In 2016, 8tracks became one of the first startups in history to become directly owned by the people who use it, thanks to 4,000 DJs, listeners, and angel investors who participated in the crowdfunding round. All of our investors received a lifetime upgrade to our premium, ad-free service, 8tracks Plus. We’re pleased to announce that a fresh crowdfunding round (with the same perks) is coming soon.
In our first crowdfunding round, a number of investors were unable to participate because of a variety of issues and limited payment methods. In this new round, we’ve partnered with WeFunder – a user-friendly company that offers streamlined payment methods, accepts investors from outside the US, and self-describes as “a place where you can invest in the startups you love to solve the problems you care about.”
Thanks to healthy growth in 8tracks Plus subscribers as well as the recent rollout of audio ads – and associated removal of the overly restrictive, one-hour/week listening limit – we’re getting ever closer to financial sustainability. Your support will allow us to increase our focus on new features, integrations, and improvements important to the community.
Before our new crowdfunding round opens in April, we’d love to understand if you’d consider participating. Check out our WeFunder profile here to learn more about our progress and to let us know if you’d like to invest.
8 Facts About 8tracks & The Upcoming WeFunder Round
#1. All investors will receive a lifetime upgrade to 8tracks Plus – our premium subscription service ($4.99/month) with unlimited, ad-free listening, along with access to an exclusive investor Facebook group and a shiny investor badge on your 8tracks profile.
#2. Thanks in large part to the steady growth of 8tracks Plus subscribers, we reached gross profitability last October and we’re on track to achieve net profitability by the end of Q1. To give some perspective, here are a few music streaming services which are not currently profitable: Spotify, SoundCloud, Pandora, Deezer, Tidal, iHeartRadio, Napster.
#3. Last month, thanks to the introduction of audio ads, we were able to significantly raise the free listening limit for US listeners (less than 1% of listeners reach the limit now). Early results look positive, and we hope to be able to remove the limits altogether in the near future.
#4. WeFunder offers an excellent selection of robust payment methods, including all major credit cards, bank accounts, checks, and even Bitcoin. Oh, and the minimum investment is just $100.
#5. There’s a staggering amount of handcrafted playlists on 8tracks, with over 3m curated by 765,000 DJs and more being published every day.
#6. We’re the #3 internet radio service for US millennials, with ⅔ of all streaming coming from independent labels & artists. We’re all about helping people discover great and often new music that doesn’t get surfaced by algorithms.
#7. More than $5m has been raised so far from over 4,000 investors including Andreessen Horowitz, Index Ventures, Steve Aoki, and the CEO of Atlantic Records.
#8. Here’s what funding will help us achieve over the next year:
- Improve the listener experience with our new “Stations” concept, making it easy for listeners to search and save sets of playlists organized by taste and context
- Simplify the DJ experience through new features, offering mix creation on our mobile apps, and offering a larger music library with content from major labels
- Integrate 8tracks where and how listeners tune in today, ensuring 8tracks complements on-demand listening (e.g. Spotify) and is available on voice-enabled devices (e.g. Amazon Echo)
- Sign key deals with major and indie labels to expand music library, provide offline listening, and allow more skips
- Optimize our advertising sales process and products
- Increase subscriptions through a better product (e.g. more features, exclusive content), and better marketing (e.g. customer referral program, optimizing price points)
And there’s so much more we’ll be able to accomplish with your help! Follow our WeFunder profile to be notified the second our round launches.
–David Porter | CEO & Founder, 8tracks
8TRACKS’ OFFERING MATERIALS MAY CONTAIN FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS AND INFORMATION RELATING TO, AMONG OTHER THINGS, THE COMPANY, ITS BUSINESS PLAN AND STRATEGY, AND ITS INDUSTRY. THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS ARE BASED ON THE BELIEFS OF, ASSUMPTIONS MADE BY, AND INFORMATION CURRENTLY AVAILABLE TO THE COMPANY’S MANAGEMENT. WHEN USED IN THE OFFERING MATERIALS, THE WORDS “ESTIMATE,” “PROJECT,” “BELIEVE,” “ANTICIPATE,” “INTEND,” “EXPECT” AND SIMILAR EXPRESSIONS ARE INTENDED TO IDENTIFY FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, WHICH CONSTITUTE FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS. THESE STATEMENTS REFLECT MANAGEMENT’S CURRENT VIEWS WITH RESPECT TO FUTURE EVENTS AND ARE SUBJECT TO RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES THAT COULD CAUSE THE COMPANY’S ACTUAL RESULTS TO DIFFER MATERIALLY FROM THOSE CONTAINED IN THE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS. INVESTORS ARE CAUTIONED NOT TO PLACE UNDUE RELIANCE ON THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, WHICH SPEAK ONLY AS OF THE DATE ON WHICH THEY ARE MADE. THE COMPANY DOES NOT UNDERTAKE ANY OBLIGATION TO REVISE OR UPDATE THESE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS TO REFLECT EVENTS OR CIRCUMSTANCES AFTER SUCH DATE OR TO REFLECT THE OCCURRENCE OF UNANTICIPATED EVENTS. THE COMPANY IS “TESTING THE WATERS” UNDER REGULATION A UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933. THIS PROCESS ALLOWS COMPANIES TO DETERMINE WHETHER THERE MAY BE INTEREST IN AN EVENTUAL OFFERING OF ITS SECURITIES. THE COMPANY IS NOT UNDER ANY OBLIGATION TO MAKE AN OFFERING UNDER REGULATION A. IT MAY CHOOSE TO MAKE AN OFFERING TO SOME, BUT NOT ALL, OF THE PEOPLE WHO INDICATE AN INTEREST IN INVESTING, AND THAT OFFERING MIGHT NOT BE MADE UNDER REGULATION A. IF THE COMPANY DOES GO AHEAD WITH AN OFFERING, IT WILL ONLY BE ABLE TO MAKE SALES AFTER IT HAS FILED AN OFFERING STATEMENT WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) AND THE SEC HAS “QUALIFIED” THE OFFERING STATEMENT. THE INFORMATION IN THAT OFFERING STATEMENT WILL BE MORE COMPLETE THAN THE INFORMATION THE COMPANY IS PROVIDING NOW, AND COULD DIFFER IN IMPORTANT WAYS. YOU MUST READ THE DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC BEFORE INVESTING. NO MONEY OR OTHER CONSIDERATION IS BEING SOLICITED, AND IF SENT IN RESPONSE, WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. NO OFFER TO BUY THE SECURITIES CAN BE ACCEPTED AND NO PART OF THE PURCHASE PRICE CAN BE RECEIVED UNTIL THE OFFERING STATEMENT FILED BY THE COMPANY WITH THE SEC HAS BEEN QUALIFIED BY THE SEC. ANY SUCH OFFER MAY BE WITHDRAWN OR REVOKED, WITHOUT OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND, AT ANY TIME BEFORE NOTICE OF ACCEPTANCE GIVEN AFTER THE DATE OF QUALIFICATION. AN INDICATION OF INTEREST INVOLVES NO OBLIGATION OR COMMITMENT OF ANY KIND.
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