@LaSean brought this up in another thread and it really made me think when exactly did mixtapes in their original context within hiphop get phased out? Even mixtapes that were essentialy just side albums really started being a thing in the late 00s early 10s but even those initially had a distinct vibe to them that modern "mixtape" releases dont.
We've also seen how this change in definition has been used to f*** over artists when its time to talk about the completion of contracts. Theres been instances where although artists have dropped whats essentially an album on streaming that is promoted like an album as well however due to langue its not treated as a release that goes towards fulfilling their deal.

how can we get back to having rappers actually dropping tapes rapping over each others beats, and what are some similar instances in music to the change in definition for "mixtapes" in hip hop.

it was before IYRTITL if it’s just about original songs. but a large distinction is whether it had DJ tags.

i remember the format used to be mixtape with DJ tags for free download, iTunes for no tags.

carti and che restoring the feeling

didn’t Tyler do it first?

thats mysterious music that aint getting played in the barbershop

Streaming didnt help i guess. Nobody will download the tape you cant put on spotify bc you dont own the beats

everything just streaming now

gonna sound like an old head but when I wanted a mixtape I went on a mixtape site and downloaded it

Streaming

Feel like the answer isn’t going to be one people like but truthfully once we fully accepted the future of music was primarily going to be online. The origins really were used as a way to regionally garner hype before putting out something to a broader audience. Even in the late 00s with regions not holding the same weight due to the access (i.e. sites like Datpiff) I think spiritually they were still in the same vein because artist development still required that cost effective way of cultivating an audience. As time moved on and accessibility fully developed to where we were literally walking around with the internet in our pockets at any given time it made that slow cultivation almost unnecessary because we were exponentially more exposed to artists in non traditional ways (social media primarily). Streaming obviously putting the nail in the coffin, but even before then it really wasn’t that necessary because buzz could be generated off of a single song or viral moment

Just the way I see it at least

dedication 6 and reloaded the last good or better "traditional" ones I can think of

with how popular the leak culture is with someone like carti the audience for non streaming tracks in the digital era i think its still there the mixtape sites just dont really exist anymore, untitled is a good app tho

Did guys get paid for those mixtapes during the blog era or was it strictly for recognition

Not with them YouTube type beat remakes

yes and no depends

I think they would get deals to have certain websites host the mixtape

I also think on some level we have to be honest with ourselves about it. Of course mixtapes were great love them but a lot of that was more out of necessity due to the times. The correlation of mixtapes falling off and accessibility to music isn’t by coincidence to me. I have to wonder if some of the OGs had the same access that the newer generations have would they find it necessary like they did before

It’s how you had to gain a fanbase back then

Had to consistently make good s***

Some yea but raps for the most part were A1

The accessibility of music has had a negative impact!

We'll never get back to how it was due to everything being so centralized. Even if another DatPiff were to come into the mix there would be too much pressure put on them from producers/labels/people being sampled. The Internet isn't the wild west it once was that allowed the rawness of mixtapes to thrive.

There’s also an entire generation who has no knowledge of how to find and download music to a device that is just for music.

For sure. I’m kind of in the middle. Selfishly I have benefitted greatly from the accessibility, but that’s because I have a true love for it and grew up at a time where we were forced to appreciate the discovery and work ethic more. I do recognize at this point we’re so far gone from younger people getting that experience with music unless they go against the grain of modern consumption

Yeah the internet stinks now it’s a giant commercial s*** f***in sucks