How guilty do you actually feel listening to a mixtape where the rights of each song haven't been painstakingly cleared? I have to say, I don't feel too bad. In a way, a mixtape such as the one at www.vibration13.com/music/mixtape/ , although not exactly legal, could well do more good than harm to record industry. I like to find interesting music online, and if I find something memorable and intruiging enough, I will hunt it down in the record shops and spend my hard earned on it. The way I see it, something like the mixtape on my site provides a service of informing people on a range of obscure music that they might not otherwise have heard. They can then make the informed choice to buy. Although the Merc mixed tape is slickly presented, but the MOR soul-lite warblings really don't inspire me to listen, let alone buy, any of the songs presented. Yes, ok they're free, but still, it's not my cup of tea.
Home taping didn't kill music (as the slogans promised) and I doubt independant online mixtaping will either. In my opinion, it's keeping an ever more commercialised culture alive.

You're preaching to the choir, Toby, and yet these MB Mixed Tapes have been exactly the kind of music that moves and inspires me.

Having been a DJ for a good number of years, I can certainly appreciate the efforts put into scouring various sources for excellent and obscure content and sharing it with others (hmm, sounds a lot like what I'm doing even here with games). And yet, I don't see that as very different than what MB is doing with its Mixed Tapes, except that they actually have the artists' permission.

Still, it was a good excuse for a shameless plug for your own mixed tape. And I'm happy to oblige. =)

Haha. Busted!

Just wondering, jay, what you think of aol free songs:
http://music.channel.aol.com/songs/downloads/mp3_main.adp
Isnt those same way free and legal?

Yes, Tony, it appears that those tracks are all free and legal.

What I didn't like: you have to enter your age, gender, and zip code for each track you download. Also, the tracks are much more commercial than the independent artists being highlighted on the Mercedes Benz tapes.

<rant>It's the big record labels that have been price gouging, harassing, and suing the music consumer for far too long rather than delivering a timely and economical mechanism for digital downloads. I would much rather support the independent artists than the big RIAA labels.</rant>

Besides all that, the MB mixed tapes feature more of my preferred style of music: smooth and savvy, classy and sassy. =)

Loved the music and the cool presentation. To bad you can't download the earlier MixedTapes aswell, I'd really love to do that.

Thank you for your brilliant site!

Sure, jay, I understand you like MB tapes, but still aol is quite big and offering completely free (with annoying data entering) tracks by them would hopefully show some change in the attitude of large labels too :)

You may have a point there, Tony. We shall see. =)

Looking for old mixed tapes of this series? You might try clicking here.

Note: site Possibly NSFW (not safe for work).