21 Secret Mixter Celebration

 ccMixter Turns 21! The “21” Secret Mixter Celebration

ccMixter is officially turning 21 — and that means it’s time to raise a glass (or a track!) to two decades + one year of remix culture, collaboration, and community.

Turning 21 holds cultural weight: it’s the milestone of adulthood, independence, and new freedoms. For ccMixter, our 21st birthday is about celebrating the freedom that has always been at our core — the freedom to create, remix, reuse, and reimagine music without walls.

That’s why our 21st Birthday celebration is happening the ccMixter way: with a Secret Mixter.

For those new to the tradition, a Secret Mixter is when members sign up to remix each other — in secret! You’ll be randomly assigned another artist’s uploads to reimagine, mash-up, sample, and remix. On upload day, the veil is lifted and we all discover who remixed whom in a global exchange of creativity.

Since our founding in 2004 as a Creative Commons project, ccMixter has been a home for musical produsage — where listeners become creators, samplers become composers, and remixers become collaborators. Over the past 21 years, we’ve built a catalog of over 10,000 samples shared openly for creative reuse, featuring everyone from grassroots bedroom producers to the Beastie Boys and David Byrne.

Unlike most platforms, ccMixter has always stood apart: you keep your rights, you share your art, and you empower others to remix it into something new. Our community embodies resilience, independence, and generosity — values that align perfectly with the cultural meaning of turning 21.

So let’s celebrate this milestone together. Let’s make music that honors where we’ve been and where we’re going. Let’s remix with the boldness of youth and the wisdom of experience.

🎂 The “21” Secret Mixter Event Timeline

• Sign-up: September 28 - October 11

• Remixing: October 12 - 25

• Upload Day: October 25 & 26

Join us as we step into this new chapter with the same mission that started it all: to create a living, open, global library of music that belongs to everyone.

Because at 21, ccMixter isn’t just coming of age — it’s coming into its power.

🔗 Sign up now at ccMixter.org

Imagination Shining

Summer 2025 is Hear, Pun Intended

The Imagination series of remix events between ccMixter and MixterPlus have leveled up to a shining Secret Mixter finale that is just in time for summer.  With over 20 new original music colabs from the heart of our community, you can chose your favorites and add them to your playlists. 

I'm just sayin'...Loveshadow's "These are the Best Days" is a number one hit and should be trending across the planet before Summer Solstice arrives.

Enjoy your summer and keep shining!

Full Playlist Here

 

MixterPlus Launches Imagination Rising

IMAGINATION RISING: A Fusion of Sound and Creativity

In an era where artistic expression is more vital than ever, a new movement is taking shape in the digital soundscape. IMAGINATION RISING, the latest initiative from the groundbreaking creative hub MixterPlus, is redefining the way music is made, shared, and experienced. More than just a virtual event, it is a dynamic collective endeavor—one that transforms artistic vision into a shared sonic reality.

At the heart of this movement lies a simple yet profound truth: Art is our voice. IMAGINATION RISING invites artists from around the globe to harness their talent, shaping the world through sound and collaboration.

Find out more in the ccMixter forum: https://ccmixter.org/thread/4487

CcMixter is Resilent in the Remix!

Resonating Resilience: The Soundtrack of Our Community is Everstrong.

The rhythm of ccMixter has always been driven by the unwavering pulse of its community—creators who remix, reimagine, and reshape music for the world to share. While our blog has been on hiatus, our mission has remained steadfast, and in 2025, we’re amplifying our next chapter with a theme that defines not only our music but our journey: Resilience.

The Rhythm of Resilience

Music is one of the most powerful forms of resilience. It carries us through hardship, lifts us in moments of doubt, and connects us when words fail. Like a melody that endures despite shifting tempos, ccMixter continues to thrive because of the artists, producers, and remixers who contribute their creativity and passion. 

You are the heartbeat of this platform, and your music is what keeps it alive.

This year, we’re launching our first Secret Mixter of 2025 under the theme of Resilience—an invitation to remix, create, and share compositions that embody perseverance, growth, and transformation. Your music has the power to inspire, and this event is the perfect way to share that energy with the world.

New Features, New Opportunities

While our blog has been quiet, we’ve been busy behind the scenes. At MixterPlus, we’ve expanded licensing opportunities, creating new pathways for artists to earn revenue from their work while continuing to build a library of open, remixable content. MixterPlus provides an ecosystem for collaboration, where original compositions, lyrics, and stems can be shared and remixed in ways that push creative boundaries.

We’re also rolling out new features to make sharing and discovering music easier than ever—giving you more ways to connect with fellow musicians and find fresh inspiration.

