-Host/Beard Wizard

Mark is the pretty much everything of Bloody Good Horror. When he's not casting spells in Magic or Hearthstone, you'll probably find him watching wrestling, beard glistening from the essence of Chicago's myriad beers and meats.