MP3 Gift Vouchers

Itunes

Currently there are online wholsalers who distribute itunes gift cards, however they do not seem to have any connection with apple themselves, nor do apple condone it.

http://www.tradetang.com/wholesale-iTunes-Gift-Cards_c262011.html

Amazon

Amazon currently offer corporate gift vouchers which are for large businesses who are wishing to purchase vast amounts of gift vouchers for their employees.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/b/ref=gc_gc_corp2/?ie=UTF8&node=236462011

Summary

As gift cards are classed as an item, I can imagine the first sale doctrine and the sale of goods act would apply. So purchasing a gift card for commercial use would not be feesible. However, having permission from either brand, or smaller music distributers would be an option.

Join our club

Since I have already produced a sign up form for the website I have decided I will try and incorporate it into a mailing list or a 'mixtape club'.

Mixtape Club Newsletter

- updates on new mixtape themes
- fan photos
- mixtape stories

Actionscript & PHP

Using a tutorial within the book 'Flash and PHP bible' by Mathew Keefe I managed to get flash to talk to PHP.

This will be useful for when creating the mixtape sleeve designer as I am coding the site in PHP, the designer will be in actionscript. I will need some way for actionscript to talk to PHP and my mySQL database to transfer these details.

In the tutorial I used the classes URLRequest, URLVariables and URLLoader to talk to a PHP file I wrote which included some variables with values within them.

URLRequest = captures all the information in a single HTTP request
URLVariables = allows you to send variables from an application to the server
URLLoader = downloads data from the URL as text

The file can be viewed here:

http://www.sezzah.co.uk/FMP/phpflash01/connecttophp.html

PHP Sign up/Login

I had originally wanted to include a members area where users could store their mixtapes they had made. I coded up a sign up form and login script for this.

There was no design and it was still in its early stages. It still would have benfitted from:

1. Adding a $_SESSION variable for the username
2. Error messages to display for individual fields which are missed within the sign up/login stages
3. A second "reconfirm" password for sign up
4. To include MD5 encryption
5. To include cookies for when a user close the browser and the session closes

The files can be found here:

http://www.sezzah.co.uk/FMP/new/

Project Considerations

After some careful consideration, I have decided not to feature the playlist maker within the website. Instead the website will flow, similar to the following:

Design mixtape -> Add gift voucher -> write love note -> send!

I have decided as this is my final major project to concentrate on my strengths so with this new site tructure in place I can spend more time on the design.

I will still be using some of the work I have already done. Also my research into working with actionscript 3.0 and PHP/MySQL will still be beneficial for the mixtape designer stage.

CMS

Work to be done:

+ Allows new designs to be added to the site

+ New user playlist details sent here so they are ready to compile

+ Add new songs to the database

*Coded in PHP*

Mixtape Designer

Work to be done:

+ Adds design to playlist assigned to users account

+ 2 stages (custom) - tape colour and sleeve design

+ Pre-designed sleeves to be sorted into tape theme (ie love)

+ Details to be emailed or sent to CMS for me to compile

+ Visuals to be completed

+ Allow user to upload images from their computer or flickr

Components of the site

1. Mixtape designer (drag and drop)

2. Add words to the mixtape

3. Add gift voucher to the mixtape

5. Shopping cart

6. CMS back end to add new content to the site

Members Area

I do not want the user to be put off by the fact they have to sign up to the website to make their mixtape, so I plan to keep the information they need as simple as possible.

8tracks.com requires a user to sign up to use the website but they ask for only a username, email address and password to join. Once a user has entered their username, email and password they have direct access to their profile page and there is no need to confirm the account.

I plan to use something as simple as this login as I do not want this to be a barrier for the user. The reason behind creating an account is to store the playlist so that a user can come back and add/remove songs and take time over the order of their playlist.

Functional Requirements

After a discussion with lecturer James Field, a decision has been made on the functional requirements for the website.

The website will be mainly coded in HTML and PHP, however actionscript 2.0 will be used for the mixtape designer and the playlist maker. In order for this to work I will have to learn how to pass variables from actionscript to PHP.

When the user first enters the site they can choose one of two options:

1. Begin their mixtape
2. Sign up

If the user decides to make a mixtape before signing up to the website I will have to have some way of storing the information from the playlist they make and transferring it to their account once they have signed up.

If the user decides to sign up before making a playlist their account details will be stored within a database. When the user then makes a playlist and designs a sleeve the details will be saved to their account in the database.

As the playlist compiler and the mixtape designer will be coded in flash I will be using loadvars to send and load data between actionscript and PHP.

First illustrator sketches

Here are a few images on a boombox illustration I have been working on in adobe illustrator. I think there is too much detail in the image as I had orginally wanted so I will redraw this image again but with less detail.

Icon Sketches

Here are a few rough sketches for ideas of icons to be used within the site.

This sketch of a retro boombox is an idea for one of the icons for the hompage to represent compiling the playlist.

This was another idea for an icon to represent compiling the playlist. I felt this would be too detailed for the style of the website. I have chosen to go with the simple image of a boombox.

