Here's the short and sweet of it:

./configure; make; make install

You'll still need to make a configuration file in /etc/mt-daapd.conf

You can use the sample in contrib/mt-daapd.conf as a starting point.

cp contrib/mt-daapd.conf /etc
cp contrib/mt-daapd.playlist /etc

Edit /etc/mt-daapd.conf to taste.

You'll still need distro-specific startup scripts.  Check
the contrib directory to see if there are rc scripts for your
distro.

Questions?  Check the forums at www.mt-daapd.org or mail 
rpedde@users.sourceforge.net