Why Muxtape Can’t Fail Even Once It Gets Shut Down
Earlier I linked to Muxtape, the cool new “simple way to create and share mixtapes.” The idea is extremely simple: Create an account, upload some mp3s, then anybody can go to your page and hear your mixtape (or playlist, basically). Sure there’s ways to do the same thing on services like Yahoo! Music, Rhapsody, etc., but this is focused and simple.
Is it legal? Probably not, considering what’s happened with everything from Napster to the recent YouTube lawsuits. Will it last? Again, probably not considering the RIAA. Does it matter? If the creators of it are smart, no. Currently, I can’t find who they (I’m guessing there’s more than one of them…) are, but they’ve just created a brilliant marketing scheme (for lack of a better word).
Their launch post was written yesterday. Since then, it’s been all over Twitter, on 37signals, and yes, it got its own post on Wired.
At this point, it doesn’t matter whether or not it gets shut down. Because in 2 days, it’s managed made a name for itself, and if the creators can keep the buzz until they need to shut it down then they’re set. Actually going to court is probably not extremely likely–companies would likely be fine with it simply shutting down when asked since actually going to court would be far too much work/expensive for something like this, and Muxtape really has no need to fight it. The site itself isn’t even making any money.
But after a hit like this, they now have an opportunity to launch something that will last–they’ve essentially created a platform for themselves. “From the creators of Muxtape” will cause just about anything to fly (at least for a while) at this point, and VCs are going to be more than happy to listen to a pitch.
While it could definitely be cool if Muxtape stuck around, it really doesn’t have to in order for the geniuses behind it to last.