An idea for the homepage is to have a step-by-step visual of how to make your mixtape. The style of this will be sketchy and hand drawn with textures and patterns. This was a first inital idea for the icons.

Homepage sketch ideas

These were rough first sketches of the homepage design. I went back to the roots of the website and took inspiration from mixtape sleeve designs and cassette tapes to come up with the overall design.

tapedeck.org

http://www.tapedeck.org/

Tapedeck has been a point of reference to myself throughout the design process of the website. It is a website which collates all the weird and lovely designs of the cassette tape and showcases them to the public.

new revised site map

With the idea that I would include a members area for the website I have had to changed the flowchart slightly to accomodate this.

bruno mars - just the way you are

The video for bruno mars song 'just the way you are' the singer uses the tape from a cassette to express what he is feeling towards the subject.

login and members area

When initially working on the concept of the website I hadn't thought about adding a members area. After careful consideration I believe having the user create an account might be a useful aspect to the site.

When the user is making a playlist for their mixtape, a lot of time and consideration will be taken into which songs they choose so the flow of the website cannot be one which is rushed.

By having a members area it allows the user to save the playlist and return at a later date to finish it. Also the flow of the mixtape creation will be more structured.

Other benefits of having users set up an account on the website is for further marketing of the website. When users create an account their email address if stored for email marketing.

Flowchart Research - Moonpig

As I was having problems working out the flow of the website I decided to research similar websites to see how they managed different stages of the users experience on the site.

Moonpig

Moonpig. com is a website which allows the user the customise cards for a more personal touch.

1. First the homepage allows you to select from either a selection of popular/latest cards or from a list of occasions down the left hand side

2. After selecting an occasion you are then asked to define your search further by choosing a design

3. Once a design is chosen, moonpig confirms your choice but also gives you other recommended cards to the right hand side of the design.

4. Once your card is confirmed you then can edit the text on the front of the card

5. This page allows you to edit the inside message of the card

6. Once the editing of the card is done, you are then able preview card and submit or go back a step

7. Before purchasing the card you must select whether you want the card sending to you or the recipient of the card

8. Once you have selected your delivery you are then asked to create a moonpig account to finish the transaction.

mixtape designs

second moodboard

website feelings

To get a feel for how I want the website to look I wrote down some descriptive words. I also use a thesaurus to find more words which were similar.

first moodboard

competition: makeamixa.com

After looking through the web at related websites, I finally came across the website www.makeamixa.com.

I was surprised to find it as after much research I hadnt come across anything as similar to my project idea as this.

I decided to carry out some competitor analysis on the website.

+ makeamixa only allows you to design the mixtape, but doesnt give the user the option of loading the mixtape with songs or any other material such as images etc.

+ doesnt allow the user to add notes or a tracklisting to the tape sleeve

+ the cassette tape produced seems quite bulky to sit in a USB drive

+ the website offers no help on how to make a perfect mix

+ the design of the website is not very sentimental or romantic, instead they have made it look quite kitsch and fun. Their target audience seems to be young, gadget driven, trendy males and females.

+ the website encourages the user to make mixtapes on several different themes including holiday and party mixes aswell as mixtapes for loved ones. Mixtapes for other occasions other than romantic reasons could be easily distributed and shared over social networks and/or music programs such as spotify.

+ romantic mixtapes do not feature highly on the website.

+ the emphasis of the website is on the design of the mixtape rather than the content that would fill it.

postsecret blog

[about the design here]

flowchart of progession through the site

This is a site map of the first proposed flowchart for the mixtape website. I have had doubts on whether to allow the user to create the design of the mixtape first and then add the music second.

I think what is important about a mixtape is firstly its content, however because the user can add tracks and a design the process will be quite long. I have started to think about the possiblity of having the user sign up to use the website before they can make a mixtape.

I will attempt at another flowchart and design showing the process for all ideas.

my goal

Commercial

+ To create a meaningful expression of love through a mixtape but for the digital age
+ To create a lawful, authorized website which abides to music copyright
+ To create a gift which is both romantic and unique

Personal

+ Build on my design skills and showcase them within the project
+ A broader understanding of digital media on the internet
+ A possible project which could continue with after university

review: experience project website

+ experience project allows users to share life experiences with others on a community based website - similiar to that of a message board

+ other users can comment on experiences that have been posted

+ when you post an experience a song can be linked to that experience

+ music can then be searched by feelings and emotions

+ the mood music search facility is part of the amazon affiliated program

+ there are 24 experience categories that users can post an experience to

+ the website allows you to connect with others with similar interests

abstract

For my final major project I want to create a website which gives the user ability to compile mixtape playlists for the digital age.

Mixtapes have a retro/vintage feel to them laced with emotions and feelings towards recipient. The feeling a mixtape brings is one of warm sentiments and a mix of nostalgia.

Some have compared a mixtape to a personal love letter. At a time when mixtapes were at their most popular, compilers would take much time and effort into choosing the right songs and putting them into an order which flows effortlessly throughout the mix. Mixtapes were used to express a message, whether it was of love, friendship or in some cases a heartfelt apology.

