8tracks

Our mission is to be the best place for people who care about music to create and discover thoughtfully curated playlists. In essence, 8tracks is a platform for online mixtapes.

Playlists are compiled by people who know and love music. DJs upload MP3s from their music collection or select songs from the 8tracks library to sequence a playlist of at least 8 tracks. DJs create context for each playlist with a title, cover art, description, and tags that classify the playlist by genre, activity and mood. Listeners browse or search tags and artists to find a playlist of interest, or simply enjoy a playlist recommended based on their music preferences.

8tracks reaches 5M monthly active users who stream 20M-30M hours of music each month. Around two-thirds of that streaming is delivered to mobile devices and two-thirds is delivered to listeners in the U.S. and Canada. According to comScore, 8tracks is the third-largest “pure play” internet radio service among U.S. millennials.

Even with large incumbents, the market opportunity for online music is significant. Some 80% of all music listening is delivered through some form of radio -- be it traditional, satellite, or internet. And 80% of radio listening in the U.S. still happens through traditional radio. As it becomes easier to tune into internet radio in the car and home, we believe that lean-back radio listening will shift online and the market in both the U.S. and beyond is up for grabs.

Launched on August 8th, 2008, 8tracks was bootstrapped without employees for its first three years of existence. In August 2011, it hired its first full-time employees. Shortly thereafter it raised a $1.2M Seed round from Index Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, 14W (backed by Len Blavatnik, whose Access Industries owns Warner Music Group), and a handful of angels from the music sector. Our angel investors included DJs Pete Tong and Steve Aoki, as well as Atlantic Records’ Chairman Craig Kallman, and Shazam co-founder Philip Inghelbrecht. The company has raised $3.3M to date and currently employs 26 people in Mission Dolores, San Francisco, and the Flatiron District, New York City, with satellite advertising salespeople in Chicago and Toronto.

What investors in 8tracks are saying

"8tracks is the future of radio."

- Pete Tong | DJ & Producer, BBC Radio 1

"8tracks is more than just a music service -- it's a real community built on a shared love of music."

- Steve Aoki | DJ & Producer, Dim Mak Records

"It's been amazing to watch 8tracks grow over the years. There's simply nothing else quite like it."

- Philip Inghelbrecht | Founder, Shazam; ex-YouTube

“Playlisting has exploded to become an amazing path for fans to discover and share music. The team at 8tracks has nailed it by forging a fantastic community that brings together artists, DJs, and listeners in a dynamic, creative exchange. It’s a great way to promote artists, but more importantly, it gives fans a compelling destination to find new music, which makes it a win-win for everyone.” 

- Craig Kallman | Chairman, CEO, Atlantic Records