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.