As the digital age has progressed we have left behind analog and the tradition of making mixtapes. Instead it has been replaced with downloadable MP3s which sit on our hard drives, MP3 players and phones with no physical existence. Music is very rarely given as a gift anymore yet it still has meaning and people will always associate memories with their favourite songs.

What I want to achieve:

With my final major project I want to create a music playlist service which allows the user to make a personal gift of a digital mixtape.

My goal is to still give the old school mixtape the same meaningful existence it had when it first begun but to update it for the digital age.

I will do this by creating a website which will allow the user to search and upload for tracks which then can be added to a mixtape and sent out to the recipient of their choice. The service will allow the user to search for tracks in the database by emotions or feelings they would like to express in the mixtape.

As there are certain copyright restrictions which do not condone the copying and sharing of music for commercial use without a license I will be using this project as a demo. The music I will use within the database will be that of unsigned bands who have given me full permission to use their material. This demo will be a business model to be put forward to leading music retailers such as ITunes and Amazon.

The design of the mixtape will be customizable, allowing the user to change the design of the case and add their own messages and love notes. The end product will be a cassette tape with a retractable USB which sits inside the tape. The cassette tape will also come in a traditional cassette box with their own personally designed sleeve.

The amount of tracks the user can have on their mixtape will be restricted to 8, similar to that of the traditional 8 track tape. This will allow the user to add any images or additional content they wish to the 64mb USB.

There will be a cost for the item, the amount will be around the £15 threshold, but with opportunity to offer bigger MB USB mixtapes this price could vary for the amount of music the user wishes to add to the mixtape.

Reasons for choice:

I decided on this project because of my personal interest in music and online media. From my personal experience and the feedback from others I have discovered that music has lost some of its sentimental value. With this in mind I wanted to create a service which could revive our emotional attachment to music for the digital age.

songmeanings.net

songmeanings.net



- community based site

- once users have created an account with the site they are able to add song lyrics and comment on their interpretation of the song

- the website is written using mySQL and php5 on apache and linux servers

- non-profit website

- revenue earned from the website come from advertisements and all money is put back into the development of the site

- recently a mixtape section was added to the site which allows users to add song lyrics into a playlist, write comments about the playlist and allow users to comment on their song choices

- you can like songs to facebook and share over social networks stumble.it and del.icio.us

- for each page of lyrics, links are given to listen to the song, download the song and also download a ringtone. These are possibily affiliated websites

mixwidget.org - what is it?

Created by the makers of mixwit.org, mixwidget is an open source widget available for developers.

The contents of the downloadable files are subject to the Common Public Attribution License Version 1.0.

This allows you to use the elements downloaded but you are unable to modify any of the code within the SWF file.

Using the downloadable elements, the user can add the widget to a webpage, myspace or blog after uploading the required files to a host. The user can then direct the widget to a folder they host which has music inside it so the widget can play their desired songs.

above is a list of what comes in the widget zip file

As a user the only things you can edit are the blue centre image on the tape, the tape surrounding and the music that is played.

mixwit.org

mixwit.org - mixtape website (no longer available)

+ mixtape website allowing users to customise playlists with cassette tape skins

+ users can share their mixtapes anywhere... blogs, myspace and facebook

+ users can add their own image to the mixtape skin, making the your mixtape individual

+ the website closed down december 27th 2008

types of downloads

tethered

+ means downloads are on a leash so have certain restrictions

+ you can download but not burn to CD

untethered

+ you can do anything with the donwload once bought

+ itunes are classed as tethered, however their restrictions are minor so usually end up being classed as untethered

streaming-on-demand

+ virtual jukebox

+ not allowed to copy, just listen

+ free

+ advertisements

+ interactive (you decide what you want to play)

non-interactive webcasting

+ streaming

+ local radio stations

+ adverts

+ subscriptions

satellite radio (ie sirius)

+ non-interactive

+ subscriptions

podcasting

+ free

+ advertising

+ interviews and/or music

+ some companies limit music on podcasts to 30 seconds (viewed as promotional)

For audio streaming, record companies require a percentage of advertisement revenues and/or subsccription fees.

Licensees

+ records are distributed by licensees

+ licensees sign an agreement allowing them to manufacture and distribute music

Mixtape - Luke Snellin

This short video was produced for the LG FilmFest and is about how a young boys affection for the girl next door is delivered through a mixtape of her favourite songs.

opentape.fm - what is it?

+ free open-source package

+ lets you make and host your own mixtapes on the web

+ inspired by muxtapes interface

+ music can be listened to streaming over the internet but not downloaded

+ allows the user to upload songs, delete and rearrange tracks

software available here: http://opentape.fm/

affiliate programs

+ Many music download retailers offer affiliated programs, such as itunes, amazon and 7digital

+ Encourages web developers to promote music from the music retailers by placing links on their website

+ Commission is earned for each track downloaded from that website, usually around 4% of the actual cost of the track

+ Affliate programs are usually free to sign up

+ Music retailers offer networks and support to help affiliates track their progress of downloads

+ Great way to earn extra money from a website

amazon

what is soundexchange?

