M Is FOR MASHUP...To Mash, Or Not To...By DJ Useo

M Is FOR MASHUP - June 11th, 2008
To Mash, Or Not To...
By DJ Useo


I've come to know a fair number of bootleggers & home producers over the last few years, & to a person they all began mixing because of their love for music. Many have the gleam of potential money in their eye; a useful state to be sure. Some even have ambitions of a fame of some sort. Lots come into mashing by way of being a live dj. Many discovered bastard pop while surfing the net. I myself had production experience recording symphony orchestras that increased my interest in home studio recording. I couldn't do what I heard mash makers doing (yet), but I was intrigued.




Like so many before (after) me did, we gathered some mp3's & whatever mixing programs we could obtain with the lofty goal (lol) of making grafted tunes we could play & share with others. I got advice early on from a strong woman in my life to focus less on the music & more on the music-makers. She told me to place a large emphasis on the people themselves, & I'd reap friendship as well as inspiration. I've not always been the most social creature. It took some adjusting & much patience. Sure 'n it was about the best instructions I ever got. I've established warm friendships with the best people you can imagine. Only a few chumps.

All of us on the net want the same things-something interesting to do with people you enjoy 'hanging' with. Perhaps some prefer to do it with less clothing. LMAO. Bootleggers aren't making money posting tracks for you. It actually costs them money, yet I've only seen a few ask for contributions. The manner of reward for making mashups is when you find out people played them. This means comments, & let me tell you they are not flowing most of the time. I've seen even the best bootleggers get only 1 or 2 comments. Lately, there's a lot of competition & if you don't post regularly, the new audience doesn't even know you. My personal dj slogan of 'not mandatory' came in useful in keeping me from being a pest about asking people to check out my new creations. Whether a track gets comments or not, you keep on plugging away with the tracks you like best.

So it's not exactly easy to hit the bootleg scene, but there's always room for more as due to the above-cited conditions there's a high attrition rate for mashup mixers. So many I've met depart when lack of response, real world hardships, or outright hostility from goons on the net eat away at their creativity to the point the joy is gone. So many leave taking with them their personal talents along with the mashups that might have been. I've been involved in the world of graphic art where there exists a similar state of burnout. Art comes from the heart where hate lives as well. Take some happy painters, or bootleggers & start harassing them & the art will cease to flow.

To sum up this discussion of mashup motivation I urge you readers to leave some comments sometimes. It's cheating yourself to withhold your presence from our posts. You don't even have to be a bootlegger to say something. And to all you bootleggers, at the stage where you need some time off, please rest, recuperate, and when you feel like it, come back, cause there's a place for you. Anyone who perceives musical tones through auditory transitions I welcome comments and contributions from. The best part of commenting usually comes after since many mixers translate positive communication into more posted material. Then we all feel the benefit & you assume your true role in the mashup world as a music motivator.

Thanks for reading, & may your mashup experience be fruitful.

To find lots of new mashups & avoid any forum try this new site here -
www.mashupciti.com/

(Looks like a fine place to contribute to :) )

to read the full article head on over to http://suprmchaos.com/bcEnt-Wed-061108.index.html

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