14^th September, 2009: Hot on the heels of a raft of interactive digital single releases, MXP4 today launches the interactive MIXTAPE, a new interactive module designed to help artists engage with fans and re-invigorate ‘whole album’ sales.

Ministry of Sound has become the first label to trial the solution, using an MXP4 MIXTAPE to generate excitement around the launch of Addicted to Bass, Winter 2009, a compilation album due for release today. The MIXTAPE, available now at http://mxp4.com/play-with-it/ministry-of-sound/, showcases 13 tracks from the album – from The Prodigy to Dizzee Rascal.

The MXP4 MIXTAPE previews a selection of album tracks and enables fans to play with the music, taking control of song transitions to create their own versions of professional mixtapes. Fans use a simple interface to control which tracks mix together and when, with MXP4 technology working in the background to cue up and generate seamless transitions. The MIXTAPE module also includes links to ‘Share’ it virally and ‘Buy’ the album from iTunes and beyond.

Jason Reed, Digital Marketing Manager, Recordings, Ministry of Sound, said: “This is a cool interactive module that gives us a new and different way to create excitement and buzz around new album releases. It allows us to securely preview more of the album, whilst providing the chance to play around with the tracks, mixing them together to create personalised versions. We see the MXP4 MIXTAPE as a great way to showcase the album experience and drive whole album sales.”

MXP4 releases are proven to help artists engage more closely with fans: Average play times per track stand at around seven minutes (compared with 30 seconds for ‘click and run’ streaming services), with 70% of traffic to the interactive modules is driven virally.

Albin Serviant, CEO of MXP4, said: “Along with the adoption of MXP4’s solution by an array of leading artists and labels, this is an exciting development for interactive music, and one which helps to address a key challenge for the music industry in the digital era. By giving fans access to more preview tracks and allowing them to play with the music, we are providing artists and labels with a new way to engage fans in the album experience and power whole album sales, be that on CD or in iTunes Album format.”

Full press release