What is all this anyway?
Well, first off, we're music fans. All Mixtape Mixer members are people who just want to share cool shit they've heard, plain and simple. So, once a month, we get together and do that.
You can get updates in a few ways:
Drop us a line and we'll add you to our mailing list.
Follow us on Twitter.
Check back here periodically.
How does this all work?
At least a month before a meeting we'll announce the theme, and we may give some suggestions. At the start of each MTM, everyone will toss their names into a hat/pint glass/burlap sack/what have you, and then each person will draw a name. The name you've just drawn? Well, that's the person who you're going to hand your mixtape to.
No, I mean *how* do I do this?
Oh, well, that's easy, especially if you're using iTunes. Just create a playlist in iTunes, and drag over the songs you want, then burn it as an audio CD. You'll probably get something like 18 to 20 songs to fit. If you click the little burn (looks all radioactive-y) button you should get an audio CD out of it. We can't stress this part enough. So, make sure you use a CD-R, and not a DVD, and be sure not to make a disc with the raw MP3/AAC files. If you're not using iTunes to manage your digital music and it's not obvious in whatever app you are using, drop us a line and we'll see if we can't give you a hand with the technical details.
What sort of music should I put on my mixtape?
Whatever sort you want. We don't work in genres or styles, just by themes. So if you've got 80 minutes worth of Hungarian Scream Singing that fits with that month's theme, go for it.
How the hell do I know what's on the mixtape I was just handed by some stranger?
It should go without saying that labeling is a super idea, otherwise we've got no idea what we've just been given. So, when you give over your mixtape, have a track listing with it. Artist, song title, album title; that's all. If you're feeling extra inspired, how about a little methodology statement, you know, why you picked the songs you picked (we've all got good stories). Also, be sure to hand an extra copy of that track listing to whoever is organizing that night, since we're going to compile each night's mixes on our archive page.
What if someone else's mixtape looks awesome and I'd like a copy of theirs too?
Sure. Encouraged, even. When you're making a copy for your future intended, feel free to burn a few more and hand them to anyone who's interested. This does, though, lead us to another good question...
What about copyright restrictions?
We don't want to run afoul of the RIAA or Apple, and we are not encouraging music piracy at all. If an iTunes playlist contains songs which were bought in the iTunes Store (and aren't iTunes Plus songs), those tracks are restricted to being burned 7 times to an audio CD for a given playlist. Sounds confusing, we know, because it took us some time to grasp as well.
Say you've just bought the song "Begin the Begin" by R.E.M. in the iTunes Store, and you've added it to a playlist named "My Music Kicks Ass." You can now only burn "Begin the Begin" on that particular kickass playlist 7 times. But, if you were you add "Begin the Begin" to another playlist, say it's called "My Music Still Kicks Ass," you've got 7 fresh burns. Make sense?
What if I miss a meeting? Or what if I want to see everyone's mixtapes?
After each meeting, we'll get a page going in our archives to document the night. For anyone who wants to, hand over an extra track listing, and we'll get it up there. We'll list the whole thing out. So if you missed out, or if you just want to see what people have been doing, you'll be able to see a list of every mixtape that was brought to a particular MTM meeting.
Do you guys charge for this?
There's no specific charge to com to a Mixtape Mixer event, but each event we'll put out a glass and ask people to drop a couple of bucks in to help us cover the costs associated with running the website and the Meetup.com group. Other than that, you'll buy your own drinks and such, and that's it. |
