This week we asked people "Where Do You Get The Latest Mixtapes?" and here is what they said. The results are from a 7-day poll conducted on @A3C twitter.
We personally get our mixtapes from the homies at MyMixtapez, but wanted to ask folks where they get their new tapes from. Datpiff, LiveMixtapes and MyMixtapez are three of the biggest players in the space, but it seems that everyone has their own platform and process for finding and downloading new mixtapes. We recomend checking out MyMixtapez, but whatever works for you!
Damn near very week or so a handful of new projects drop and take over the internet chatter. There is more music released each week in 2015, than was released in the entire year of 1980. (Too much music?) Mixtapes are an extremely valuable tool for hip-hop artists to break through, and may have surpassed the importance of "albums," as we knew them. Artists often "blow up" off a big mixtape (ex. Drake, Chance The Rapper, Trinidad James, Migos, and hundreds more!) not an album release.
Mixtapes over Albums?
If you are an up-and-coming artist you want to build your fanbase! That is the single most important goal. You don't need to worry about music sales, merch, or making money... yet! You need to worry about getting your music heard, and building a fanbase.
Rarely does anyone randomly stumble on an artist and listen the theirmixtape. They MIGHT give you a shot if you have a dope cover, title, co-sign, DJ/host, feature OR if they have heard from you before and are willing to listen to more. The mixtape is part of the process, but NOT the first part. You don't want to just drop a mixtape out of nowhere. Release some singles, videos and book some shows. Build a buzz and anticipation for a project... THEN release a mixtape and promote the hell out of it.
Why use a popular Mixtape platform? These sites allow you to reach fans that are searching for new tapes, but that isn't as common as you may think. Most importantly these sites give you a trusted platform that fans are familar with, and a promotional partner. Though they won't likely promote your project a LOT - for free - they do want your fans to DL the project and use their platform, so there is some incentive to promote your project.
Mixtapes offer POTENTIAL fans (ex. heard of you, listened to a song, know you personally, follow you on social media, etc) the opportunity to discover your music, and become a fan. A fan is someone that might spend money on you by purchasing a shirt, ticket or album.
Check out the links below for some great articles on mixtapes...
Additional Reading Material:
Mixtape vs. Album, Free vs. For Sale, It’s All Meaningless Now
The Real Difference In Mixtape & Album
Mixtape vs Album: Which Is More Importand for Asipiring Artists