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Gimme Media
AcquiredTechstars '18San Francisco, US · Founded 2017 · 4 employees on LinkedIn · 8 known investors
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Gimme Radio operates an online vinyl record retail store specializing in exclusive metal music pressings, including a membership-based vinyl club. The company sells new releases, pre-orders, merchandise, and member-exclusive vinyl records.
Also known as Gimme Country · Gimme Metal · Gimme Radio
Investors · 8
How we know: the Techstars portfolio · open dataset · Top 3000 Accelerator Startups (no YC) 2026-08 · Not right? Tell us
Also in the syndicate · 6
Company profile
researched Sep 2026Gimme Media is a San Francisco music company founded in June 2017 that built Gimme Radio, an advertising-free internet radio and online store broadcasting heavy metal 24/7. Programming was curated by musicians, journalists, producers and label affiliates in a freeform, non-playlist format rather than by algorithm; roughly half of airplay came from established acts and the remainder from underground artists. DJs included Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Randy Blythe of Lamb of God and Johan Hegg of Amon Amarth, alongside rotating guest DJs from Metal Blade and Nuclear Blast. Mobile apps for iOS and Android arrived in late 2017, a subscription tier called The Vault launched in November 2018, and a country/Americana service, Gimme Country, launched in 2019, prompting the metal service to be renamed Gimme Metal. In November 2020 the company added two 24/7 video channels, Gimme Country TV and Gimme Metal TV.
After failing to close an additional $5 million round, the company announced in April 2023 that it would shut down Gimme Radio and the Gimme Metal and Gimme Country apps. In December 2023 Philadelphia-based e-commerce-as-a-service firm Mainfactor acquired Gimme Radio's e-commerce sites and assets for an undisclosed sum, relaunched the Gimme Metal store and planned revamped Gimme Country and Gimme Hip-Hop stores for early 2024, with co-founder Tyler Lenane serving as a Mainfactor advisor and both parties citing a possible future relaunch of the streaming service.
The gimmeradio.com storefront currently sells vinyl new arrivals and pre-orders, band merchandise and Gimme Metal Vinyl Club exclusive pressings, with members-only access to past vinyl club records; the site is noted as powered by Mainfactor.
Founding story
Gimme Media was co-founded in San Francisco in June 2017 by Tyler Lenane (CEO), a former business development executive at Apple Music; David Rosenberg (COO), former head of distribution partnerships at Google Play; Jon Maples (CPO), previously vice president of product at Rhapsody and 8tracks; and Andrew Gilliland (CCO). The founders positioned the service as a response to mainstream streaming platforms that, in their view, overlooked the metal community despite its loyalty and its continued attachment to physical formats such as vinyl and CDs.
Business model
The company operated without sponsors or advertising, monetizing instead through commerce and subscriptions: sales of exclusive vinyl and collectible items, in-the-moment purchase of records being played, artist tips, and a $30-a-month vinyl club/Vault membership that bundled on-demand programming with a monthly exclusive vinyl variant. Following the Mainfactor acquisition, the remaining business is a direct-to-consumer online store selling vinyl, pre-orders, merchandise and vinyl club exclusives.
Revenue came from e-commerce sales of exclusive vinyl pressings, collectibles and merchandise, listener tips to artists, and a $30-per-month subscription vinyl club; the company explicitly carried no advertising or sponsors.
Traction
The platform built a community of approximately 400,000 superfan music consumers who spent an average of $123 on the platform in 2021, compared with a cited $54 for Spotify. Vinyl club subscribers had an average lifetime duration of 22 months and lifetime spend of $660.
Latest developments
In December 2023 Mainfactor purchased Gimme Radio's e-commerce sites and assets, relaunched the Gimme Metal online store and planned Gimme Country and Gimme Hip-Hop stores for early 2024, while Lenane and Mainfactor indicated interest in eventually relaunching the streaming service. The gimmeradio.com store continues to sell new vinyl releases, pre-orders, merchandise and Gimme Metal Vinyl Club exclusive pressings.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Gimme Radio has been described as the first streaming platform dedicated exclusively to heavy metal, differentiating itself from algorithmic services such as Spotify by using human, artist-led curation for genre superfans. It was a Techstars Music portfolio company and attracted strategic investors from radio, label and telecom sectors, but did not reach the scale needed to sustain its streaming operations.
