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The mixtape is one of the most controversial, misunderstood and obscure vehicles to ever descend upon the music industry. For the sake of clarity, we are discussing promotional mixtapes, not homemade mix CDs that are compilations of individual mp3 collections created for the sole enjoyment of the user.

Mixtapes are promotional tools used by both emerging and established artists as a way to strengthen their grassroots fan-base and increase overall awareness. Established artists commonly release a mixtape, or series of mixtapes, in anticipation of an official studio album release. This helps promote singles and get fans interested in the artist's upcoming release by providing free material.

The hip-hop community has been the most active in utilizing mixtapes as promotional vehicles, with nearly every established and striving artist releasing mixtapes, some as frequently as once a month. The Internet has been instrumental in providing massive fan access to these once unobtainable mixtapes. Within the online mixtape community, there are several retailers who attempt to sell mixtapes for profit.

Often, these tapes are attached to flyers or stickers and retailers operate under the assumption that they are operating within the law by selling mixtapes in this manner. However, mixtapes should not be sold as they almost always contain some form of copyright infringement, whether it be the unauthorized use of instrumentals, lyrics or portions of other artists songs. Generally, however, the sale and distribution of mixtapes online is tolerated as an accepted grey market practice.

The RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and other musician's rights groups have allowed certain non-retailers of mixtapes to flourish on the Internet, a result of an evolving culture and acceptance by record labels, who acknowledge the custom and recognize the promotional value of a free mixtape trade online. Today, there are five major promotional mixtape outlets online, known as the Big 5, which dominate the non-retail purveyance of Internet mixtape material. They include:

The digital era of music has resulted in higher quality mixtapes, whose cover art, sound quality and caliber of production can rival official releases from major record companies. Mixtape producers such as Biggy Jiggy, Coast 2 Coast, Orange Karma, The Empire, Trap-A-Holics and The Aphilliates have found great success in marketing and distributing popular mixtapes throughout the above-mentioned channels.

So, remember, there is a wealth of underground hip-hop material that awaits the well-informed fan. If you can effectively navigate the proper mixtape channels, you will discover new music months before it achieves mainstream popularity.

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About The Author: Tyler Durden is a hip-hop reporter and analyst who has published mixtape reviews and analysis in many popular industry magazines, e-zines and blogs. He is currently a board member of London-based Global Mixtape Solutions, a leading consumer firm for the international mixtape industry.