MixApp

Following up on the previous how-to-host-a-listening-party post, here's what some artists have to say:

Rock/a-capella artist Wes Caroll invited his fans to join him on MixApp for a few hours while he was remixing tracks for his upcoming album, playing the mixes as he made them.  Wes says:

MixApp gives me a live performance venue that is both more intimate and more wide-reaching than any other.  

It turns people who love my music into people who love playing my music for their friends.  I want all my fans on MixApp, right now.

Indie rockers My First Earthquake gave their Kickstarter backers an exclusive listening party, and everyone had a blast.  Chad says:

Our MixApp listening party was possibly the easiest thing we’ve ever done to promote our music. We turned a couple dozen people who knew a little about us into big fans by doing the easiest thing imaginable: telling stories about the songs we’ve written while people listen to them.

Down-tempo electronica artist Dr. Toast uses MixApp to test out new material:

...Played some unfinished tracks on MixApp -- it’s a nice way to beta test without worrying about the tracks getting into the wild.                                                                                                                                                                               

(Update: See what artists using MixApp have to say.)

If you're in a band, how do you give your top fans first crack at your new album? You can't give everyone a live show all at once, so what's the next best thing? 

Sure, you could make the tracks available for streaming or download, and your fans could listen to it...alone, by themselves (sniff!)

But with MixApp, you can host a listening party, and create a special, shared experience for your fans.

Step 1: Decide who to invite

• Tell everyone...
• Or use the party to thank the folks who funded your latest album.

Step 2: Announce the party

• Choose a time when band members can all log into MixApp. 
• Before you're ready to announce the party, log into  MixApp and create a new room, and copy the link in your browser's address bar. (It'll look something like http://mixapp.com/#r=1631zLRvqU.) 
• Tell your fans to follow that link at the appointed time. Use email, create a Facebook event, or plaster the town. 

Step 3: Party!

• Show up a bit early to greet your fans as they arrive. Queue up some tracks to keep them entertained before the main event begins. 
• When it's time, play the new album, and enjoy the kudos as they roll in. 
• Take questions, requests, etc. 
• Have fun!

If you'd like some help getting started, just contact us (info@mixapp.com) -- we're happy to help.

If you're in an office, lab, or dorm lounge where everyone listens to one set of speakers, who gets to decide what's playing?

Maybe you've got one music-meister who DJs -- so you only get to hear their music. Or maybe everyone's loaded their music collections (already a hassle) onto one computer that's hooked up to the stereo, and you have to go over to that machine every time you need to queue up new tracks (and you have to transfer tracks every time you get something new).

MixApp offers a better way.

Step 1: Hook up one computer to the speakers. Sign in on MixApp, and start listening in a new room.

Step 2: Invite the other folks to join the room from their own computers.

And that's it! Now everyone can add tracks to the playlist, choosing from their own music collections and from the collections of the other folks hanging out with you.

(Update: if you don't want to hook a computer directly up to the speakers, get an Airport Express and use Airfoil to wirelessly stream sound from your computer to the speakers.)