By Ed Christman and Hillary Crosley

NEW YORK (Billboard) - In a move designed to fill the void created by the Recording Industry Association of America's crackdown on the formidable business of mixtapes, Universal Music Enterprises (UME) is trying its hand at legal mixtapes.

The company has created a series titled "Lethal Squad Mixtapes," expected to retail for $5 to $6. But it's unclear whether a corporate take on the grass-roots idea of mixtapes -- compilations, usually of copyrighted songs from other sources -- will wash.

"I'm excited to see them do something different," said Thuy Ngo, vice president at Irvine, Calif., music wholesaler Super D. "But it's like they're a day late and a dollar short: After the RIAA cracked down, all of us stopped carrying mixtapes."

The mixtape business was a lucrative market where labels, artists and DJs -- Whookid and DJ Drama key among them -- boosted their brands with CDs that were sold via the Internet, on the street and in brick-and-mortar retailers. But after the federal government arrested DJ Drama and Don Cannon, a hip-hop DJ and producer, on racketeering charges in January, the industry ground to a halt.

Since then, mixtape releases have been sporadic. And though mixtapes were a proven way to break new artists like Young Jeezy, labels still view them as piracy when they're for sale and include unlicensed music.

"How ironic," DJ Drama said of Universal's plans. "I guess they've realized just how important mixtapes are."

The initial "Lethal Squad Mixtapes: Dose #1," mixed by Washington, D.C., newcomer DJ Bear, was released quietly July 13 and includes tracks by established stars such as Fabolous and Kanye West and lesser-knowns such as Young Chris and Jae Ellis. It has sold only 5,800 units, according to Nielsen SoundScan. "Lethal Squad Mixtapes: Dose #2" is slated for September and will be mixed by Bear and Washington, D.C., radio DJ Quiksilva.

"It's a good idea, but you need the underground credibility, and nobody knows the DJ on it," one chain buyer said.

"The DJ situation will play itself out," UME executive vice president and general manager Mike Davis said. "If one really works, we're going to stick with him."

But some indie stores contacted by Billboard seemed unaware that the tape is even out. Both Gus Joannides, who owns urban-oriented Sound City in Astoria, N.Y., and Skippy White, who owns a store bearing his name in Boston, said they hadn't heard of the tape's existence. Both also reported that none of their customers had come in asking for it -- a usual indicator of a mixtape's word-of-mouth awareness.

But Joannides applauded the concept, if not the execution. Of tracks included on the disc, "half the stuff is current and half is past, and there are a couple of things that are now well known," he said. "But I am glad that Universal is trying to shake the boat up and get mixtapes back in the store."

Reuters/Billboard
© Copyright 2007 Reuters.