Sharetapes – the mix tape for the digital world

By Stephen Fenech On Feb 14, 2013

Remember when we used to make mix tapes to give to our friends? Now in the digital age we can do it again with a new service called Sharetapes.

In the old days when music lovers wanted you to hear their favourite songs they’d put them on an audio cassette.

Sharetapes, an Australian-based startup, now makes it possible to hand or post someone a physical item – in this case what look like a credit card with a picture of a tape on it – with the content you’d like to share on it.

Sharetapes has a few ways to share the music.

One way is via the QR code on the back so it can be scanned with a smartphone app to stream the songs.

Each card is also NFC (near field communication) enabled and users can access the card’s contents by tapping the card with an NFC compatible device.

You can also stream the contents at the Sharetapes website by typing the code that’s printed in the card.

Users can purchase a pack of five Sharetapes for $6.99 from www.sharetapes.com/shop and choose the tracks they want to include from streaming services Spotify and 8tracks.

It’s also possible to include videos from YouTube on Sharetapes.

Now you can share your favourite content or tailor content for special occasions.

A good example came with the Sharetapes press pack. It was a Sharetape card with Happy Valentine’s Day written on it with links to a selection of love songs.