Consider mixes a strange hallway point between being a radio DJ and a club or party DJ, just without the need for any of the expensive equipment. Now, you can share long-form compilations of all the music you like online with just a DAW and your computer. These mixes are a lot like the tapes and burned CD’s of yesteryear, just now with the ability to be put out digitally on any music sharing site.
Now, there is no need for a broadcast mixer console and studio of a radio DJ, or the turntables, mixer, and sound system of a club or party DJ. To make a mix you need two things, a computer and a DAW, and now I’ll explain how to do it. First, acquire the files for the songs you want to include in your mix. These could come from somewhere like Bandcamp that includes them when you purchase music, they could be dragged and dropped from your iTunes or other music library, or they could come from somewhere like a Youtube to MP3 converter if you are willing to risk quality. After you have these files you drop them into the file in your DAW in order, add transitions or blend the end of one into the beginning of another if you want, export, and you’re done.
The ease of this process and its lack of necessary equipment are what make this process so democratic and interesting. There are so many different people making mixes, and they are all reflections of his, her, or their taste. Someone from Baltimore is likely to include music that is popular in Baltimore, which could be drastically different to what’s popular in the streets of Memphis. Services like Soundcloud, Mixcloud, and Bandcamp allow you to publish these to the internet free of charge, and I highly recommend checking them out and seeing what you come across.