Many music podcasts are available online for downloading; if one wanted to find, for instance, a hip hop mix podcast, there are a few sites available to help. The first possibility would be to go directly to a site which creates one and subscribe to it using a podcast client which automatically checks the feed for new episodes and downloads them for the user. If, however, one did not know of any hip hop mix podcast sites, or simply wanted to find new podcast sites, the best possibility would be to check a podcast directory, a list of podcasts that can be browsed.
Hip hop mix podcasts could easily be found at one of these podcast directories. A podcast directory stores lists of podcasts which have been submitted to the site, and categorizes them by genre, type of podcast, region, and other meta data. To find a hip hop mix podcast, visiting a podcast directory and checking under music podcasts, and then under hip hop music would find many podcasts which play that type of music.
The hip hop mix podcast could then be subscribed to by inputting the feed address listed into one of the many podcast clients. The music will come in episodes, the name for each downloadable portion of a podcast. Some of these podcasts may feature independent artists, musicians trying to break into the music industry who have chosen podcasting as a way of sharing their music and gaining a following. Others may be remixes of popular songs that have been changed in some way to give a different feel to the music. Often, the artists may already be established, though, and they still see
podcasting as a way to introduce themselves to a larger audience. They may grant rights to pay certain hip hip songs to a podcaster, letting them play the music as part of their mix distribution while requesting a link to a site where more information can be learned about the artists and music can be purchased. Artists that have done this include alias, edan, outerspace, RA the rugged man, roots manuva, and outer space.
A large number of podcasts featuring hip hop mix podcasts are actually radio stations, however. These broadcasters have found that podcasting their shows and selections is an easy way to reach more listeners and gain a greater audience. These podcasters can reach more people easier and cheaper than they can by playing hip hop mix music over the airwaves in their local areas. Playing hip hop music over the internet is probably the way many future artists will do their work, and there are many ways available even now that they can do so and make a profit. For instance, some podcasts are designed to work on a payment basis. A hip hop artist who wished to share his music could charge for addition to the feed list, then issue a unique feed address to the user, allowing them to hear new
pieces of hip hop music released. The hip hop musicile could even be designed so it could not be copied and used by another user at a different computer, to ensure that the artist could maintain control over his work.
