Starting in the 1980s and up until the early 2000s, crafting the perfect mixtape or mix CD was more than just choosing the best music for the right person or the right moment. It was about pulling out the cassette or CD insert, coming up with the perfect name for your mixtape, coloring and decorating it for hours, writing the tracklist, and then, when it was just right, gifting it to a good friend, an ex you were torn up about, or keeping it for yourself. Now that music has gone almost completely digital, we've nearly lost these moments. Mixtapes and CDs were a way to connect with others through music, share important moments in our lives with one another, and have fun creating something meaningful and impactful. I want to bring back the mixtape in the digital space, allowing people to connect with Spotify, create playlists for their mix, and decorate their mix by changing backgrounds, adding pictures/slideshows, and displaying messages. People will then be able to share their mixtape privately with someone or publicly through social media.
- Started in 2011. Users have the ability to create digital mixtapes, changing fonts, colors, uploading images, and searching for songs across the web to add to a mixtape. Tapely shut down in November 2015. From images of the product, this most closely resembles what I would like to accomplish.
- Sign in with Google or Facebook to create a mix or play a mix already created. No ability for more personalization (change colors, fonts, have images, etc.)
- Online community to create and share playlists. No ability for more personalization (change colors, fonts, have images, etc.)
Other websites out there allow you to make playlists and share them, but don't have the mixtape "feel" - there is no ability to edit the playlist and make it more personalized by changing colors, fonts, adding images, or allowing the user to choose animations.
The largest target user group will be those who were around when real mixtapes were popular. This group understands how the art of making a mixtape brought about more connections to people through music. Younger age groups who were not around when mixtapes were popular could still benefit from this app, as there doesn't currently seem to be a way to create a personalized playlists in the digital space that resembles what the mixtape experience was like.
- ember.js
- Firebase / EmberFire (for persistent data and maybe hosting?)
- Third-party OAuth (Spotify, Twitter, Facebook)
- Spotify API
- Sass - Bourbon/Neat/Bitters/Refill