Napster creators team up again with social video company, Airtime
by Leigh Goessl (Guest writer/Digital Journalist)
It looks like Sean Parker and Shawn Fanning, the duo that transformed the concept of music sharing, are teaming up again in a new venture. Parker is also known for being one of the first investors in Facebook.
Parker and Fanning are reportedly creating a new social video company together. The new startup had briefly been mentioned during an interview at SXSW, but word had also gotten out last fall that a new company was forthcoming. The interview, which was focused on the pair’s upcoming film, “Downloaded,” which documents the rise and fall of the once mighty Napster, made mention of a new company being launched, called Airtime, an upstart by the reunited partners.
What’s Airtime?
According to TechCrunch, Airtime is a new company co-founded by Parker and Manning that is gearing up for launch. TechCrunch notes the “precious little info” on what Airtime will do. And this evaluation appears to be spot on.
Checking out Airtime’s new website, not much detail is shared on the page. Business Insider had reported in Oct. 2011 that Fanning will be the company’s CEO and Parker will be the executive chairman.
Can Parker and Fanning create a new web transformation?
It also appears as if Airtime has some impressive backers.
The startup’s homepage lists Airtime’s backers as Founders Fund, Accel Partners, Andreessen Horowitz, Google Ventures, SV Angel, Yuri Milner, Ashton Kutcher, will.i.am, Scott Braun, and Michael Arrington. Reportedly $8.3 million has been put into the new venture to date.
Mystery of Airtime
As mentioned above, a bit of a mystery remains by looking at Airtime’s website. There is a button, using Facebook to sign up, to request early access. There are also four links advertising engineering positions, so the company is definitely looking to build. Other features on the website includeTerms of Service, and a Privacy Policy.
While Airtime’s mission and services are not quite yet certain, one thing appears clear is that it will be integrated with Facebook, at least initially. This is perhaps not surprising since Parker was in on the ground floor as its first president when Facebook emerged from infancy and remains invested in the company today.Airtime’s Terms of Service state, “Airtime is currently only available if you have an established Facebook account in good standing, abide by Facebook and Airtime’s terms of service, are at least 13 years of age and are legally able to be bound by these Terms of Use.”
However, how connected Airtime will remain to the social network giant in the long-term remains to be seen.No official word on when Airtime will launch and be open to the public.
This article was previously published in Digital Journal [Link]
Photo courtesy of LeWeb11