+ no-profit performance rights organization

+ collects royalties from satellite radios, internet radios, cable TV music channels and similar streaming music programs/websites.

+ Royalties are then distributed to featured/non-featured artists, master rights owners (record labels) and independent artists.

+ Copyright law now requires that certain users of music pay the copyright owner of the sound recording for the public performance of that music via certain digital transmissions

different file formats

+ Codec - performs the encoding and decoding of the raw audio data

+ uncompressed file formats - WAV, AIFF, AU and PCM

+ Lossless compression file formats - FLAC, APE, WV, SHORTEN, TTA, ATRAC, apple lossless, MPEG-4, WMA

+ Lossy compression - MP3, Vorbis, musepack, AAC, ATRAC, Lossy WMA

+ Uncompressed is used for storing origianl sound recordings as they store most combinations of sampling rates and bitrates

+ Lossless compression file format has a longer process time than uncompressed file formats but they are more efficient on space usage

+ MPEG Layer-3 format is the most popular format for downloading and storing music. By eliminating portions of the audio file that are less audible, mp3 files are compressed to roughly one-tenth the size of an equivalent PCM file sacrificing quality.

first-sale doctrine

+ The doctrine is recognised by the supreme court USA

+ Allows the purchaser of a lawfully made copy of copyrighted work permission to sell or give it away

+ Copyright holders have no control over the subsequent sales of their work, unless copies are made

+ The doctrine does not allow the user to make additional copies of copyrighted work as that inflicts on copyright laws

+ Through the copying and distributing of copyrighted work, the owner of that work does not benefit

+ Renting or leasing copyrighted work for commercial use is forbidden unless it is for non profit organisations such as libraries

digital music copyright

Copyright Law of the United States of America

(4) Any person who distributes a phonorecord or a copy of a computer program (including any tape, disk, or other medium embodying such program) in violation of paragraph (1) is an infringer of copyright under section 501 of this title and is subject to the remedies set forth in sections 502, 503, 504, and 505,. Such violation shall not be a criminal offense under section 506 or cause such person to be subject to the criminal penalties set forth in section 2319 of title 18.

Taken from: http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#109

+ The RIAA (The Recording Industry Association of America) suggests that to sell a compilation CD you must first get aquire a license from the individual copyright owners

+ To offer digital downloads requires a license which are granted by copyright owners.

UK Copyright Laws

Copyright law provides that a person must have permission to make a copyrighted work (such as a sound recording) available for download on the internet. Doing so (i.e. uploading) without permission of the copyright owner (in the case of a sound recording, the record label) is against the law, regardless of whether the music was originally obtained legally or illegally by the uploader.

+ Buying a download means you buy the copy of the music and not the rights to copy of distribute

+ Consumers are not allowed to sell or give away the original once it has been copied.

digital rights managment (DRM)

+ access controls for hardware manufacturers, publishers and copyright holders to limit usage on digital content

+ used by sony, amazon, apple, microsoft, AOL and the BBC

+ the use of DRM is controversial. DRM systems are considered to be anti-competitive practices which prevent or reduce competition in the market

+ they attempt to control the use of digital media by preventing access copying or conversion to other formats by the user

+ file sharing tools such as limewire have made unauthorized distrubution of copies of digital media much easier

+ digital media files can be copied an unlimited amount of time without losing quality

+ sony, BMG and EMI do not release CDS with DRM protection anymore. They are DRM free

+ apple products used to obide by fairPlay DRM. FairPlay DRM is encoded into any form of media purchased at apply using what is called a "user key"

+ fairPlay DRM allowed:

- the track to be copied to any number of ipod/iphones (however each ipod/iphone restricts a maximum of 5 different itunes accounts)

- tracks to be played on up to 5 authorized computers

- playlists could only be copied to a CD 7 times before the playlist had to be changed

- a track could be copied to a standard CD any number of times but did not attain first sale rights and could not be leased, lent, sold or distributed by the creator

+ itunes now currently trade with no DRM or fairPlay DRM restrictions in place. They came to an agreement with all major record labels to lift the DRM restriction.

Digital Watermarking

+ although music is currently DRM free on itunes, they still use what is called "digital watermarking"

+ digital watermarking is the process of embedding information into the digital signal of either audio, pictures or video. This allows the distributer to be easily traced and to prevent the unauthorized copying of digital media

+ itunes uses its digital watermarking as a way of copyright protection

media aggregate

Media aggregators can cover anything from music, film and videos.

+ examples of a music aggregator is the hypemachine and elbow.ws

+ music aggregators track MP3s using RSS technology from music blogs

+ good for muscians and artists who want to get their music recognised

+ other music aggregtors, also known as "music distribution services" work with the likes of spotify and last.fm to help new unsigned artists feature their music for a small fee.

+ examples of these website are cdbaby.com and routenote.com

reasons for making a mixtape

From my research ive found there are many reasons people make mixtapes. The general idea of a mixtape is to express feelings through the medium of music. It can be light hearted and fun or sometimes quite serious depending on the message one wants to convey.

