Dot Com DJ

Mixaloo

by Kelley Granger and photographs by Matt Petricone, January 24, 2008

The application, which allows users to create customized playlists and personalize the mixes with names (example: Stutzman’s mix titled “Rockin’ the Suburbs,” a compilation of Nirvana, Ben Folds Five, Genesis, and of course, Primus), was originally envisioned as a promotion solution for independent musicians. Stutzman says he quickly realized that the site’s success would depend on its ability to offer big-name music as well. The idea continued to take shape quickly over the course of a year, beginning in late 2006. With the help of cofounder Mark Peabody and investors, a private test site was running less than a year later and a public beta site was introduced in December 2007. In that short amount of time, Stutzman and his team had procured three-and-a-half-million songs through deals with major record labels and made them available for users on the site to create modern-day mixtapes. This agreement allows users to download anything from Alan Jackson to Fergie to Zebrahead.

“It was a challenge,” Stutzman says of getting the record labels to make a deal. “There’s not a lot of companies who are actually doing what we’re doing. Labels have never really been fans of custom compilations, which is really what this is. But I think they recognize there’s a couple of things that Mixaloo’s doing right.”

In the midst of an illegal download crisis for labels, Mixaloo proposed a unique concept that would profit everyone involved. “We proactively started discussions with the labels to do it right from the get-go,” Stutzman says. “We’re giving a legal way to share music on people’s profiles, with their friends, wherever else. And the second thing is it’s all about driving sales. It’s all about actually selling these tracks.”

The sales aspect is what makes Mixaloo definitively different from other music sites and applications. Users who create mixes are given the option to promote them on a variety of social-networking sites. Once published there, other users browsing the profile can listen to 30-second clips of each song and opt to purchase the mix. When someone buys the compilation, Mixaloo splits the profits with the user who created it 50/50. As you create a mix, the application automatically tallies your earnings potential for you to see. A 10-to-15-song mix will generally earn a user about $1.50 to $2 per sale.