Curation came from artists, journalists, producers and label staff in a freeform format rather than from algorithms or playlists; the service carried no advertising, focused on a single underserved genre community, and tied listening directly to commerce through exclusive pressings and in-stream record purchases.
Technology
Gimme operated a live, 24/7 internet radio platform with iOS and Android applications, on-demand and offline playback for subscribers, in-app chat-style community features around live DJ shows, 24/7 video channels, and an integrated e-commerce layer allowing listeners to buy the record currently playing.
Go-to-market
The company recruited high-profile artist DJs (Dave Mustaine, Randy Blythe, Johan Hegg, Brandy Clark, Joshua Hedley, Dillon Carmichael) and label partners such as Metal Blade and Nuclear Blast to host shows and drive fan acquisition, supported by genre media coverage, mobile apps, live events, and exclusive vinyl drops sold direct to consumers.
Heavy metal superfans, and later country and Americana listeners, who buy physical formats such as vinyl and collectibles; the platform reported a community of about 400,000 superfan music consumers.
Geography
Headquartered in San Francisco, California, serving listeners globally; the acquiring company, Mainfactor, is based in Philadelphia.
History
Gimme Radio launched in June 2017 as an ad-free heavy metal internet radio service and released Android and iOS apps later that year. In November 2018 it introduced The Vault subscription tier for on-demand and offline access to past and new shows, and marked its first anniversary with a Decibel co-sponsored show. Gimme Country was announced in February 2019, leading the metal service to be rebranded Gimme Metal. In November 2020 the company launched Gimme Country TV and Gimme Metal TV video channels. Funding included a SeedInvest crowdfunding campaign and a seven-figure round led by iHeartMedia largely completed in December 2021, with Telefonica's Wayra X participation announced in May 2022. Unable to raise a further $5 million, Lenane announced the shutdown in April 2023, with service ending April 29. Mainfactor acquired the e-commerce assets in December 2023.
Risks & controversies
The company shut down its streaming operations in April 2023 after failing to secure an additional $5 million, despite a reported $9.2 million invested overall. Reporting on its funding was also corrected: a $3 million round announced in May 2022 was, according to CEO Tyler Lenane, mostly completed in December 2021, with the May 2022 announcement covering only Telefonica's participation.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 9
launches, deals, and filingsPhiladelphia-based e-commerce-as-a-service company Mainfactor purchased Gimme Radio's e-commerce-related sites and assets for an undisclosed sum, relaunching the Gimme Metal store with Gimme Country and Gimme Hip-Hop stores planned for early 2024.
Tyler Lenane announced the shutdown of Gimme Radio and the Gimme Metal and Gimme Country apps, effective April 29, 2023, after failing to secure an additional $5 million in funding.
A press release announced $3 million in funding in partnership with iHeartMedia; CEO Tyler Lenane later said the May 2022 announcement covered only Telefonica/Wayra X joining the round, most of which had closed in December 2021.
$3M source ↗
Gimme launched its first two 24/7 video channels featuring music videos, short-form artist content and long-form music documentaries and films.
Gimme announced Gimme Country, an online country music radio service in the same format as Gimme Radio, prompting the metal service to be renamed Gimme Metal. First DJs included Brandy Clark, Russ Tolman, Joshua Hedley and Dillon Carmichael.
Gimme Radio raised over $500,000 in crowdfunding on SeedInvest.
$500K source ↗
A $30-a-month membership tier giving access to past programs, offline listening, early access to new shows and a monthly exclusive vinyl variant.
$30 source ↗
Gimme Radio released mobile applications for Android and iOS to connect genre fans.
Gimme Media launched Gimme Radio, a 24/7 advertising-free heavy metal internet radio station and online store based in San Francisco.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Gimme Mediagimmeradio.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Gimme Media do?
- Gimme Media ran Gimme Radio, a metal and country streaming/radio service, now an artist-exclusive vinyl and merch store.
- Who are Gimme Media's investors?
- Gimme Media's investors include Techstars, iHeartMedia.
- Where is Gimme Media headquartered?
- Gimme Media is headquartered in San Francisco, US.