Backtracks
Backtracks was a private, Austin-based (with UK operations) media intelligence and analytics platform for audio and podcasts, offering API-first, privacy-preserving measurement, advertising, and hosting tools to publishers, advertisers, and listening apps; the platform was sunset in 2025.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersAustin, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Backtracks does
Backtracks was a private, US-incorporated (Backtracks, Inc., California-governed) deep tech media intelligence, analytics, and advertising company that focused on audio and podcasts, founded in 2016 in Austin, Texas with core operations also in the United Kingdom. The company was co-founded by Jonathan Gill (CEO and Head of Platform/Product) and Kevin Wright (CTO) and built an API-first, privacy-preserving platform that ingested multi-channel listening events (downloads, plays, retention, demographics, ad performance) across web, mobile, client-side, and server-side environments via SDKs and lightweight placeholder payloads that were enriched server-side. Core products included Backtracks Podcast Analytics, an embeddable Podcast Player, Podcast Hosting, and a Podcast Advertising module, alongside the Open Podcast Analytics (OPA) open-source standard on GitHub. AI capabilities were applied to fraud/anomaly detection, predictive audience trends, and knowledge retrieval, with metrics certified under IAB standards.
Backtracks monetized through paid subscription Plans (auto-renewing, non-refundable, billed in U.S. dollars) and a free Plan tier (one per person or legal entity), a media intelligence and ad-tech services layer for advertisers and ad networks, and a contractual right to anonymized data aggregation and repackaging. Distribution combined a self-serve online registration flow (PLG) with a demo-led enterprise sales motion targeting publishers, advertisers, and listening apps, supported by an open-source developer community around OPA. Recognized investors across six funding rounds totaling approximately $4.1M (2018-2021) included Kli Capital, Bull Creek Capital, Kleiner Perkins, Moonshots Capital (lead on the two largest rounds), Sputnik ATX, Wormhole Capital, Capital Factory, and Next Coast Ventures.
The company reached scale metrics of 40+ billion minutes of audio analyzed and thousands of podcasts serviced, and received industry recognition in 2022 (IAB certification) and 2025 (trade press round-up). However, as of 2025 the Backtracks platform is no longer available per the company website, the corporate copyright covers 2016-2025, and the commercial product has been sunset, though the legal entity Backtracks, Inc. remains referenced. No formal dissolution, acquisition, or change of control is documented in the provided source material.
Backtracks firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Backtracks
- Legal name
- Backtracks, Inc.
- Website
- https://backtracks.fm
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Closed
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Backtracks was a private, Austin-based (with UK operations) media intelligence and analytics platform for audio and podcasts, offering API-first, privacy-preserving measurement, advertising, and hosting tools to publishers, advertisers, and listening apps; the platform was sunset in 2025.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Backtracks industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Podcast Analytics & Audio Media Intelligence
- NAICS
- Media Streaming Distribution Services, Social Networks, and Other Media Networks and Content Providers (516210)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Podcast Analytics, Measurement & Attribution Platforms (MPAIADAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Creator Tools & Monetization Platforms (Podcasts/Audio) (MPAIADAG)
Keywords
Where Backtracks is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Austin
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Backtracks business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Paid Subscription Plans: Recurring Subscription Fees for paid Plans selected at registration, billed in advance (typically auto-renewing by the Subscription Period) and non-refundable, with payments in U.S. Dollars.
- Free Plan (Freemium): A free Plan tier offered alongside paid Plans, restricted to one per person or legal entity, intended as a land-and-expand funnel into paid subscriptions.
- Anonymized Data Aggregation & Repackaging: Backtracks reserves the right to collect, repackage, resell, utilize, or distribute anonymized data originating from customer usage of the platform, creating a secondary data-monetization stream.
- Audio & Podcast Advertising / Ad-Tech Services: As a media intelligence and advertising company, Backtracks supported advertising use cases (contextual audio advertising, programmatic, prebid, brand safety) for publishers and advertisers, with blog content covering audio ad effectiveness and frequency optimization.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Annual | Free Plan |
| Subscription | Annual | Paid Subscription Plan(s) |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Backtracks product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Backtracks built an API-first, privacy-preserving media intelligence and analytics platform for podcasts and audio. It ingests multi-channel event data (web, mobile, client, server) such as media.play and media.download, and provides IAB-certified verified metrics with AI-driven fraud detection to help publishers, advertisers, and listening apps understand audiences and grow listenership. The company also originated the Open Podcast Analytics (OPA) open-source standard on GitHub.
Product overview
Backtracks is a media intelligence and infrastructure platform for audio and podcasts, built as an API-first, privacy-preserving offering that combined multiple modules under one core platform. The Backtracks Podcast Analytics product is the central engine, ingesting event data (e.g., media.play, media.download) from the Backtracks Podcast Player, Podcast Hosting, and Podcast Advertising modules, as well as from third-party players and apps, and powering the Open Podcast Analytics (OPA) open-source standard. The platform is no longer available as of 2025.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Open Podcast Analytics (OPA): An open source podcast analytics standard created at Backtracks, providing the underlying framework for Backtracks' podcast analytics product.
