The demise of Muxtape, the popular mixtape service, clearly left a void on the Internet that a number of new companies are now trying to fill. Most clones, from 8tracks to the self-hosted OpenTape, have followed the Muxtape model very closely. Tumbltape, which launched today, takes a slightly different route by using the Tumblr for storing and posting the actual MP3 files. While Tumbltape has some limitations, it is a great way for Tumblr users to share their audio files.
How it Works
To get Tumbltape to work, all you have to do is upload an MP3 file to Tumblr and then enter your Tumblr username into Tumbltape. If all goes well, that’s all you need to do. Tumbltape should recognize the ID3 tags from your music files, but if it doesn’t, you can tag your Tumblr post with ‘tt:artist name – track name.’
After a very short delay, your files will appear in your Tumbltape. Starting and stopping files works by clicking on the name of the file, just like in any other Muxtape clone.
Tumbltape will display the last 12 files you uploaded to Tumblr. As you upload more, Tumbltape automatically rotates the older files out.
Limitations
One major limitation for Tumbltape is the fact that Tumblr itself only allows its users to upload one MP3 file per day. You can get around this by linking to a file that you host on your own server, or, if you have permission to do so, on any other server. Obviously, this is a far greater hassle than just uploading files to Tumblr. As Tumbltape’s co-developer Adam Gotterer told us, Tumbltape is looking into ways of allowing its users to mash up playlists that are hosted on different services.
One other limitation of Tumbltape is that Tumblr’s Terms of Service forbid any uploads of copyrighted material, so Tumblr itself might just cut you off if they get a take-down notice.
Verdict
Tumbltape is a nice Muxtape clone and the fact that it displays a number of random mixtapes as well as the newest uploads on its front page turns it into a more social experience than the self-hosted OpenTape we wrote about last week. The limitations put upon it, however, are severe and will deter quite a few users from really getting to use it.
If you are not a Tumblr user, 8tracks currently represents a better alternative if you just want to create a simple mixtape.
However, as Adam Gotterer explained to us, the idea behind Tumbltape was not for people to create Tumblr account just for the sake of creating mixtapes, but to aggregate the music people had already posted to Tumblr.
