Finding Hip Hop
Mix Podcasts
Many music podcasts are available
online for
downloading; if one wanted to find, for instance, a
hip
hop mix podcast, there are a few sites available to
help.
The first possibility would be to go directly to a
site
which creates one and subscribe to it using a
podcast
client which automatically checks the feed for
new
episodes and downloads them for the user. If,
however,
one did not know of any hip hop mix podcast sites,
or
simply wanted to find new podcast sites, the
best
possibility would be to check a podcast directory, a
list
of podcasts that can be browsed.
Hip hop mix podcasts could easily be
found at one of
these podcast directories. A podcast directory
stores
lists of podcasts which have been submitted to the
site,
and categorizes them by genre, type of podcast,
region,
and other meta data. To find a hip hop mix
podcast,
visiting a podcast directory and checking under
music
podcasts, and then under hip hop music would find
many
podcasts which play that type of music.
The hip hop mix podcast could then
be subscribed to by
inputting the feed address listed into one
of the many
podcast clients. The music will come in episodes,
the
name for each downloadable portion of a podcast. Some
of
these podcasts may feature independent artists,
musicians
trying to break into the music industry who
have chosen
podcasting as a way of sharing their music
and gaining a
following. Others may be remixes of
popular songs that have
been changed in some way to
give a different feel to the music.
Often, the artists may
already be established, though, and they
still see
podcasting as a way to introduce themselves to a
larger
audience. They may grant rights to pay certain hip
hip
songs to a podcaster, letting them play the music as
part
of their mix distribution while requesting a link to a
site
where more information can be learned about the
artists
and music can be purchased. Artists that have done
this
include alias, edan, outerspace, RA the rugged
man,
roots manuva, and outer space.
A large number of podcasts featuring
hip hop mix
podcasts are actually radio stations, however.
These
broadcasters have found that podcasting their
shows
and selections is an easy way to reach more
listeners
and gain a greater audience. These podcasters can
reach
more people easier and cheaper than they can
by
playing hip hop mix music over the airwaves in
their
local areas. Playing hip hop music over the internet
is
probably the way many future artists will do their
work,
and there are many ways available even now that
they
can do so and make a profit. For instance,
some
podcasts are designed to work on a payment basis. A
hip
hop artist who wished to share his music could
charge for
addition to the feed list, then issue a unique
feed address to
the user, allowing them to hear new
pieces of hip hop music
released. The hip hop music
file could even be designed so it
could not be copied
and used by another user at a different
computer, to
ensure that the artist could maintain control over
his
work.