Competitive Mixtaping

The worst thing about mixtaping is that all the reward you will ever get for your efforts will be a sense of satisfaction and, if you are good enough and lucky enough, the temporary admiration of your peers. I want more. I want medals and prize money. I want corporate sponsorship and international recognition. I want competitive mixtaping.

Each entrant will send a tape to the Regional Adjudication Department, an independent body made up of record store staff, late night radio DJs and - as a sop to the common man - one of the guys that stands at the DJ booth in clubs, trying to read the names of the records as they spin.

The RAD then listens to each tape. The best tapes are sent to the National Adjudication Department for consideration. The NAD is made up of John Peel, Nick Hornby, Pete Waterman, Tom Paulin and Boy George. These five men consider each of the tapes on the basis of the following criteria

a) Theme selection
b) Tune selection
c) Flow/sequencing
d) Surprises
e) In-between bits / intros (per Saveloy)

And a score is awarded for each. The pale-faced, skinny white boys behind the top five entries are then taken to a record shop and given £500. They have exactly 24 hours to come up with a mix tape on a theme (chosen by the public in a televised phone vote). All five 45 minute tapes are aired on Saturday night TV and are voted for by the public. The winner wins a big shiny medal, a caravaning holiday with John Peel and the chance to battle it out with the Americans and the Dutch in the International Mixtaping Challenge (sponsored by XBOX).