Mixed Tape Marketing

When I was a teenager, mixed tapes were the ultimate soundtrack of a friendship or a relationship. Each song was carefully chosen, the cover collaged or hand-drawn, and the person who made it for you always in your thoughts when you listened. With the rise of hip hop, mixed tapes served a different purpose: breaking new artists. It was artist-driven grassroots word-of-mouth marketing. MTV referred to the distribution of mixed tapes in a feature on the phenomenon as "radio for the streets." I recently mentioned the International MixTape Project in Ypulse Essentials. While the tape has gone digital, and a lot of young people are mixing and sampling new artists with their iPod playlists, one youth marketer is about to take this underground practice mainstream. Tina Wells at Buzz Marketing sent me a press release about her mixed tape initiative. From the press release:

"BuzzMG will release both urban and pop/rock editions of its mixtape magazine. The pop/rock edition will be produced under the “You’ve Been Buzzed” series, while the urban mixtape will keep its title, 'Mixtape Legends.'

Wells explains, 'Mixtape Legends was brought to me for consideration by creator Rovall Washington. We loved what we saw, and acquired the property.' Mixtape Legends will continue to be mixed by legendary DJ, DJ Clue.

The bonus DVD, which will include 60 minutes of interview footage, will star four youth who emerged from the buzzSpotter network: Jen Lang, Hasan Babb, Audriana Rossano, and Tara Villanueva. The hosts will chat about fashion, beauty, lifestyle trends, and much more. They will also go behind the scenes with the talent featured on the CDs.

The mixtape magazine will offer many options for advertising to companies aimed at reaching youth. From commercials on the DVD to coupons and advertisements inside the CD case, creative new advertising techniques are now immediately available."

It seems like a pretty smart way to capitalize on what teens are already doing. I just wonder if the advertising will be a turn-off to music purists? But then again, they may not be the target audience for these mixed tapes.

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