The history of the mixtape

The mixtape has a longer and richer history than most people realise. From home-recorded TDK cassettes in the 1970s to Napster-era CD-Rs to Spotify playlists, the act of curating music for another person has always been one of the most intimate gestures available to us. Our deep dive traces the cassette from the Sony Walkman era through the 90s golden age and into the streaming present.

How to make a playlist for someone you love

Making a great playlist is harder than it looks. The instinct is to share your own favourites, but the best playlists are built around the recipient — their taste, their memories, the mood you want to create. Our guide covers the first-song problem, building an arc, the importance of at least one discovery, and how a 30-second voice intro transforms a playlist link into a real letter.

Personal gifting through music

Music is the gift that costs nothing to duplicate and everything to personalise. A Spotify link takes three seconds to send. A curated playlist with a voice message, mailed as a real physical postcard, takes intention — and that intention is what the recipient actually receives. We write about why the ritual of making a mixtape still matters in the era of infinite streaming.