While many hip-hop fans might not remember the cassette, everyone still knows what the “mixtape.” Now Cellfish Media and DJ Envy, who has an audience of over 10 million fans from his New York-based syndicated Hot 97, and Sirius Satellite Radio’s Hip-Hop Nation, are joining forces to bring the mixtape to cell phones. This new format, dubbed The Mobile Mixtape, will feature exclusive tracks that are delivered straight to mobile devices.
“If I have a hot mixtape, it’ll sell out,” says DJ Envy. “A new album will be hot only for a few weeks, then die down. That’s what the kids want.”
Content provider Cellfish Media will distribute the seven-track compilations mixed by DJ Envy, and provide them as ringtones and full-track downloads to mobile consumers. Subscribers to the service can pay a per-download fee, or buy tracks in a discounted package. Additionally they will get seven new ringtones each month, along with daily insider tips about the latest happenings with the stars of hip-hop, as well as exclusive celebrity interviews and video blogs.
“Yesterday, kids would have to wait for a mixtape to be pressed up and distributed; today, they have to run home to their computers and search for it; tomorrow, the instant something is blowing up, it shows up in your pocket. Yesterday is over,” said Jonathan Dworkin, Vice President of Talent and Programming at Cellfish Media.