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Nathan S. |
Great article and great topic. My take is far more financially oriented: Originally mixtapes were a way for rappers to release material without having to pay for production. If they charged for their mixtape without clearing and paying for the samples, they could be sued. So by releasing a free mixtapes they were able to get people familiar with their raps without all the legal and financial headaches. On the other hand, an album that's physically distributed obviously need to clear everything. So the distinction was clear. An album cost money and featured original work, a mixtape was free and featured sampled work. Since a record label wouldn't put out a mixtape, albums were the only things widely distributed and given an mainstream press/official status. Then the internet changed everything. Until downloads took off the only way for an artist to distribute their work widely was through a label. That's clearly changed now, and now independent artists are able to release album-quality work online. The line between a signed artist and an independent artist has become minimal. However, the old terms have stuck, and anything free and/or not off a label is still almost reflexively labeled a mixtape. The blurred lines between what constitutes a mixtape and an album reflects the large seismic shift in the music industry about how artists and labels make money, and the difference between a signed/independent artist. Last name ever, first name longest comment. |
| Posted on Feb 24, 2010 |
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Young Jon Jon |
dope article 1st off i disagree w/ one thing just because something is labled a mixtape dosent mean ppl are look @ it differntly look @ so far gone which drake even says was a mixtape or chris browns mixtape & etc. |
| Posted on Feb 24, 2010 |
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Young Jon Jon |
dope article 1st off i disagree w/ one thing just because something is labled a mixtape dos |
| Posted on Feb 24, 2010 |
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The Insider |
Great article! |
| Posted on Feb 24, 2010 |
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enigmAtic And ecstAtic |
i agree w/MH. i hear mixtape and i immediatley think its throw-away status. doesnt mean shit. album, i look at as (to keep this short) the way MH does. whether u release an album or a mixtape, it should be labeled whatever the artist wants it to be labeled. i was really confused when DJBooth said it was a mixtape after u said it was an album. i think the staff owes u an apology for that. to me, it sounds like DJBooth is "dumbing down" ur album. in other words, not only not promoting it, but saying its not good enough to be an album. as for Nathan and ur comment, u need to keep up with the present. jus cuz its free or ur unsigned doesnt mean its not an album. show some respect to ppl who put everything they have into what they do, especially when its for a good cause. This was a very good debut "ALBUM." |
| Posted on Feb 24, 2010 |
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Nathan S. |
@enigmatic and ecstatic First of all, I'm sorry you took offense to my comment. None was intended. I wasn't demeaning anyone's work, or even stating my personal opinion. I was trying to explain how we got to the point where there's such confusion between what an album vs. a mixtape is. The simple truth is that historically unsigned artists/free projects were called mixtapes and signed artists/paid projects were called albums. That's clearly no longer true, but, as I said in my original comment, we're still stuck using that terminology. Second, I can tell you from personal experience that if you label something an "album" fans assume they have to pay for it. So as an artist looking to have as many people as possible hear their work, calling something an album could be detrimental. At the same time, mixtape's definitely do have a "lower quality" connotation. So how do we solve this paradox? I have no idea. |
| Posted on Feb 24, 2010 |
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enigmAtic And ecstAtic |
im jus sayin ur showin lack of respect because you and DJBooth said Dreamer's Poetry is not an album. it says in the title, "Don't Call My Album a Mixtape." maybe u should do so. btw, were not stuck using out dated terminolgy. apparently you are though. i have no problem labeling an artists piece of work other than anything they themselves have labeled it as. im not trying to personally attack you, cuz i really enjoy what you do. its just that i disagree with some things you say and when i make these comments, they are just meant to be constructive criticism. im sure you know that, but i just wanted to mention it in case you werent sure. |
| Posted on Feb 24, 2010 |
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Nathan S. |
Word, I'm enjoying the conversation enigmAtic And ecstatic. Nothing but respect. Let me see if I can explain things from this side of the keyboard. Here's the conundrum we're caught in. For example, I gave Mike Dream's album on RefinedHype a "mixtape" tag. That wasn't a comment on his quality, it's because I know that "mixtapes" are the most searched for term on the site. When people search for "mixtapes" they're not necessarily searching for mixtapes in the traditional sense, they're searching for album-length projects they can download for free. If I didn't tag Mike's project as a "mixtape" the literally thousands of people who are clearly looking for music exactly like his wouldn't come across it, which wouldn't serve either Mike or potential new fans. Similarly, the "Mixtapes" section on DJBooth is one of the most popular. When people visit DJBooth and see the "mixtapes" section they think "I can download projects for free there." If that section were to be called, for example, "Albums", I guarantee you that people would assume they would have to pay for that work and only a fraction of a fraction would click on it. I completely understand the negative connotation that's attached to the term "mixtape", and I've got literally thousands of articles and reviews that prove I support independent music to the fullest, but this is the reality we're dealing with. Until someone comes up with a terms that means "album you can download for free" (I frequently refer to projects like that as mixalbums) and that word becomes as prevalent as "mixtape", I truly feel like we're stuck using the old terminology. Maybe you'll be the one who changes that. |
| Posted on Feb 25, 2010 |
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Mike Dreams (Michael A. Hannah) |
I feel that Nathan. But you said "Until someone comes up with a terms that means "album you can download for free" What's wrong with "FREE ALBUM". LOL. To me, that seems like the pretty obvious choice. |
| Posted on Feb 25, 2010 |
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Nathan S. |
Free album could definitely work, and maybe that will end up being the terms, but it's definitely not popular lingo yet. Once you hear someone go, "yo, you gotta cop that mike dreams free album, shit is banging," that's when you'll know it's official. Any other ideas on possible terms? |
| Posted on Feb 26, 2010 |
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Nathan S. |
ALso, I've been seeing "FreEP' (sounds like "free P" used to describe a free EP a lot lately, but obviously "FreeLP" doesn't work. |
| Posted on Feb 26, 2010 |
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Mike Dreams (Michael A. Hannah) |
Frealbum? (pronounced Frow-bum) |
| Posted on Feb 26, 2010 |
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1stround-ko |
I. P. Freely |
| Posted on Feb 26, 2010 |
Public Enemy said it best: don’t believe the hype. Urban music and culture has found a home online, but with the explosion of new content appearing online everyday, it’s become difficult to separate what’s real with what’s just hype.
RefinedHype gathers everything that’s new in urban culture and refines it for a discriminating audience. From exclusive new music to the latest in entertainment, fashion, events and more, we give you the high quality content you demand.