Hangout
Hangout (Turntable Labs, Inc.) is a free, consumer social music streaming platform with synchronized listening rooms, human curation, and the Turntable.AI generative music feature, available across web, iOS, and Android with 2M+ registered users.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2023
- HeadquartersMiami, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Hangout does
Hangout, operated by Turntable Labs, Inc. (Delaware, headquartered at 1111 Brickell Ave., Floor 10, Miami), is a consumer social music streaming platform that combines synchronized group listening rooms with chat, avatars, and human curation. The service is offered free across web (hang.fm), iOS, and Android, and integrates with Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and SoundCloud so users can import existing playlists and export saves. It is built on signed licensing agreements with Sony, Universal, and Warner covering 100M+ streamable songs, plus mechanical and performance rights deals with The MLC and SOCAN.
The core product experience centers on virtual "hangouts" or rooms where users listen to music in perfect synchronization, chat in real time, and host sessions such as AMA Hang interviews with artists and founders. A second product surface, Turntable.AI (launched December 2024), adds generative AI music creation inside the platform: users describe a vibe in text and receive an original 30-second to 3-minute track, with rights-holder payouts per generation. The AI capability is explicitly NOT used for music curation or discovery, which is intentionally human-driven.
Hangout's business model is freemium with limited monetization to date: the platform is free to all users, with revenue described as coming from partnerships and sponsorships (e.g., Lovable site-takeover campaign, Human Protocol underwriting 1M free AI tracks) and future monetization pathways through Turntable.AI. Cumulative disclosed funding is approximately $15.2 million across a March 2023 $7M round and an August 2024 $8.2M seed. The user base is reported at 2M+ registered with 90% room-stickiness, and the company is led by founder and CEO Joseph Perla, who previously created Turntable.fm (2010-2013).
Hangout firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Hangout
- Legal name
- Turntable Labs, inc.
- Website
- https://hangout.fm
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2023
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Hangout (Turntable Labs, Inc.) is a free, consumer social music streaming platform with synchronized listening rooms, human curation, and the Turntable.AI generative music feature, available across web, iOS, and Android with 2M+ registered users.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Hangout industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Music Streaming
- NAICS
- Broadcasting and Content Providers (516), Sound Recording Industries (5122)
- SIC
- Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)
- akta.pro primary industry
- On-Demand Music Streaming (Interactive) (MPAIACAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Drop-in Live Audio Social Platforms (Open Rooms/Stages) (MPACAEAA), Community/Group Chat Platforms (BPAMACAH)
Keywords
Where Hangout is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Miami
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Hangout business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Operations
Revenue model
- Free Music Streaming: Core platform is free for users. Revenue generated through partnerships, sponsorships, and potential future premium features.
- Sponsorships & Partnerships: Brand partnerships and sponsorships such as Lovable campaign, sponsored avatars, and micro build-a-thon events.
- AI Music Generation (Future): Turntable.AI feature rolling out December 2024. Human Protocol sponsoring 1 million free songs. Future monetization potential through AI music creation features.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Tier |
| Subscription | Monthly | Greeter Compensation |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Hangout product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Hangout operates a free social music streaming platform that lets users enter virtual rooms and listen to music together in real time with synchronized playback, chat, avatars, and human-curated discovery. The service includes a catalog of 100+ million licensed songs from Sony, Universal, and Warner, integrates playlists from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and SoundCloud, and offers Turntable.AI for AI music generation inside rooms.
Product overview
Hangout (Turntable Labs) operates a social music streaming platform combining group chats with music streaming. The core product, Hangout.fm, offers real-time synchronized listening in virtual rooms with human curation. A key add-on module, Turntable.AI, enables AI-generated music creation within rooms. The platform supports desktop, mobile web, iOS, and Android, and integrates with Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and SoundCloud for playlist access. Users participate in themed rooms, host AMA Hangs, share tracks, and collaborate on playlists.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Turntable.AI: AI music generation feature that allows users to create original songs within the Hangout platform using natural language prompts, built on a licensed global music catalog.
Products and services
- Hangout.fm Social Music Platform Free cross-platform social music streaming service where users enter virtual rooms to listen to music together in real time, with synchronized playback, chat, avatars, themed rooms, and human-curated discovery. Available on web, iOS, and Android for individual music fans and communities.
- Turntable.AI AI music generation module embedded in Hangout rooms that creates original 30-second to 3-minute tracks from text prompts, trained on fully licensed catalog data, with preview, segment editing, regeneration, save, add to DJ queue, and share for remix features. Aimed at creators and DJs in social listening contexts.
Quantifiable outcome
- 90% user retention to same rooms with same people
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Hangout
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Hangout technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability3 records
Feature5 records
Hangout partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- LovableminorSponsorship partnership (Aug 25-31, 2025) including site takeover, micro build-a-thon event, co-branded avatars (Pixel the PM, Figgy the Designer, Nova the Founder, Loop the Coder, Vee the Visionary), and promotional codes.
