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8tracks raises more finance

By | Published on Tuesday 2 September 2014

8tracks

Having shunned Google’s acquisition approach – and they did shun it, they shunned Google right in the face, and Google bosses hate being shunned in the face, it distracts them from screwing over indie labels – the folks at 8tracks have raised nearly $1.3 million in new funding.

8tracks is one of those trendy streaming services of the interactive-radio, curated-playlists, licenced-through-SoundExchange kind, and is supposedly popular with young Americans (those not too distracted by porn and reality TV). Reliable word had it earlier this year that Google tried to buy the start-up in a bid to get a decent music curation team in-house. After its approached was knocked back, the web giant went off and bought 8tracks rival Songza instead.

Surprisingly for a buzzy streaming music start-up, 8tracks hasn’t spent all that much money so far – $1.5 million according to Venturebeat – an achievement mainly possible because it is utilising the statutory SoundExchange licence available for such services in the US, meaning no mega-bucks deal-sweeteners for the labels were necessary to get things going.

Though management have also resisted that common temptation in start-ups-ville to haemorrhage cash to fuel unnecessary growth to convince investment types you’re the next big thing, and are therefore a rare beast in being a profitable streaming music business that doesn’t need to do the billion dollar deal to pay-back early-door investors.

The new $1.28 million in finance, confirmed in an SEC filing, has mainly come from existing investors, according to 8tracks founder David Porter. The current funding round is still ongoing, though, and could top $1.4 million. Porter declined to discuss what the funding will be used for when asked by VentureBeat, saying such musings would be more appropriate once the finance round has closed. Though boosting the firm’s ad sales operation is likely to be a priority.



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