Muxtape 2.0

Muxtape was a highly minimal online site where people could create their own mixes by simply uploading their favorite mp3's. What made Muxtape so different than other online music-sharing communities was its simplicity. You were only allowed 9 songs per mix and each mix had its own web address that made the mix not only more personal but deterred massive uploading, storing and sharing. Muxtape was about quality, accessibility, community and not quantity. I made a few "muxtapes." One was personal while another one was for someone else and acted as a neat little, online gift. If there was one music-sharing site that was obviously not attempting to subversively destroy the profits of music labels and their acts but rather just create an interesting new forum for sharing music, then it was Muxtape.

Of course, that didn’t stop the industry bigwigs from shutting the site down after only a brief run. Fortunately, after some legality issues, Muxtape is (sorta) back.

Two weeks ago, Sasha-Frere Jones from the New Yorker interviewed the owner of Muxtape, Justin Ouellette, to talk about the differences. Here are some highlights in case you missed it:

On the shutdown:

After I launched the site, in March, I heard immediately from both the major record labels and the RIAA, which are related but distinct entities. The RIAA asked me to remove a handful of specific muxtapes because they contained songs they felt were infringing on the copyright of their members. I followed their instructions, and in the meantime began negotiating a licensing deal with the labels, who agreed to let the site operate as long as they felt negotiations were proceeding constructively. In August, after not hearing from them for months, I received a much larger takedown notice from the RIAA and was forced to shutter the site. I didn’t get any support from the labels. I made the difficult decision to walk away from licensing and rethink the and rethink the whole project.

[…]

Major labels know that charging for streaming will be big business as they move forward, especially as traditional sales decline. The promotional value of streaming, however real it may be right now, isn’t big enough to keep labels from charging for it. The problem is that the price they demand is only realistic for an operation the size of MySpace. The labels would rather shut a site like Muxtape down than make a deal proportional to its size. I agree that it doesn’t make much sense.

On the new Muxtape:

Muxtape is going to be an invite-only system to start with. As a band, you’ll need to be invited by another band in order to create a profile. It won’t be this way forever, but we want to make sure we can effectively combat abuse and provide the best experience for everyone before we open the floodgates. Even Facebook didn’t let everyone sign up right away.

People will be able to make muxtapes exactly like the original with any of the music on the site. Bands will be able to see how many mixes include their songs, how often they’re played, and other bands that show up alongside them.

It is hard to tell if Muxtape will be the same but from the sounds of it, it will simply be a forum for bands to showcase their own music and that will be the only material that muxtapers will be able to choose from. Which is too bad, if true. Something tells me the owners of Joy Division or Curtis Mayfield won't be on muxtape anytime soon.

The legality of copyright laws and online music sharing is still in its infancy and it might remain a point of contention for quite sometime. The difference between a site that gets shut down (Muxtape) and a site that remains (Imeem) seems senseless and arbitrary. The fact that Muxtape even went down displays the RIAA and record labels failing to take into consideration the intentions of the site. The "muxtapes" from the orginal site could only be listened to online and uploaded by users. Thus, there really wasn’t any difference between a CD mix you make for a friend. I understand the urgency for bands to make some sort of profit of their music, but I think most who interacted on Muxtape would agree that the site should be the least of record labels/bands worries when it comes to profit. Let's hope that the post-hiatus Muxtape will once again become what it so wonderfully was for a brief period.

Read the rest of the interview at The New Yorker Online Only section.