- Music LeaguecorePartnership enabling Music League users to import playlists and host real-time listening parties. Hangout is free for all Music League users. Allows Spotify playlist import for synchronized playback.
- Human ProtocolminorSponsor of Turntable.AI launch, providing 1 million free AI-generated songs for users. Part of Human Protocol's mission to support music creation.
- Sony MusiccoreMajor music licensing partnership enabling access to Sony's catalog of recorded music for streaming on the Hangout platform. Part of three major label deals.
- Universal Music GroupcoreMajor music licensing partnership enabling access to Universal's catalog of recorded music for streaming on the Hangout platform.
- Warner Music GroupcoreMajor music licensing partnership enabling access to Warner's catalog of recorded music for streaming on the Hangout platform.
- SpotifycoreIntegration allowing users to import Spotify playlists and access music streaming. Users can connect Spotify accounts without requiring Premium subscription for Hangout listening.
- Apple MusiccoreIntegration for music streaming access and playlist import. Users can access Apple Music libraries through Hangout platform.
- DiscordminorCommunity platform for announcements, events, and user engagement. Used for build-a-thon collaboration and community building.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Hangout competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Spotify: Largest global music streaming platform with social features like Blend and shared sessions. Overlaps with Hangout on music streaming, playlist import/export, and social listening, but operates at vastly larger scale and serves a much broader use case beyond social rooms.
- Discord: Community chat platform widely used by Hangout for engagement (announced Discord integration February 2025). Overlaps with Hangout's group-chat-and-music value proposition and competes for community time, though Discord is not a music streaming service.
- Apple Music: Major DSP integrated with Hangout for playlist import. Operates as a full subscription music service with broader content and discovery features; comparable as a streaming partner and as a competitor with overlapping social-listening ambitions.
- TIDAL: HiFi-focused music streaming service owned by Block (formerly Square). Comparable on licensed catalog streaming and artist-friendly positioning, though TIDAL is a traditional subscription DSP rather than a social-first platform.
Direct peers
- SoundCloud: Music streaming platform known for independent creators and social engagement around tracks. Comparable as a music provider integrated into Hangout and as a peer in user-generated music discovery and creator-driven communities.
- Bandcamp: Artist-friendly music platform enabling direct-to-fan releases, community engagement, and social discovery. Comparable on the creator-and-community axis of Hangout's value proposition, though Bandcamp is download-first rather than streaming-first.
- Turntable.fm: Original social music platform launched by Joseph Perla in 2011, featuring virtual rooms with avatars and DJ rotation. Hangout is the direct spiritual successor and shares the same founder, concept, and core social-listening mechanic.
- Stationhead: Social music streaming app that lets listeners broadcast live DJ sessions and host listening parties with real-time chat. Closest direct competitor in the synchronized listening + social rooms category that Hangout occupies.
Emerging players
- Clubhouse: Live audio social platform with drop-in rooms and real-time chat. Comparable on the live-audio-room-with-chat mechanic that underpins Hangout rooms, though Clubhouse is not a music streaming service.
- Audius: Decentralized music streaming platform focused on artists and community-curated discovery. Comparable as a music streaming service with social/community emphasis and creator-friendly features, though with a different technology stack (Web3).
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights4 records
Customer concentration
Hangout social profiles
Digital presenceHangout financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Hangout leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Hangout funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Hangout 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 Hangout
What does Hangout do?
Hangout operates a free social music streaming platform that lets users enter virtual rooms and listen to music together in real time with synchronized playback, chat, avatars, and human-curated discovery. The service includes a catalog of 100+ million licensed songs from Sony, Universal, and Warner, integrates playlists from Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and SoundCloud, and offers Turntable.AI for AI music generation inside rooms.
Is Hangout a public or private company?
Hangout is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Hangout founded?
Hangout was founded in 2023. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Hangout based?
Hangout is headquartered in Miami, United States, in the North America region.
How does Hangout make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Free Music Streaming is the primary driver. The others are sponsorships & Partnerships and AI Music Generation (Future).
Who are Hangout's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Spotify, Discord, Apple Music and TIDAL. Direct peers are SoundCloud, Bandcamp, Turntable.fm and Stationhead. Emerging players are Clubhouse and Audius.
Does Hangout have an API?
No public API is recorded for Hangout.
What industry is Hangout in?
Hangout's product category is Social Music Streaming. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAIACAA, On-Demand Music Streaming (Interactive), with a secondary code of MPACAEAA, Drop-in Live Audio Social Platforms (Open Rooms/Stages). Its NAICS code is 516 and its SIC code is 7990.