10 Minutes To Shine: The Youtube TenMinMix

There’s a phenomenon going around the web which is allowing the bedroom DJ to arise from the ranks and cement their place as a force to be reckoned with.

What am I talking about? The 10 minmix on Youtube. I’m sure you’ve seen a few but have you ever considered the impact it’s been creating within the DJ community?

Bedroom and beginner DJs around the world are utilizing Youtube to shine and show their mixing skills by uploading a ten minute mix of their best work.

Want to do the same? Read on…

Introducing The TenMinMix

10 minutes, that’s all the time you’ve got to show your best work. Doesn’t sound like enough time? You’d be surprised because it’s becoming one of the best methods for beginner DJs to show off their skills in mixing.

Yes, 10 minutes doesn’t give you a lot of time to dig deep into your music collection but it will hold the attention of many viewers that will watch your video over and over again.

Want a perfect example?

Whoa-B created a 10 minute mix of Dubstep which has now reached well over 1 million views. Beat that!

But why does it work so well? Internet users want bite sized content, they’re in for a quick fix, many people don’t have time to listen to a 1 or 2 hour mix. The ten minute mix is the perfect allotted time for people to get into the music without the heavy emotional investment of listening for hours on end.

There’s Plenty Of Room To Show Off

Think of your ten minute mix as an elevator pitch. You only have a few minutes to show off your skill before someone bounces to the next video. You’re going to need to pull some crazy tricks out your ass to keep them engaged.

Even within 10 minutes, you have enough time to throw in a handful of tracks. Don’t let the tracks ride out, switch it up constantly, throw on effects and your own personal flare.

Include A Download Link

Want to really get people to know your name? Include a download like so people can save your mix, put it on their mp3 player, send it to others and save it for the future.

Use websites like RGhost, ZShare and Rapidshare to upload the mix – or check out these 7 file sharing websites to upload your DJ mix. For bonus points, put your mix on a website which pays you every time someone downloads. Just think, if 1 million people watched Whoa-B’s mix and only 10% of them downloaded from the link, you could pull in a nice bit of side income.

Check out this post about getting paid to upload files.

How To Record Your 10 Minute Mix

Got a web cam? Probably. If not, invest some money in a quality video camera or high definition webcam.

Microsoft actually makes a very inexpensive HD webcam for just over $50 called the LifeCam. Set up your camera to record your set, spin and upload directly to Youtube.

With the advances and inexpensiveness of technology, you should be kicking yourself in the ass for not taking advantage of this great opportunity to promote yourself.

Socialize It

It’s hard to get someone to download your set or even visit a streaming service. However, people are inclined to check out an actual video of your mixing.

Video isn’t going away, every day more people are watching videos over reading and listening to web content. It’s passive content.

Jump on Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites, share your links, embed them everywhere you go. You want to promote yourself don’t you?

Bonus points if you upload your video elsewhere using Tubemogul. This services lets you blast your video to dozens of other video websites and even lets you track to see how many people are watching.

What You Can Take Away From All This

Think of your tenminmix as the perfect portfolio piece. Want to impress a club owner? Skip the demo mix and shoot them an email with your video that now has a million views. I bet that’ll get their attention.

Hell, create a series of videos. Ask your watchers and subscribers what kind of mix they’d like to hear. Every week throw up a new video for people to watch and promote. You can be that person that has a regular show on Youtube.

Don’t wait for it, the time is now. Get on Youtube and start mixing.

Got a tenminmix to share? Post it in the comments below.