Traditionally a mix tape was made for someone to give to a person they are attracted to, in a way to get across a special message between lovers. However, there are other reasons people may make a mix tape, it could be a message between friends who have since moved away or a way of apoligising to someone you care about.

love

+ i like you, do you like me?

+ im in love with you

+ im sorry, please forgive me?

+ missing you

+ remembering the good times

friendship

+ missing you

+ im sorry

+ remembering the good times

Generally the music between lovers and friends would have a slightly different mood to it. For friendship it would more likely to be upbeat whereas for lovers some tracks may be slower and more meaningful.

ID3 tags

- a metadata container most commonly used with MP3s

- stores information such as: title, artist, album, track number and other information about the file to be stored in the file itself

- two types of ID3 tag: ID3v1 and IDv2

ID3v1 tags

-occupies 128 bytes

-placed at the end of the mp3/mp4 file

- begins with the string TAG

- requires 30 bytes each for title, artist, album and a comment

- requires 40 bytes for the year

- requires 1 byte to identify the genre from a list of predfined values

- ID3v1.1 - added the ability to store track numbers


ID3v2

- no relation to ID3v1

- holds 256mb of information


Editing ID3 tags

- software called tag editors or taggers can be used to edit the metadata of an ID3 tag

the end product

I am struggling to come up with an idea for the end product for the mixtape site. I am finding it hard to progress any further without knowing what the user will get out of the mixtape experience.

After researching similar websites for ideas I decided to do a brainstorm of potential end products for the website.

playlist/mixtape sites: THE HYPE MACHINE

www.hypm.com - aggregator of music blogs and twitter feeds

+ pulls music from selected music blogs and lists them by latest or popular (popular depending on the amount of feedback/comments recieved)

+ handpicked from music blogs

+ songs posted on twitter are also aggregated too and listed in a twitter music chart

+ hypemachine radio show handpicks the most popular songs bloggers have posted and streams them via radio show. This features a "presenter" which encourages the selling of the songs by giving out information on albums releases.

+ the radio show also interview selected music bloggers each day, to help promote their blogs

+ each daily radio show is turned into a podcast and you can subscribe free of charge on itunes. There is also an RSS feed you can subscribe to for different parts of the site you are interested in.

+ filter by what other hypemachine users are favouriting on their profiles.

+hypemachine zeitgeist pulls together the top 50 artists, albums and songs yearly - taken from 550 bloggers personal top 10 lists wighted according to their ranking.

+ design is encouraged within the site - 50 visual artists were invited to draw a piece or artwork inspired by a chosen artist

+ creating an account with hypemachine is free - allows you to favourite tracks, artists blogs and users

+ site is heavily advertised to earn revenue

+ if a blog post contains mp3 links hypemachine adds t links to its database and displays them within the front page

+ you are unable to download tracks but links are provide next to the track if it is available to download by various sources including itunes, amazon and emusic (DRM free music)

+ site users are encourage to enjoy legitimate downloadable media and to support the artists featured on the site

+ hypemachine does not choose the music which is featured so does not take responsibility for the type of music people post on their blogs

+ provides full acknowlegement of the source and author that provide the music

+ tumblr blogs are included

+ will not add any official label blogs, DJ blogs with own mixes, music promoter blogs, web music startup blogs and party photo blogs.

+ the idea is to give music bloggers a bigger voice, and get the music they are recommending out there to as many people as possible. New music being the focus.

mixtape/playlist sites: BLIP.FM

www.blip.fm - internet radio made social

+ blip is a combination of a song and a short message that accompanies it

+ the user begins by creating an account with blip and entering music they are interested in, blip then searches its members to find people who are also interested in the same music, these become your fellow DJ friends

+ the user can add a song and a short message which is then submitted to the social network of their choice and to blips feed which includes other DJs with similar music tastes. This is called "blipping"

+ badges and rewards are given to you by blip when you pass stages, this encourages the user to "blip" more often

+ you are classed as a"DJ" instead of a member

+ you can give fellow DJers "props" which are like tokens of respect for submitting good blips (shown by a thumbs up icon)

+ works with twitter, facebook, friendfeed, tumblr, livejournal, audioscrobbler and ping.fm

+ songs you submit are taken from all over the internet - you search for a song and the url is then added to the blip to play. Videos of the song are sometimes played too.

