How to gift the perfect personal Mixtape

Gift a personal Mixtape or Playlist

The classic mixtape doesn't really exist anymore, unless the person being gifted is a nostalgist who regularly uses a cassette player. Even the days of burned CDs are slowly coming to an end. Nevertheless, these two forms have their charm. Digital mixtapes, or playlists, can also be wonderfully gifted, whether on a USB stick or as a Spotify playlist.

But before we make the decision about the type of music carrier, we should think about what we should pay attention to when creating a personal playlist. This way, we can create a wonderful and, above all, very personal gift that the recipient can enjoy for a long time.

Tips for Creating a Mixtape

The Theme

The playlist for the mixtape you want to gift should not just be a loose compilation of songs. Consider a concept, a common thread, a theme for your playlist. Here are a few questions you can ask yourself:

• Do you want to tell a story or send a message?
• Is it about shared memories? For example, a great vacation you spent together.
• Does it revolve around the time when you first met as a couple?
• Do you want to simply spread good vibes with the mixtape or help reduce stress?
• Should the mixtape evoke a certain feeling or vibe?
• Are you aiming to create a playlist that makes the commute more pleasant?
• Is your focus on an upcoming event? Perhaps a road trip or a forthcoming vacation?

Take Your Time and Collect Songs

As the heading suggests, take your time when creating the playlist (unless of course, you don't have any), because not all suitable songs come to mind immediately. It's a creative process, and the end product will be all the better the more relaxedly you approach the task and the more creative freedom you give yourself. Perhaps you'll see each other a few times beforehand and you subtly steer the conversation towards the topic of music.

Do you need more inspiration? Check out ready-made playlists on Spotify on a certain theme or from a certain time. This might awaken more memories and boost your creativity. If you want to add a bit of suspense and risk, include a few new songs that fit the theme of the mixtape. Especially if the person is open to new things, you can also choose something that is completely unknown to them, but they might like. The person will now associate the new song with your gift.

The Song Order

Now comes the hardest part, and most importantly, the part that really matters. The challenge is to put the songs you've collected in an order that creates a beautiful arc of tension and makes a mixtape a really good mixtape.

• Common Thread: Keep your theme, your motive, always in mind.
• Arc of Tension: Build up tension until the climax (e.g., a song that the person really likes) and think about what the end should "look like." Should it get quieter towards the end or do you want to end the mixtape with an "encore song"?
• The Beginning: Start with an "earcatcher" that is well-known and makes one want to hear more.
• Stay Creative: Don't just fixate on one genre or a certain time. Mix nostalgia with something new.
• No Boredom: Don't line up too similar songs one after the other, it should be varied.
• Good Transitions: If a song ends with a crash and the following track starts with silence, then these songs don't fit together very well.
• Tempo: Should the tempo remain the same, e.g., for a jogging playlist, or should the tempo increase or vary, or is it perhaps not so important for your theme?

Your Mixtape Message

Do you want to make your mixtape even more extraordinary? Then I want to show you some more possibilities here, some of them daring, some of them more subtle. You need to decide what fits the person you're gifting and what you can technically implement. With a CD or a USB stick, you have more freedom than with a Spotify playlist. But even with Spotify, you can hide a great message.

Some of the following suggestions require editing audio or MP3 files. This is not particularly hard. This can be done with the free program Audacity. To show you that it's not really that complicated, I've linked a YouTube tutorial for you.

• Audio Message: You can add a very personal audio message as the last track on your mixtape, with good wishes, a shared story, or a poem that connects you (possibly even self-written). You could also use just the audio track from a funny video of you two.
• Hidden Track: Sometimes music albums have a hidden track that plays after a few minutes of silence. This could be a very special track or the audio message mentioned earlier.
• Acrostic: Even I had to look up what exactly this is. It involves the initial letters of each song having a message or meaning. Possibly even something only the recipient understands. This obviously severely limits the order of the songs. But if you manage that, you're definitely a master of mixtape creation. By the way, this message would also be suitable for Spotify.
• Message in the Lyrics: Look for songs that contain passages of text that are of special significance to both of you, or just to the person you're gifting.

Packaging a mixtape

You've probably already chosen a format for your gift. We've introduced several options. However, what they all have in common is a cover. Whether it's the classic cassette tape or an image you upload to a Spotify playlist, you can create a cover for any format. It could be a photo of the two of you, or for a modern twist, you could use an AI image generator. Tell the AI exactly what you want for a cover. Depending on the provider, you can also upload a photo of the two of you as a template. Even as a last-minute gift, you'll still have a beautiful package.

We hope our guide was helpful and that the mixtape was well-received. The next time you're looking for the perfect gift, try out our app, Present Helper. It guides you through a brainstorming process that includes pinpointing the recipient's interests and hobbies to suggest suitable gifts.