Internet radio station platform Live365, a Pittsburgh-based company from SoundStack, announced it entered into a distribution agreement with TuneIn, one of the nation's largest online radio broadcasters.
As a result of the agreement, premium Live365 users will be able to access distribution on TuneIn's new On Air program, which allows internet radio broadcasters the ability to expand their audience to the 30 million TuneIn listeners who use TuneIn's app and its other platforms, like those found in vehicles.
"This partnership with Live365 fits perfectly within our mission to reinvent radio for a connected world and democratize access to radio for broadcasters large and small," Richard Stern, CEO of TuneIn, said in a prepared statement. "We're thrilled to help more broadcasters reach TuneIn's expansive audience."
Jon Stephenson, the CEO and founder of Live365 and SoundStack, expressed his excitement for the agreement in a prepared statement. Stephenson first founded Live365 in 1999 using funds he saved from designing websites.
"As internet radio pioneers, this is an extraordinary opportunity to combine forces and allow broadcasters to utilize Live365's easy-to-use tools and licensing coverage while reaching TuneIn's millions of listeners," Stephenson said. "We're proud to offer this to our community as we focus on expanding our distribution offering."
Stephenson officially celebrated the launch of SoundStack — as well as the debut of its flagship product, the SoundStack Engine — in April 2022. It's vying to be the audio industry's premier tool that automates and supports streaming, podcasting and monetization efforts via a single user interface. Its affiliated companies — Abovecast, Audio Catapult, EmpireStreaming, Live365 and Media Creek — have over 12,000 publishers combined who are using their services. It has a full-time staff of over 50 people, about a dozen of whom reside and work in Pittsburgh while the others work remotely.