+ ID3 tags (if available) are taken from the music files when a user searches

+ playlists can be created

+ before songsa appear in the search results they are passed through a flash player and tested to ensure the song is available

mixtape/playlist sites: ITUNES

www.apple.com/itunes - digital media player application

+ free application

+ interface which manages the contents of ipod, iphone and ipad

+ media music player library

+ emphasis on organising music

+ DRM-free: doesnt limit the usage of the digital content

+ Ping - social network incorporated within itunes giving you the opportunity to share music interests with others (similar to spotify social)

+ itunes library can hold music, podcasts, ibooks, videos and audiobooks

+ playlists can be created

+ can only sample 30 seconds of a song in the itunes store before you buy

+ itunes offer an affiliate program where you can earn money by driving traffic to the itunes store. 3% commision of the qualifying revenue can be earned for each track downloaded.

mixtape/playlist sites: ARTOFTHEMIX

www.artofthemix.org - dedicated to making mixtapes and CDs

+ free to use

+ cannot listen online, tracks have to be purchased first

+ playlists are published by users who have accounts on the website

+ playlists have certain moods and reasons behind them

+ links to amazon and itunes for each track so users can download

+ account holders have the option to 'favourite' other useres playlists

+ forum available to users to discuss reasons behind making the mixtape and for feedback.

mixtape/playlist sites: STEREOMOOD

www.stereomood.com - internet radio based on moods (tuning into your emotions)

+ option to set up a profile

+ allows you thr publish playlists you have made dependant on a certain mood

+ different moods are restricted to what the developer has input

+ playlists can be shared by emailing friends

+ tagcloud allows you to see the most popular moods chosen by visitors

+ users are encouraged to buy the songs they listen to from Amazon or Itunes

+ allows users to enjoy music legitimately and support musicians by purchasing their music

+ stereomood do not take any responsibility for what users do with the music

+ free to use

+ pulls songs from blog post? *research*

mixtape/playlist sites: SPOTIFY

www.spotify.com - live streaming music program

+ live streaming music

+ spotify believes its application is a compelling legal alternative to audio piracy

+ works within a program instead of in a browser

+ emphasis on sharing music -w tih friends, facebook, twitter, windows live

+ add local files from other software such as itunes

+ spotify social allows you to import facebook friends and post music you are listening to, to the facebook feed

+ collabarate playlists with friend so more than one person can edit tracks

+ 3 different subscriptions: free, unlimited (£4.99 per month) and premium (£9.99 per month)

+ free subscription uses advertisements to earn revenue

+ offline mode available on unlimited and premium, allows users to listen without internet connection on chosen tracks/playlists

+ phone application available on premium, which allows the users to listen to their spoityf music on the go

+ option to purchase tracks from online music store 7digital (affliate program - spotify earns commission by users buying tracks)

+ artist radio and related artists show recommendations based on what you are listening to (similar to last.fm)

+ atists can add their music to spotify and earn commision on each time a user plays the track. Spotify holds information about each played track and its user to help the artist with marketing.

+ unsigned bands can still add their music to spotify, but need to upload their music to an artist aggregator first. They help the artist license their music to online music services such as Spotify.

Spotify says:

"It’s thanks to our relationship with record labels, publishers and collecting societies that we’re able to make so much music available. They send us music, we upload it to our servers and then make it available to everyone using Spotify"

mixtape/playlist sites: LAST.FM

www.last.fm - the music recomendation service

+ free to listen - streaming radio audio

+ music recommendation service

+ advertisements included to earn revenue

+good for targeting the correct audience for certain music

+ after installing an application called scrobbler, last.fm can access the users music libraries using plugins. This information is then transferred to last.fm where you can listen to your tracks online and make playlists. However, the niche about this service is that it can recommend similar music based on the information the scrobbler picks up.

+ an artist royalty program exists were an artist can earn money for the amount of streams they recieve from their music. Last.fm give credit based on the percentage share of revenue generated for Last.fm by the streaming of a track. Revenue comes from their affliates program, advertisements and subscription payments.

+ artists can also choose to offer users free downloads of their tracks - no money is made from this.

+ last.fm recommends 7digital, amazon and itunes to purchase tracks.

+ you can buy a subscription with last-fm which costs £3 a month, this allows the user uninterupted radio listening and ad-free browsing and streaming.

mixtape/playlist sites: ILIKE

ilike.com - music social networking

+ social music discovery service

+ music application on facebook, google, orkut, hi5 and bebo platforms

+ helps people share music recommendations, playlists and personalized concert alerts

+ owned by myspace and myspace music

+ offers retail links to itunes and amazon for downloads, ticketmaster for gig tickets (affiliates to earn revenue)

+ ilike sidebar is a downloadable appplication similar to scrobbler from last.fm. It searchs through your music library and recommends new music of the same taste

+ major artists are involved with ilike and use it for fan communication. Artists such as linkin park, U2 and keith urban regulary post video blogs to ilike

+ ilkike also offer a developers platform

+ by opening a free account you tell ilike what music you like and they will add friends who have the same musical interests

+ profile page to interact with others

+ by giving ilike your postcode it can track your location and let you know when there are gigs in your area

mixtape/playlist sites: MUSICOVERY

musicovery.com - moods and music

+ earns revenue by offering a paid membership for better quality audio. With free membership, the audio is compressed resulting in low quality lo-fi.

