Turntable.fm, the social media site that allowed users to interactively share music, has shut down.
Co-founder Billy Chasen says it took years to get music royalty deals with record labels, noting that a music start-up is “an incredibly expensive venture to pursue and a hard industry to work with.” The company “spent more than a quarter of our cash on lawyers, royalties and services related to supporting music. It’s restrictive,” he writes.
Launched two years ago, the service combined what it said were “music-streaming, chat rooms and voting” by simulating a virtual environment filled with audience members and so-called “DJ,”s represented by player avatars. Users could talk to each other through a text interface.
In November, he announced Turntable.fm would shut down in order to focus on its Turntable Live service, which allowed musicians to perform interactive online concerts.
Chasen says that has now closed and he’s moved on to another, nonmusic startup.