We’re Listening and Streaming—Share Your Sound!

ccMixter isn’t just a platform; it’s a community. It’s a space where music is more than just sound—it’s a gift to be shared, a story to be told, a legacy to be built. Whether you’re uploading a new track, remixing a fellow artist, or leaving a comment of encouragement, your engagement keeps this space vibrant and alive.

So, let’s make 2025 the year of resilient creativity. Upload your latest tracks, join the Secret Mixter, explore the new opportunities at MixterPlus, and continue shaping the soundtrack of a world that needs your music now more than ever.

We’re here, we’re listening, and we can’t wait to hear what you create next.

🔗 Join the Mixterverse today at ccMixter.org & MixterPlus.org

MixterPlus: ELEV8 Music Creation

 

Want to elevate your music?

Join the Elev8 Remix Event at MixterPlus, where the power of music transcends boundaries and elevates your creativity to new heights!

“Music should elevate you.” -Mick Jagger

Want to know more?  Watch the YouTube LiveStream Launch video.

Join the ELEV8 Conversation in the forums.

Follow MixterPlus!

Madam Snowflake Takes Defqon1 by Storm

From Digital Diva to Hardstyle Queen:
Madam Snowflake Takes Defqon1 by Storm

How the "Mixterverse" created a pathway to perform at the world's largest Hardstyle EDM festival.

Utah native Emily Richards, known to the world as Madam Snowflake, isn't your typical hardstyle vocalist. With a background in classical piano and opera, her path to rocking one of the biggest hardstyle festivals in the world, Defqon1 in the Netherlands, is anything but conventional. This article explores Madam Snowflake's unique journey, from self-proclaimed "sharing-averse" youngster to digital music pioneer and now, a global collaborative music phenomenon.

Sharing, it seems, is the cornerstone of Madam Snowflake's success. Admitting her childhood struggles with sharing, she highlights her fortuitous about-face, becoming one of the first artists to embrace the internet's potential for music distribution. Her early days on MP3.com, giving away millions of downloads, fueled national tours and a residency at the House of Blues, solidifying her reputation as a digital music pioneer.

"Giving my music to the commons does feel like exposing a piece of my soul..."

But Madam Snowflake's story takes a fascinating turn. After a prolific career under her birth name, Emily Richards, she adopts the moniker "Snowflake" and embarks on a new chapter – building her own music company and acquiring ccMixter.org, a collaborative music haven. Here, she sheds the traditional artist role, sharing not just finished tracks, but her acapellas and stems from over original 150 songs. The "Mixterverse" thrives on this open exchange, with Madam Snowflake's vocals remixed thousands of times, finding their way into everything from grocery stores to video games.

"Giving my music to the commons does feel like exposing a piece of my soul," she admits, "yet sharing in this way has opened the world to me, and me to the world." This creative symbiosis, where global artists infuse her work with fresh energy, inspire her in ways she never could have imagined.

This June, Madam Snowflake takes center stage at Defqon1

The plot thickens when Dutch DJ “Promo” reaches out, revealing a surprising truth: Madam Snowflake, unknowingly, has become a hardstyle icon. Her vocals fuel an impressive list of festival hits across the Netherlands. Initially skeptical, a trip to Amsterdam dispels any doubt. Videos showcase massive crowds singing along to her lyrics, a surreal and exhilarating experience.

"You have to give to receive," Madam Snowflake reflects. "I've always liked that phrase though I didn't really understand its meaning until my voice found its way into a style of music I've never heard of, on the other side of the world from me in the Netherlands."

Years spent recording in her home studio culminated in a dream come true: performing live alongside the very hardstyle artists who championed her music. This June, Madam Snowflake takes center stage at Defqon1, not just as a vocalist, but as a testament to the power of sharing and artistic collaboration.

Directly after she returns from Defqon1, Emily “Snowflake” Richards combines both past and present in her next monumental chapter -- she’s written and produced her own musical, Rise Up Babylon, in a unique format -- another first for this digital music pioneer. An audiobook musical, soundtrack, and YouTube documentary are set for release later this year.

Visit Madam Snowflake's ccMixter page here.

Visit Madam Snowflake's website.

Follow Madam Snowflake on Instagram and YouTube.

Branching Out Secret Mixter

 

Welcome to "Branching Out," where the roots of creativity run deep and the branches of music reach for new horizons! SIgn ups are live...and this blog post will be updated as the event progresses. Check back for the playlist when the uploads come it!

Participate here:

https://ccmixter.org/mixup/branchingout_2024