San Francisco-based startup Airbuds has emerged as a compelling music social network, capturing the attention of Gen Z and younger users by enabling effortless sharing of streaming activity. The company has announced a $5 million funding round.
Airbuds addresses a gap in the music streaming landscape where major platforms like Apple and Spotify have struggled to build engaging social experiences. Apple Music’s past efforts, including the short-lived Ping network and the artist-fan Connect feature, both failed to gain traction. Spotify has experimented with various social features, yet it hasn’t fully cracked the code for a true social network.
Co-founders Gilles Poupardin and Gawen Arab have a background in music tech, with Poupardin creating a Pinterest-inspired music bookmarking tool and a voice-controlled smart speaker, and Arab contributing to the smart speaker project and working at Zenly, a social mapping app acquired by Snap. After selling their previous venture, Cappuccino, the duo pivoted to a widget-centric application, evolving it into Airbuds.
The app’s core innovation is its mobile widget for iOS and Android, which automatically shares users’ real-time streaming activity with friends. As Poupardin explained, the widget requires minimal user input, leveraging the popularity of iOS widgets among teens. Users simply connect their preferred streaming service, and Airbuds handles the rest, sharing songs as they play without additional steps.
Airbuds currently supports a wide array of streaming platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music, and Amazon Music. The app has surpassed 15 million downloads, boasts 5 million monthly active users, and sees 1.5 million daily launches. According to app intelligence firm Appfigures, Airbuds maintains a 96% positive ratings sentiment across more than 9,400 reviews.
Beyond basic sharing, Airbuds has layered on robust social features to enhance user engagement. Friends can react to streamed songs using emojis, stickers, or AI-generated selfies. The feed allows users to play short clips of friends’ tracks and initiate chats via a built-in messenger. For privacy, a “ghost mode” lets users listen without broadcasting their activity.
Customization is a cornerstone of the experience, with users able to personalize their profile, or “Space,” by adding favorite artists, songs, and photos. Poupardin emphasizes that this self-expression element is central to the app’s success, noting that around 30% of users interact with features beyond merely viewing friends’ streams.
To encourage network effects, Airbuds employs feature-gating, requiring users to invite friends to unlock certain functionalities. The latest $5 million infusion from Seven Seven Six adds to previous investments from prominent backers like Andreessen Horowitz and SV Angel. This capital will fuel ambitious expansions, including integrating more streaming services and developing direct artist-to-fan connections.
Airbuds’ rise highlights a broader trend in social media, where niche platforms centered on specific interests can thrive by solving pain points overlooked by incumbents. The app’s funding milestone not only validates its traction but positions it to scale globally, potentially influencing how future music apps balance streaming with social dynamics.
As the app evolves, it could redefine how music discovery and social interaction intertwine. With artist connections on the horizon, Airbuds might empower fans to engage directly with musicians. Attracting older users could broaden its appeal, tapping into nostalgia-driven listening habits. The subscription test will be a key indicator of sustainability.
