The new ccMixter Christopher Willits / “Colors Shifting” Remix Contest is officially under way and taking remixes. It bugs me just a little that as an indie artist he doesn’t have any music (before this) under CC on the web but the sources are so amazing I can’t wait to hear the entries.

Do you like or use ccMixter? Do you think I work for free? (Well I would but don’t tell that to this guy)

For singer/songwriters who host their own music and read this site (I know that you know that I know who you are) think about this: over 80% of all a cappellas are remixed on ccMixter. That means your music will instantly go out to thousands of musicians and flung, through the miracle of the Internet to podcasters who regularly mine ccMixter. The only reason that number isn’t 100% is because we just haven’t gotten to all them yet. But we will.

Now, here’s a questionaire:

1. Do you host a cappellas and samples good for remixing?
2. Are they under CC license?
3. Would you like to be remixed at ccMixter but don’t want to upload all your material there?
4. Do you (or could you easily) emit a podcast/RSS feed?
5. Do you have (or could you easily hook up) a search of your sample-able material to your feed?

If the last one trips you up don’t worry, I’ll be happy to help make that happen because
ccMixter is looking a few good beta testers of a new cross-domain service that we’re implementing and evangelizing called “Sample Pools.” If you impelement the brain dead simple API then remixers that use your vocals and samples will be linking back to your site with full attribution from ccMixter.

If you are interested please contact me and we’ll get you going.

I can’t promise everybody that applies will be accepted for this, we have to keep the site usable for the mainstream cases, but here are some test shots of what remixers and visitors will see if everything works out:

I recently checked in a new one-click ratings system on ccMixter. For logged in users they can now do the hover-over-stars-and-click on the ratings:

A few months ago when we separated the reviewing from the ratings based on customer’s complaints that they wanted to review without rating and rate without reviewing. In the process we made it just too cumbersome to rate so they stopped doing it all together. In the past few days we’ve had more rated songs that the last few weeks combined so this check in has already paid off.

Coincidentally Lucas has some thoughts on the subject:

In my own rating systems, I finally got code that I was happy with when I stopped thinking about them as measures of goodness. What I started doing instead was use ratings as a probability that a random user in some some well-known context would like something.

Of course most people “like something” when it’s got “goodness” — but I think we all know what he meant.

I still have this fantasy that ccMixter can actually be a place where non-musicians hang out and get good open music, using the edpicks or user picks podcasts as a radio resource. It’s a pretty serious pipe dream because I just can’t imagine Acid Planet or GarageBand is visited by people who aren’t musicians, leave alone ccMixter. For me, ratings is strictly a way to populate those streams.

Brad has uploaded the “last” of his a cappellas to ccMixter. Actually, this just completes the solo tracks to his “I Don’t Know What I’m Doing” album.

I haven’t done a count recently but at one time he was the most (non-contest-related) remixed artist on the site. Since then we’ve had some phenomenal rap pells by Ms. Vybe (kendra) as well as great rap and R&B stand-bys uploaded by J. Lang and killer spoken word by our resident beat poet eight prime.

Either way, this latest upload (reverse dump?) will no doubt put Brad back in front.

I tried to find a way to say this without sounding ridiculously condescending but I think you’ll agree I failed. (Which, on the face of it, makes me a snobby ridiculous failure. wups.)

Ms. Vybe (kendra)’s history at ccMixter is a story of rebellion, redemption and resurrection. She started out posting some very average instrumental beats (since removed from the site). In reaction to members typically spirited, but never mean, reviews she kind of lost it and went on a flaming rampage in the reviews forums (again, most of which has since been removed with the uploads involved). Reaction to her reaction was what you would expect. Hate with dash of hate, sprinkled with hate. She became known around the site as Ms. Hatey McHatexter (not really, remember: I’m just being condescending).

When she tried it on me I just gave her my usual spiel which goes something like: “Hey, this ain’t no Metafilter.” (Side note: It’s kind of amazing how easy it is to control the tenure of the ad hominem attacks in the forums at Mixter. All you have to do to a flamer is say: “um, look around, we don’t really do that here” and so far, 100% of the time the person says “oh” and everybody moves on. I’m probably too old to appreciate the “freedom of expression” that comes from sites that tolerate or even encourage personal attacks that take place all over the web… wait… listen to me. All of a sudden my shit doesn’t stink. OK, so let’s amend it to snobby ridiculous hypocritical failure.)

Anyway, kendra turned in some downright great samples that I think have been unjustly ignored. She also submitted some cuts with raps (which unfortunately have also been removed) which gave her universal praise and requests for a cappellas — the life force of ccMixter).

Fast forward six months to last week when she uploaded three great rapping pells.

She really is one talented person and I for one am very grateful she decided to put the boasty-bravado-bitch thing aside and post such quality material to ccMixter.

Heres my first of probably many treatments: EMCEE ONE (Treatment)

The next ccMixter contest is under way and taking submissions. It’s a tie in with the cool documentary currently being developed called “Copyright Criminals.” (trailer here)

Two things strike me as a little strange about this one: the source material you’re supposed to use, basically snippets of interviews done for the movie, is NOT in the Commons which I think means, I can’t use those snippets in a random ccMixter remix. Secondly, the submission form doesn’t allow you to mark your entry as a remix even though I’m sure the 1,100 uploads marked as Attribution and Sampling+ are eligible for use as samples in your entry. A CC remix contest where the source is not CC and entries aren’t marked as remixes. Hate when that happens.

The contest will be open for a few months so I’ve got time to figure out if and how I’ll be entering.

Copyright Criminals Remix Contest

I’m genuinely psyched: Lisa DeBenedictis: Mixter One is the official name of the Magnatune Lisa Debenedictis Remix album.

Reasons to buy this album:

• You like good music.
• You like brilliant music.
• You support open music.
• You want to be really cool in the eyes of, well, I don’t know but pretend you’re cool and others will follow.

This is a big deal.

I submitted a remix with samples, ztutz downloads it and records vocals for it and now teru posted his remix:
Deep Down « stream here ».

Oh, and it totally rocks.

The CC/ccMixter/Magnatune/DeBendictis conest stopped taking entries last night and the 210 entries are in the judges hands. I’ve started collecting some of my favorites in this WebJay playlist: http://webjay.org/by/fourstones/contestfavs.

I’m not going to gush (this time) and let the music speak for itself.