+ you have the option to search through music by historical period, music mood and genre

+ by clicking on the mood matric musicovery picks songs to compliment that mood

+ affiliate programs in place with itunes and amazon

+ ability to share music on social networks including facebook and twitter - posts a link to musicovery site (blip allows streaming audio on facebook)

+ each track has data attached to it including the percentage of mood. ie 70% positive 30% calm

+ iphone application available

+ design is colourful yet clean but still a little rough around the edges

+ cannot do much with a free account

mixtape/playlist sites: MOODAGENT

moodagent.com - music listening based on moods

+ available as an application for android, iphone and as a desktop profiler for the mac

+ syncs with the users music library and connects to moodagent servers to get high definition track profiles. Profiles are made for each track based on mood, genre, sub-genre, style, tempo, beat, vocals, instruments and production features

+ nice clean design and user friendly

+ does not compress music so has no effect on the sound quality

+ will not select songs that are DRM protected

+ you have the option to remove tracks from your playlist

+ 5 sliders operate the users mood - sensual, tender, joy, aggresive and tempo

+ users can also "seed" a track if they like the sound of it, moodagent will narrow the search down to other songs which compliment that track

+ playlists can be saved and retrieved later

+ playlists can be shared on facebook and twitter

+ creates a 25 song playlist

the characteristics of tumblr

[tumblr and how it relates to muxtape]

mixtape/playlist sites: JUKEBOXALIVE

jukeboxalive.com - music socal network built for listeners, musicians and promoters

+ build, save and share playlists with other users on the site

+ find new friends with similar music tastes - social networking

+ you have to sign up for the free account to use all the benefits

+ with your account you get a profile which is similar to that of myspace. This allows you to post montages, blog posts, information about yourself, profile picture/avatar and playlists. It is also open for others to comment on your "wall"

+ users can build what is called a "montage" which is a flash slideshow with images of the users choice accompanying a song they have chosen. These montages can be posted to the users profile, sent out to friends via email or shared on social networking sites which allow HTML coding (myspace)

+ design of the site is very bland and boring and not very user friendly

+ "ice breakers" is a section where you can add information about yourself for your profile

+ quality of music be bad as they sound as if the songs have been compressed

+ no copyright information

mixtape/playlist sites: FAVTAPE

favtape.com - next stage of muxtape, no longer available

Favtape originally launched as an enhanced frontend to Seeqpod that let users import and listen to full versions of songs from their Last.FM and Pandora playlists. The site’s interface is similar to Muxtape, sporting a very basic layout and a sparse feature set. At the time I commented that the site was too simple – there was no easy way to rearrange a playlist, and there were few features other than audio playback.

The new version of the site addresses these issues, and introduces a host of new features that make the site a worthwhile replacement to Muxtape. Users are now free to rearrange songs on their playlists, and can easily share their Favtapes using a static URL (You can see the one I made here). Other new features include links to music videos for each song, album art, an embeddable player, and playlists of top songs from Billboard charts and iTunes. The new site also supports a mobile interface for the iPhone, so you can listen to your playlists on the go.

One of Favtape’s biggest advantages over Muxtape (but also its main weakness) is its heavy reliance on Seeqpod, a music site that indexes music files across the web but never hosts them. Unlike Muxtape, which asked users to upload their favorite music files to generate a playlist, Favtape is only including links to these files, so it should theoretically be harder to target with lawsuits. That said, if a lawsuit ever brings Seeqpod down (and they have already tried), Favtape will be left an empty shell.

taken form: http://techcrunch.com/2008/09/19/favtape-relaunches-as-muxtape-on-steroids/

mixtape/playlist sites: 8TRACKS

8tracks.com - handcrafted internet radio and playlist sharing

+ streaming online audio

+ 8tracks took the name from the first cassette tape - the 8 track tape

+ legally share your own mixtape - with the choice of uploading a track or by searching through the 8tracks library

+ playlists can contain at least 8tracks, hence the name

+ 8tracks allows you to do 2 things: listen to a mix or create a mix

+ requires an account which you are referred to as a DJ

+ with your account you can follow other 8track users who share similar music tastes - social networking

+ to each mix you create you can add a description and an image

+ music discovery on a global scale

+ 8tracks is legal as it operates under the compulsory license for webcasting established in the digital millenium copyright act of 1998

+roylaites are paid to soundexchange which are then passed onto the artists involved

+ under terms of the compulsory licence dreated by congress (US) a non-interactive webcaster can transmit any sound recording that has been lawfully released to the public

+ mixes cannot feature any 2 tracks by the same artists - for legal reasons

+ revenue strategies are in place for 8tracks this includes: visual advertising using googles adsense, commerce using amazon/itunes affiliates program, audio advertising and subscription options

mixtape playlist sites: MUXTAPE&MUXFIND

muxtape.com - mixtape site, no longer available

+ allows bands to promote music and users to discover new artists

+ users can create mixtapes of the bands songs

+ site was supported by affiliate links to amazon

+ popular for its simple design with similar design characteristics to the popular blog website tumblr.com

+ site was shut down because of copyright infringement

MUXFIND

Muxfind.com started as a student project which is in no way associated with muxtape. It is a search engine which allows you to search for muxtapes on muxtape.com.

As muxtape is now closed, its hard to see what would have been with this website, as it doesnt entirely work. I believe the idea is for the user to search for a muxtape and the search engine would also pull out recommendations based on that muxtape.

