Under Our Roof: Interview w/ Justin Ouellette of Muxtape

For this ‘Under Our Roof’ post, I interviewed Justin Ouellette, photographer, designer, and founder of Muxtape.com, a site that has come to represent the battle between innovation and the RIAA. We touched on a number of topics ranging from the importance of a good design for a web page to how many times he has seen High Fidelity. Check it out below:

Artists House: Tell us a little bit about your background. What inspired you to
get into the music industry?

Justin Oullette: I’m from Portland, Oregon and live in New York City.  I came here to
pursue design and photography and actually had no intention at all of
getting into the music industry.  My day job as a web designer and a
lifelong love of music are what led me to creating Muxtape, which more
or less plunged me into working in a musical capacity.


AH: What is the genesis of the name 'Muxtape’?

JO: Like a mixtape, only a little different.


AH: What was the core problem you were looking to solve with the
original Muxtape?

JO: I think one of the most exciting things about the internet is its
potential to introduce you to new music.  This has been recognized for
a long time, and there’s been a lot of work done on algorithmically
analyzing tastes and extrapolating from there, but it’s never done
much for me.  My favorite mode of music discovery before the internet
was trading mixtapes.  I think two important things made it great;
first, you were being introduced to music by someone you knew and
whose taste you implicitly familiar with, and second, tapes were
limited by their length so their creators had to be extremely
selective about what went on them.  That personal context and
selective curation were both things I saw missing from the musical
internet as it was.


AH: How did you execute on your original idea? Was the development
process a one person affair, or were there other key players involved?

JO: Entirely on my own, a labor of love.  It was something I was playing
around with idly for a couple years, and once it seemed technically
possible (both for the internet and my own programming ability) I
started devoting my nights and weekends to it.


AH: What was it like having to deal with the RIAA lawsuit? What made
Muxtape such a high profile target?

JO: There wasn’t actually a lawsuit, but there was definitely legal
pressure.  It became a quick target because it gained so much
attention so fast, not just on the internet but in the traditional
media as well.  The reasons for it becoming popular quickly are open
to conjecture, but I like to think it’s because it represented a shift
in a direction that a lot of people were ready for, whether they knew
it or not.


AH: If you had to choose the single biggest problem with the music
industry today, from your perspective, what would it be?

JO: Resistance to change.  Lately the major labels have positioned
themselves as being more forward-thinking than they were in the past,
but it’s only because they’ve been dragged kicking and screaming into
this century by music listeners.  They’re still not looking to the
future, even now they’re trying to make themselves comfortable on a
ship that’s rapidly taking on water.


AH: You come from a design background. How important is a strong visual
aesthetic to a new web-based business? Can a site survive without
looking cool? What is the first thing you look for in a new website?
Any particular examples that we should be checking out?

JO: A site can absolutely thrive without looking cool, but it’s very hard
without being well-designed.  Design is holistic, it’s rarely just
about how something looks, and often things wind up looking cool
simply by virtue of being well-focused and contextually conscious.  My
favorite web sites are ones that answer one question, and answer it
simply and effectively; the rest seems to fall into place.


AH: What advice would you give a budding entrepreneur with a passion
for both music and technology? Do they start in their parents’
basement and build something on their own or shop for a job to gain
experience?

JO: I think gaining experience in your industry is extremely important,
it’s important to interact with people who are doing things you
admire.  While I made Muxtape by myself, it certainly would’ve never
happened if not for the experiences I had every day working alongside
my peers, and for their support after it was released.  Nothing
happens in a vacuum, all of us are the combined influence of everyone
we’ve ever met.


AH: In an age where businesses survive on new iterations and
innovation, how is the new muxtape going to continue to evolve into
the future? When can your heartbroken user base expect some
consolation?

JO: The new Muxtape won’t be like the old one, it’s not answering the same
question.  Those users may have to stay heartbroken for a while, at
least until the industry catches up.  While the new site is focused on
the needs of bands first, the same spirit of technological enablement,
focused design, and discovery of new music is very much intact.


AH: If you’ll permit me, I’ve got a few less serious questions for you. First, are you at all familiar with the movie High Fidelity? If so, how many times have you seen it?

JO: I’ve seen it many times.  I had a Dickies tshirt in the '90s.  I
wanted my own record store.  I didn’t appreciate the way they
disparaged the genius of Stevie Wonder, though.

AH: What 12 songs would be on your muxtape if you made it right now?

JO: Francis and the Lights - Can’t Tell Me Nothing (covering Kanye West)
Bernard Wright - Master Rocker
Jonathan Kreisberg - All Or Nothing At All
Phoenix - If I Ever Feel Better
Squarepusher - Coopers World
Bach - Agnus Dei
Deerhoof - My Purple Past
Glass Candy - Miss Broadway
The Sea & Cake - Weekend
T-Connection - Feel The Groove
Henry Mancini - Lujon
Ice Cube - Today Was A Good Day

AH: Is the glass half-full or half-empty? What of?

JO: The glass is full of humanity’s potential!

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And there you have it. You can keep up with Justin through his various websites, including his photography site Chromogenic, his blog at JSTN.CC, and Muxtape.com (relaunching soon).

If you have any suggestions for people you would like us to interview for a future Under Our Roof, please let us know in the comments section below, via direct message on Twitter, or through the Facebook profile.