This week a client asked if I could create a mixtape to launch a campaign. A brilliant brief. The problem is, they’re not as easy as they sound. It’s not just a quick list, press play, done. A mixtape is a craft.
In the 80s, they were literal tapes. A C60 cassette. Recorded from records or the radio, with handwritten tracklists and the faint hope it might impress a crush. It rarely did. But I kept making them.
In the 90s came the CD mix. Still curated, still personal, but 80 minutes max. Twenty-odd tracks from your MP3 collection, a felt-tip title on the disc, maybe an inlay cover if you had the patience. I did.
Now it’s Spotify. You can add every song ever released, in any order, at any length. That freedom is the problem. The more you can add, the harder it is to choose.
So, here are my rules for the perfect mixtape.
It’s much like how I create a brand.
Insight, make it relevant. Story, make it unique. Engage, make it memorable.
– Know your audience. Who’s it for and why?
– Give it a theme and a name that means something.
– Pace it. Take the listener on a journey, not a sprint. Start with the familiar, weave in surprises, save the bangers for the end.
– Don’t make it about you. It’s not a lecture in taste.
– Never play on random. The order is the story.
– And never play your own mix at a party.
I have one last rule that I self-impose: every playlist I make only includes vinyl I actually own. It keeps the choice more focused.
The playlist below is from last year’s Halloween Vinylly Friday, just the records in the order we played them. We'll play the same this year, but maybe in a slightly different order.
Happy Halloween.
Enjoy your Quick PINT
Nigel