The clean interface design is clean and simple.

mixtape merchandise

The word "mixtape" and its visual presence (the cassette tape) is a retro figure for quite a lot of merchandise, including tshirts, jewellery, bags and accesories.

When designing the website thought will be taken into how others have represented this retro style within their merchandise.

top 10 mixtape tips from Rob Sheffield (love is a mixtape)

1. Start with a Buddy Holly song. Every mix tape that starts with a Buddy Holly song gets a smile going 10 seconds after you press play.

2. Pick a song with the name of the person you’re making the tape for – depending on the name. All Marthas love The Beatles’ “Martha My Dear,” but all Beths hate Kiss’s “Beth” – and what Roxanne really wants to hear “Roxanne” again?

3. It’s useful to ponder what kind of mood you’re trying to create. If it’s an angry break-up tape, you must include the Buzzcocks’ “Ever Fallen in Love”. If it’s a sad break-up tape, you must include Frank Sinatra’s “The Night We Called It a Day”. If it’s a make-out tape, try Al Green’s “One of These Good Old Days”. If it’s a road-trip tape, you’re going to throw in The Clash’s “Janie Jones”, the music gods’ gift to automotive technology.

4.Twenty-minute avant-jazz freakouts? Some other time.

5. Try to put the Aretha Franklin song at the end of Side One – no matter who the next singer is, they’re going to sound sickly and timid trying to follow the Queen of Soul.

6. Mix it up stylistically. If you were in the mood to hear the same kind of music for 45 minutes at a time, you’d just put on an actual album.

7. Think of a different silly title for each side of the tape, such as Hall Side and Oates Side, or Pork Side and Beans Side.

8. Cut out scrapbook pictures of old movie stars and use them as a cover for the tape case. (I’m partial to Ava Gardner in The Hucksters.)

9. When in doubt, James Brown. You’re never not glad to hear him, especially after a few too many Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley ballads.

10. If you’re a male, and you happen to be making this tape for a female in whom you have some sentimental or carnal interest, think twice about including Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman” or AC/DC’s “Let Me Put My Love Into You”. Trust me on this one.

book reviews: art of cassette culture

Mixtape: the art of cassette culture

Synopsis:

What Moore and his contributors have done with Mix Tape is document a small snippet of lost history, and they’ve done so in superb fashion. The age of eighth-inch magnetic tape may be long gone, but the mark it left on music fans and the bands that truly mattered between the late ’70s and late ’80s is indelible. Here’s to you, dual-deck boom-box guy!

Review:

The book is a collection of stories from different contributers regarding their experiences with mixtapes, some stories are quite interesting as the sentiment is not as romantic as the ones featured in 'cassette from my ex' they cover a few mixtape stories sent from friends, rather than lovers. However, like 'cassette from my ex' this book is more interesting for its artwork.

Scanned images can be seen here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/weheartmixtapes/

film review: high fidelity

Synopsis:

High Fidelity follows the 'mid-life' crisis of Rob, a thirty-something record-store owner who must face the undeniable facts - he's growing up. In a hilarious homage to the music scene, Rob and the wacky, offbeat clerks that inhabit his store expound on the intricacies of life and song all the while trying to succeed in their adult relationships. Are they listening to pop music because they are miserable? Or are they miserable because they listen to pop music? This romantic comedy provides a whimsical glimpse into the male view of the affairs of the heart

Review:

After buying the DVD and book, I decided to watch the DVD as I wasnt sure how relevant the story would be to my project. It was a good film, however did lack the emotional depth of 'love is a mixtape'.

book reviews: love is a mix tape

Synopsis:

In this stunning memoir, Rob Sheffield, a veteran rock and pop culture critic and staff writer for "Rolling Stone" magazine, tells the story of his musical coming of age, and how rock music, the first love of his life, led him to his second, a girl named Renee.

Rob and Renee's life together - they wed after graduate school, both became music journalists, and they were married only five years when Renee died suddenly on Mother's Day, 1997 - is shared through the window of the mix tapes they obsessively compiled. There are mixes to court each other, mixes for road trips, mixes for doing the dishes, mixes for sleeping - and, eventually, mixes to mourn Rob's greatest loss. The tunes were among the great musical output of the early 1990s - Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Pavement, Yo La Tengo, REM, Weezer - as well as classics by The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Aretha Franklin and more.

Mixing the skilful, tragic punch of Dave Eggers and the romantic honesty of Nick Homby, "Love Is a Mix Tape" is a story of lost love and the kick-you-in-the-gut energy of great pop music. It's a deeply moving love story, and a testament to music's unique ability to guide us through the most important moments of our lives.

Review:

From reading this book you get a sense of how strong the emotional attachment to music is for some people. I am a big music lover, but for Sheffield music represented memories of his late wife and kept her presence alive. Based in the early nineties cassette culture was at its peak and sharing homemade mixtapes with a loved one was the trend. Not fantastically helpful to the project, but gave me an insight into how meaningful sharing music with a loved one was within the early nineties.