turntable.fm

About turntable.fm

Turntable.fm emerged in May 2011 as a social media website focused on collaborative music streaming, founded by Billy Chasen, Joseph Perla, and Seth Goldstein. The platform was a pivot from the team's previous venture, Stickybits, a mobile app that failed to gain significant user traction. Turntable.fm allowed users to enter virtual "rooms," where they could act as DJs, playing music for other users in the room who were represented by customizable avatars. The interactive experience included a chat function and a voting system where users could rate songs, influencing the DJ's score.

The service experienced rapid initial growth, attracting 140,000 active users by June 2011 and eventually securing a $7 million Series A funding round led by Union Square Ventures, with participation from notable figures like Lady Gaga and Kanye West. The company generated revenue through a premium feature called "Turntable Gold," which offered an ad-free experience and enhanced avatar options for a monthly fee. Despite its initial popularity, the platform faced challenges related to high operating costs, particularly music licensing fees, and ultimately shut down in December 2013.

In 2021, the Turntable concept saw a resurgence, leading to a complex situation with two separate entities. Billy Chasen, the original CEO, revived the Turntable.fm domain with $7.5 million in funding led by Andreessen Horowitz. Simultaneously, Joseph Perla, the original VP of Technology, launched a rival service initially called tt.fm and Turntable.org, which was built from scratch and explored a subscription-based model. As of 2024, these two ventures have evolved; Chasen's project is now known as Deepcut.fm, while Perla's company, Turntable Labs, has launched a new social listening platform called Hangout, which secured $8.2 million in seed funding. Hangout aims to create a participatory online space for music enjoyment and real-time social interaction, addressing what Perla sees as a need for more compelling ways to bring people together through music.