DJ Mixes: Mixcrate, Mixcloud and Sound Cloud:

DJ Mixes: Mixcrate, Mixcloud and Sound Cloud:

Do not put all your eggs in one basket!!!

The Mecca of dj mixes was on a site called Mixcrate. Started in 2010, anyone could post his or her mixes for anyone to stream or download. One could upload a mix accompanied with an image then the dj was mixcrate famous. People around the world could listen to the mix. Typically one mix could be listened over a hundred times and downloaded just as much.  Fans could download the mix to put it in their music library. Listeners could like the mix, which would drive more plays. Mixcrate had no restrictions on the how many songs per artist could be in the mix. I could dedicate a mix to an artist and make it their greatest hits. It was exciting times since the world was the stage.  What was a curious situation was the people of Nairobi Kenya would be following me. At one point I had 580 fans and about 20 of them came from Nairobi. Shout out to the folks of Nairobi for showing me the love.

At one point I had over 200 mixes on the site.  Anytime I created a mix, I posted it and sometimes I would not back it up. Then one-day mixcrate stated that it has shut down due to a letter from the record industry. From that point on, no one could search for mixes or download anything. Some of my mixes were lost and never to be found. What I learned is not to put all my eggs in one basket and always have a back up to my mixes.

Another option I had to post my mixes was soundcloud. It was a simple website to upload original music and mixes. I never posted anything in soundcloud but alas that site is rumored to be shutting down soon.

After mixcrate went down I had to locate all my mixes and label all the songs. I never had a record of that but I was able to label all my mixes with the songs in the order they appeared.

With Mixcloud, it seems like I get less plays and it is harder to have people follow you. But it is easy to upload and have an image for the mix. One could pay to boost the mix, which advertizes the mix for mixcloud users. Once I month, I post a current top 40 mix which helps me keep in tune with what is hot is there. Current music gets some attention but the old school is what makes people on mixcloud fans.

With technology, a dj does not need to hand out cds and can send out links of the mixes. Nothing is full proof so djs have to back up their mixes so that the music can live forever.  The lesson is always have back up to everything because one never knows when technology lets you down and one has to go old school to save the day.