How To Make A Mixtape: Everything You'll Need

Inside: Digital music has taken all the romance out of mixtapes. Here’s how to make a mixtape as a gift for loved ones using a USB drive. The perfect DIY gift!

I miss the days of mixtapes. Flipping through every album you own, hunting for the perfect songs to add to your mix. The math challenge of fitting as many songs as possible onto a 60-minute cassette tape. The satisfaction of handing your creation to a friend or significant other and knowing they’ll love it.

Digital music has taken all the romance out of how to make a mixtape.

• Do you post a track from Spotify on Facebook?
• Export a playlist from iTunes and send your friend an XML file that’s completely devoid of emotion?
• Buy an Amazon music gift card, and all your friend gets to show for it is an automated email notification?

It’s just not the same.

Table of Contents

• Want to Share a Playlist? Try a Modern Day Mixtape
• How to Make a Mixtape in the Digital Age
• Your Turn

Want to Share a Playlist? Try a Modern Day Mixtape

Since my husband and I first started dating, we’ve been sharing the best unknown love songs back and forth with each other. Kind of like an ongoing love letter.

One of us will discover a few hidden gems, then bundle them up into a modern day mixtape to share with the other.

Follow this tutorial to share your favorite music with friends and loved ones. A mixtape also makes the perfect DIY gift for birthdays, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, and just about any occasion you could think of.

But first, a disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer. But at the time of writing this article, the iTunes terms and conditions do allow you to burn an audio playlist up to seven times for personal, non-commercial use. It doesn’t explicitly talk about sharing your burned playlist with others, but to me that counts as personal, non-commercial use. If you bought your digital music elsewhere, those terms and conditions are probably different, so if you’re concerned you’ll want to check those out.

How to Make a Mixtape in the Digital Age

Here’s how to make a mixtape as a gift:

1. Get a USB drive, like this super cute USB memory stick that’s designed to look like a mixtape. But any USB drive will do, like a crystal owl necklace, a gold violin keychain, or…Yoda?

1. Pick the songs for your mixtape playlist. If you need some inspiration, check out these playlists:
   • For your honey – 75+ of the Best Unknown Love Songs
   • For Christmas – The 12 Best Christmas Songs You’ve Never Heard
   • For a pregnant friend – 20 Songs for an Awesome Baby Shower Playlist and 6 Surprising Songs to Soothe a Fussy Baby
   • For kids – 12 Songs for a Rockin’ Family Dance Party
2. Copy the songs from your playlist to your USB drive. Here’s how I do this: Right-click the song in iTunes and select Show in Finder or Show in Explorer, then copy the file to the USB drive.
3. Wrap the USB drive, add a thoughtful card, and you’re done!

Before you go, get my FREE cheat sheet: 75 Positive Phrases Every Child Needs to Hear

Your Turn

How do you share your favorite music with friends and loved ones? Share your tip in a comment below!