BigChampagne's Ultimate Chart (a/o February 10th):
1. “What Doesn't Kill You (Stronger),” Kelly Clarkson
2. “Set Fire to the Rain,” Adele
3. “Turn Me On,” David Guetta
4. “Rack City,” TYGA
5. “Good Feeling,” Flo Rida
6. “Smooth Criminal (Glee Cast Version),” Glee Cast
7. “Young, Wild & Free,” Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa
8. “Domino ,” Jessie J
9. “Sexy and I Know It,” LMFAO
10. “Ass Back Home ,” Gym Class Heroes
Slacker has now grabbed a $5 million bridge round, precious funding during illiquid times. Investors in the round included Sevin Rosen Funds, Rho Ventures, Centennial Ventures, Mission Ventures and Austin Ventures, according to regulatory filings unearthed by VentureWire. The company has now rustled an impressive $58.5 million, thanks partly to a leadership circle that involves MusicMatch cofounder Dennis Mudd and former iRiver CEO Jonathan Sasse.
Slacker has an innovative proposition, one perhaps a few steps ahead of its time. The concept revolves around a recommendation service, as well as a companion player that allows users to customize radio stations on-the-go, even while disconnected from the net. Songs can also be tagged for later playback, or simply transferred to the device.
That represents a big step beyond the iPod, though most music fans are not stretching outside of their comfortable iPod+iPhone+iTunes ecosystem. In fact, most of the attention is now swirling around the iPhone and its ultra-successful App Store. The halo includes competitor Pandora, a primarily online concept that smartly jumped onto the iPhone months before Slacker. The move ended up being a game-changing moment, one that suddenly leveled the playing field on the hardware end. In response, Slacker has recently spread to both the BlackBerry and iPhone.
So, what is an investor to do? The Slacker concept has promise, but blue-sky possibilities are now facing some seriously-gray, macroeconomic clouds. But according to at least one VC, mega-bets like Slacker are difficult to walk away from, leaving the possibility that investors are keeping the funds flowing until conditions clear for an acquisition, IPO, or greater consumer uptake down the road.
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