-----------------------------------------------
Do you believe culture should be free? Do you feel all kinds of music should be accessible? Do you think artists should have rights to their own music? Then support the international community of musicians at ccMixter.
We need your help to keep ccMixter.org up and running - without ads or subscription fees. We need your support to keep our website relevant, using more current web-technologies. We need your help to give the folks that use our music the easiest ways to find exactly what they want for their web-vid, remix or app. And your help will give our listeners the best listening experience and musicians the best environment to create together.
ccMixter has reached a size where 100% volunteer driven projects,
programming and hosting costs are too high.
Why is it worth it? Why should you care?
There are a growing amount of countries where organizations, even schools and universities, are not allowed to play or sing copyrighted music. Even "Happy Birthday" cannot be sung or used without being assessed a fee.
Your favorite local restaurant, small mom-and-pop stores, weddings, private parties, are impacted by the lockdown of copyright.
Wherever music is played (that is not in public domain or under Creative Commons license), a nasty letter and big bill demanding "pay up" will be delivered. A hobbyist web-video or slideshow that will receive a TakeDown Notice for using copyrighted music without paying. With the planned Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) this situation will get worse.
The 35,000 tracks on ccMixter can be used freely (if the artist is given credit). Our music is used in university projects, hobbyist videos, developing video games and apps. Our music plays in local restaurants in the Americas and overseas – for free.
Who are we?
ccMixter is a global community of cooperative musicians. Together, we create open-source music that people use all over the world. Because ccMixter is based upon collaboration, not competition, it is a uniquely positive place for us as musicians. Run entirely by volunteers, we are growing and need your help to keep ccMixter running, free for artists and without ads.
![]()
ccMixter is not only important to 5,000 musicians around the world, but also to countless other creators. ccMixter music is legally used in thousands of YouTube and Vimeo videos, Soundcloud remixes, mobile apps and games. Our music is even found in dozens of IndieGoGo campaigns. :)
All of our music (a cappellas, samples and mixes) uses Creative Commons licenses, which allow others to build upon and utilize our works, as long as they give us credit (and don't commercialize unless the license is CC BY).
"ccMixter is the most prominent experiment in free music culture..." ~Lawrence Lessig
ccMixter is run entirely by volunteers. Yep, that's right. Nobody is on the payroll here. We've all worked for free for the past 5 years! And still, together we have created over 35,000 original, open-source music tracks. Our community members have contributed thousands of hard working hours to make it all happen.
![]()
Our Funding Goals
ccMixter is growing! For the first time in five years, we're asking for help to keep ccMixter running. We have two phases to our fundraiser.
Phase I - $44,444
Phase I funds will help us migrate to better servers, cover our projected server expenses for one year, upgrade our hardware, and fix some pesky site bugs. In addition, we'll be able to "hire" an admin to work a dedicated 10 hours a week (our volunteer admins are at their limit!). We'll also be able to repay two personal loans (due by the end of the year) that we received five years ago from generous folks that got us started.
Phase II - $55,555
Phase II funds will be used to update our websites (which need some love!). New design, better user-interface, and significant back-end improvements are needed for ccMixter to stay relevant and functioning. We will also code new capabilities into our APIs, provide more artist and visitor support, and slowly expand our Beta ccPlus program and ccPlus Library. By growing ccPlus it's our goal to provide value to artists AND fund ccMixter for years to come.
![]()
Your Contribution Makes the Difference!
We are so grateful for your help! With your support, ccMixter will:
-
continue to provide a positive home for thousands of musicians that collectively create together. No expensive studio required;
- keep producing incredible music that can be safely used - by thousands of video makers, DJs, podcasters, developers, start-ups, and more;
- keep working to educate about Creative Commons licenses, how they work, and how community can be built around open sharing;
- help us share our music in even more ways: podcasts, playlists, albums, lyric-videos, and other curations;
If we don't reach our entire goal, the monies we raise will first go to keeping our servers running. Anything above that will first go to fixing our bugs and migrating from old servers to better ones. But we're hopeful we will actually exceed our goal!
Different Ways You Can Help
Our community has contributed unique and creative perks for those who can financially contribute to our campaign. You won't be disappointed. :)
![]()
![]()
A financial contribution may not be feasible for everyone, but you can still help us in very important ways! Here's how:
-
Twitter, Instagram, Facebook. Follow us, retweet, repost, like, and use the hashtags #ccMixter and #MusicConnectsUs. Help us spread the word!
- Join our community! Are you a songwriter? Singer? Poet? Instrumentalist? Producer? Remixer? Contribute original music stems or produce a mix from our source material. Once you co-create in our virtual world, you'll be hooked!
- IndieGoGo has great tools to help. Please use them!
Music is Universal, Music Connects Us
During a time when there is much global unrest and tragedy, ccMixter connects individuals in countries all around the world, through the universal language of music. Music opens the heart and awakens the Soul. The music we create doesn't focus on the latest hit or brand, but rather, explores culture, emotion, intelligence, and evolution. Many of us feel ccMixter provides a glimpse of what is possible when people share from their deepest and truest place within - when we share together.
ccMixter is unlike all other music sites on the web. We're not individuals each pushing our own creations. At ccMixter, every song is a collaboration, and represents our universal, global connection.
Detailed Attribution for: ccMixter.org Open Music for the World video
Detailed Attribution for: Voices of ccMixter - #MusicConnectsUs video