Products and services
- Backtracks Podcast Analytics API-first podcast and audio analytics platform that tracks downloads, plays, unique listeners, retention, demographics, and ad performance across web, mobile, client, and server channels; provides IAB-certified verified metrics with AI-driven fraud detection and real-time and historical reporting for podcast publishers, advertisers, and listening apps.
- Open Podcast Analytics (OPA) Open-source standard for podcast and audio analytics originated at Backtracks and published on GitHub, intended to serve as the open analytics specification for the podcast industry.
- Backtracks Media Intelligence Platform Overarching media intelligence and infrastructure platform for audio and podcasts, combining privacy-preserving API-first technology for audio publishers, advertisers, and platforms to understand audiences and optimize listener experiences. The platform is no longer available as of 2025.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40+ billion minutes of audio analyzed on the platform
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Backtracks
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Backtracks technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability5 records
Feature6 records
Backtracks partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Backtracks competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Chartable: Chartable was a direct podcast analytics and attribution platform offering download measurement, promo attribution, and SmartLinks — overlapping directly with Backtracks' analytics and advertising modules. Acquired by Spotify in 2022, illustrating the consolidation pressure Backtracks faced.
- Podtrac: Podtrac provides industry-standard podcast measurement and analytics for publishers, advertisers, and agencies — a direct competitor to Backtracks' analytics and verified metrics offering, frequently listed alongside Backtracks in industry tool roundups.
- Triton Digital: Triton Digital offers podcast and digital audio measurement, ad serving, and programmatic infrastructure — competing with Backtracks' analytics and advertising modules at the publisher/advertiser layer. Listed alongside Backtracks in industry podcast analytics comparisons.
Broad incumbents
- Spotify for Podcasters: Spotify's first-party podcast analytics for creators competes with Backtracks by offering free, integrated analytics to the world's largest podcast audience — a scale and distribution advantage Backtracks could not match.
- Apple Podcasts Connect: Apple Podcasts Connect provides built-in analytics for shows on Apple's podcast directory, serving as a free incumbent alternative to Backtracks' analytics product for any publisher distributing on Apple.
- Acast: Acast is a global podcast hosting, monetization, and analytics platform — a broader incumbent that bundles the same publisher needs (hosting, analytics, advertising) that Backtracks addressed through its modular platform.
- ART19: ART19 provides podcast hosting, ad insertion (dynamic), and analytics for enterprise publishers — directly comparable to Backtracks' hosting and analytics modules, serving a similar podcast publisher and advertiser customer base.
- Spotify Ad Studio: Spotify Ad Studio is Spotify's self-serve audio advertising platform — a broader incumbent in digital audio advertising that overlaps with Backtracks' contextual/programmatic audio advertising offering and competes for the same advertiser budgets.
Emerging players
- Podscribe: Podscribe offers podcast attribution and analytics focused on measuring advertising ROI and lift — overlapping with Backtracks' advertiser-facing attribution and ad performance measurement use cases.
- Podcorn: Podcorn is a podcast sponsorship marketplace connecting advertisers and podcasters — overlapping with Backtracks' Podcast Advertising module and serving similar podcast advertiser/creator segments.
Market position
Strengths3 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Backtracks social profiles
Digital presenceBacktracks compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Backtracks financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Backtracks leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Backtracks funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds6 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Backtracks M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Backtracks
What does Backtracks do?
Backtracks built an API-first, privacy-preserving media intelligence and analytics platform for podcasts and audio. It ingests multi-channel event data (web, mobile, client, server) such as media.play and media.download, and provides IAB-certified verified metrics with AI-driven fraud detection to help publishers, advertisers, and listening apps understand audiences and grow listenership. The company also originated the Open Podcast Analytics (OPA) open-source standard on GitHub.
Is Backtracks a public or private company?
Backtracks is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently closed.
When was Backtracks founded?
Backtracks was founded in 2016. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Backtracks based?
Backtracks is headquartered in Austin, United States, in the North America region.
How does Backtracks make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Paid Subscription Plans are the primary driver. The others are free Plan (Freemium), anonymized Data Aggregation & Repackaging and audio & Podcast Advertising / Ad-Tech Services.
Who are Backtracks's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Chartable, Podtrac and Triton Digital. Broad incumbents are Spotify for Podcasters, Apple Podcasts Connect, Acast, ART19 and Spotify Ad Studio. Emerging players are Podscribe and Podcorn.
Does Backtracks have an API?
Yes. Backtracks built API-first technology for podcast and audio analytics ingestion. Developers can integrate Backtracks Podcast Analytics into a website, mobile app, or server-side in a few lines of code, sending structured event payloads such as "media.download" and "media.play" (with playbackRate, volume, muted, paused, currentTime, user_id, memo, and ISO-8601 time fields). The platform also exposes Open Podcast Analytics (OPA), an open-source analytics standard initiated at Backtracks and available on GitHub. Developer documentation is at github.com/backtracks/open-podcast-analytics.
What industry is Backtracks in?
Backtracks's product category is Podcast Analytics & Audio Media Intelligence. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIADAL, Podcast Analytics, Measurement & Attribution Platforms, with a secondary code of MPAIADAG, Creator Tools & Monetization Platforms (Podcasts/Audio). Its NAICS code is 516210.