What is 8tracks?
8tracks is a simple way for people to share and discover music through an online mix — a short playlist containing at least 30 minutes, roughly 8 tracks, of music.
People can do 2 things on 8tracks: listen to a mix, or create a mix. Listeners can search for a mix by artist or genre, stream it in a legal, radio-style manner, and follow others who make compelling mixes. DJs upload MP3s or select tracks from the 8tracks library to craft a playlist, add context with description and art, and publish their mix on 8tracks.com and a personal webpage.
8tracks believes handcrafted music programming trumps algorithms. Think radio in the 1970s, mixtapes in the 1980s, and DJ culture of the 1990s through today. DJs share their talent in taste making, providing exposure for artists. Listeners get a unique blend of word-of-mouth sharing and radio programming – long the trusted means for music discovery – on a global scale.
Founded in 2006 by David Porter, ex-GM at Live365, 8tracks was created by a small team (CEO, designer, 5 developers) in NYC and SF and will launch on August 8th, 2008.
