---
title: "Getting Started with Rock or Pop"
source: https://fieldbw.com/docs/rock-or-pop/getting-started
---

# Getting Started with Rock or Pop

## What is Rock or Pop?

[Rock or Pop](https://rockorpop.com) turns YouTube playlists into virtual cassette tapes. Paste a playlist URL, customise the look of your tape, and share it with a link. The recipient sees your cassette — complete with animated reels, your custom label, and full playback controls.

Try it at [rockorpop.com](https://rockorpop.com).

## Creating a Tape

1. **Find a YouTube playlist** you want to turn into a mixtape
2. **Paste the URL** into Rock or Pop — it accepts standard playlist URLs, video-with-playlist URLs, and short URLs
3. **Customise the look** — choose a cover design, shell colour, background pattern, and write a label
4. **Hit play** — the cassette reels spin, tracks advance, and the tape spools move with playback progress

If you land on the site without a URL, a random preset tape loads automatically.

## Customisation

Every tape has four things you can change:

### Cover design

Five cassette cover designs with different visual aesthetics. Pick the one that fits the mood of your playlist.

### Shell colour

Ten cassette body colours: blue, orange, dark grey, light grey, green, yellow, red, purple, pink, and cream.

### Background

24 background styles ranging from clean gradients to retro patterns, animated synthwave grids, and textured surfaces like wood grain and denim.

### Label

Free-text label for your tape. This appears on the cassette and in social media previews when you share it.

## Playback

Controls are straightforward: play/pause, previous track, next track. The cassette reels animate during playback — the left spool shrinks as tape plays out while the right spool grows. Track title and progress (e.g. "3 of 12") are shown below the cassette.

## Preset Tapes

Rock or Pop includes curated preset tapes to get started:

**Curated collections** — Campfire Classics, Back to School, BOC, 80s German Synth, 80s All The Way, An Afternoon's Electronica, Somewhere in Northern Italy 1983

**Hotlists** — Pop Hotlist 2025, Hip-Hop Hotlist, Country Hotlist, Latin Hotlist 2025

## Sharing

Every tape is encoded in the URL. When you share a link, the recipient sees your exact cassette — same cover, shell, background, label, and playlist.

**Copy link** — copies the current tape URL to your clipboard.

**Social sharing** — share directly to Facebook, X, or LinkedIn. Social media previews show the actual cassette design as a card image with your label and current track.

## URL Parameters

The full state lives in the URL:

```
rockorpop.com/?cover=1&shell=10&bg=6&label=Campfire%20Classics&playlist=RDCLAK5uy_...
```

| Parameter | Values | Description |
|-----------|--------|-------------|
| `cover` | 1–5 | Cassette cover design |
| `shell` | 1–10 | Cassette body colour |
| `bg` | 1–24 | Background pattern |
| `label` | text | Tape label (URL-encoded) |
| `playlist` | ID | YouTube playlist ID |
| `video` | ID | Start at a specific video (optional) |

Default values (1) are omitted to keep URLs short.