rules, suggestions, and other fine print
Q: So how exactly does this work?
A: After you sign up, you make a mix. Mail one or two copies of it to me. When I get your package, I'll mail you one or two mixes in return.
Q: What's this "one or two copies" business?
A: If you send one copy, you'll just get my monthly mix in return. But if you send two copies, you'll get both mine and a randomly selected copy of someone else's mix.
I do make a minimal effort to match up people's tastes, so if you send me a bunch of N-Sync, I probably won't send you a lot of punk in return. But what you get will be pretty random. (If you're wondering, about 90 percent of the people who trade send two copies every month.)
To be absolutely clear, since people misunderstand every month: send two copies of the same mix -- not two different mixes. Saves us both some trouble.
By the way, please don't send me a bunch of N-Sync, if you can avoid it.
Q: Does my mix need to have a theme? What should I include on it?
A: Put whatever you like on the mix -- no requirements of any kind. A theme can be fun, but it's not necessary. Maybe 25 percent of the mixes I get have a theme.
Q: How should I assemble/package my mix?
A: Some guidelines, and a few real rules:
The CD itself: Any brand CD will do, as long as it plays in a standard CD player. Some people print a stick-on label for the disc itself, but that's optional.
Liner notes, etc: You do have to include a listing of all the songs on your disc (artist and title, at least). Include two sets of liner notes if you're sending two CDs. Beyond that, be as elaborate or as minimalist as you want. On one end, some folks scrawl their track listings on a scrap of looseleaf paper; on the other, some print up four-color fold-out liner notes, detailing their motivation for including a particular song or what they were doing the first time they heard Track 6.
Please put your name on it somewhere, so I know which mix is yours when I've got 80 sitting in a pile on my desk. And it's great if you put your email address and/or web site address in there somewhere, too. That way, whoever ends up with your mix in the trade can contact you to tell you what he or she thinks of it.
Some folks who have their own web sites also put up web pages with some information about their mixes. Again, it's optional but nice.
Case: Some sort of hard case is required, and you've got to send two cases if you send two CDs. I prefer you use slim CD cases, primarily because they make it easier for me to stuff two CDs into a mailer. But that's just my preference, not a requirement.
Q: Where do I mail my mix?
A: Mail it to Josh Benton, 2710 Guillot St. #3096, Dallas, TX 75204. Important: As soon as you mail it to me, email me to let me know it's coming.
Q: When do I have to do all this?
A: The deadlines for each month are posted on the main page. But those are just deadlines: I always encourage folks to mail your mixes as soon as possible. The sooner I get your mix, the sooner you get mine.
Please signup again every month if you want to trade. It only takes a second, and it helps me a lot with knowing how many CDs I need to burn.
Q: I live outside the U.S. Can I join up?
A: Sure. I've already traded with a couple dozen Canadians, not to mention appearances from Australia, Austria, Hong Kong, France, the U.K., Ireland, and Germany. Folks on other continents will probably have to wait longer to get their mixes, but I suppose you're probably used to that by now.
Q: How much does all this cost?
A: Here's one answer: It's all free of charge. Your only expenses should be whatever it costs you to make and mail your mixes.
Here's another, more realistic answer: Running this club costs me quite a bit of money, hundreds of dollars each month. Between the cost of the blank CD, the envelope, the case, and postage, it costs me $3 or $4 per person trading. That was fine when the club had five or six people in it -- with more than 100 most months now, the cost could be crippling.
So a few months ago I started asking for donations to keep this club running. All I ask is that you slip a few bucks in the envelope when you mail your CDs. Nothing big -- $4 or $5 is fine. (A few people who've enjoyed my CDs have sent a little more to make up for the people who don't send anything -- many thanks.) It's a way of guaranteeing that this thing will keep going for a while. And really, I don't think a few bucks is a lot to ask for two CDs.
If you don't send money, will you still get CDs? Of course. But consider it like the "suggested donation" box at the entrance of your favorite museum: Sure, you don't have to pay, but you should probably feel a tiny little twinge of guilt if you don't.
If you don't like sending cash in the mail, you can always do it via PayPal:
Q: I just got laid off, and don't have even a few bucks. Can I send you something else instead?
Sure, make me a proposal. I'm hyperflexible.
Q: Hey, when'd you get all money-hungry?
September 2002, when this site got 19,000 hits and more than 400 new signups in a few hours. Fiscal reality hits hard, folks.
Q: How many people trade CDs every month?
A: When I started out in December 2001, there were only three traders. It's grown steadily and is now somewhere north of 40 100.
Q: Will this keep going on forever and ever?
A: Um, maybe. If it gets much bigger, scalability issues will kick in pretty quickly. I've survived a few months with 100-plus people trading, but only because people have been very good about helping with my expenses.
There are a few other CD mix trading operations out there. One's called Burn, Baby, Burn, and there's a new one called interchange. They're much easier to run, since the folks in charge don't actually do the burning, matching, and mailing of CDs. (It's sort of the Napster model -- all peer-to-peer.) On the other hand, you're forced to trust other people a lot more under their model. When I did the BBB swap earlier this year, I sent CDs out to five people and got discs back from only two of them. Your mileage may vary.
Q: Who are you, anyway? And what kind of music do you like?
A: I'm Josh, a 27-year-old newspaper reporter in Texas. Much more than you care to know about my life is available at my weblog, crabwalk.com.
I used to be a Professional Rock Critic, so the generosity of the music industry has left me with a substantial (1,000+ CD) music collection. I'm pretty wide-ranging in my tastes, but I tend to like indie rock, alt-country, and punk, with dashes of drum 'n' bass, West Coast hip-hop, and be-bop thrown in. Some favorites include Sloan, American Music Club, Pavement, Morphine, the Dismemberment Plan, Death Cab for Cutie, Clem Snide, Velvet Crush, Uncle Tupelo, and many, many more.
Q: What if I have another question?
A: Email me.
Q: I'm ready to sign up. What do I do now?
A: Sign up already!
