tape.tv gained popularity from music videos being inaccessible in Germany as a result of YouTube having a dispute with GEMA, Germany's performing rights society, and hosted upwards of 45,000 music videos from major German labels and a collection of indie labels.
[1] The company went bankrupt in November 2016 due to their service becoming obsolete as a result of YouTube solving the dispute with the GEMA.
The programme was shaped by an editorial department, but users were able to personalise the content by using any of the several functions, such as a "more like this" button.
The project was a cooperation with the German TV station ZDFkultur; users were able to get into contact with the host of the show and the artists via webcam, call-in, and Facebook chat.
[3] In December 2011, tape.tv reached an audience of more than 50,000 live viewers for the first time with German rapper Kool Savas.
tape.tv often had rights to the nationwide video premieres for famous international artists, such as Depeche Mode, Lady Gaga, Red Hot Chili Peppers, etc.
Participants in the funding round were Atlantic Capital Partners GmbH (through its currently managed fund), Dario Suter, Christoph Daniel und Marc Schmidheiny (DCM), Christophe Maire as well as Investitionsbank Berlin (IBB) VC Fonds Kreativwirtschaft Berlin, managed by IBB Beteiligungsgesellschaft.
The latest ad innovation utilised by tape.tv was the so-called FlipAd; the player fliped back and the free space was used to promote the product message.
[8] LEAD Award: Category "WebTV of the year" Gründerszene (founders' scene): Startup of the decade / Category: newcomer Association of Independent Musicians: Best Music Platform Techcrunch "The Europas": Nominated as Best Entertainment, Music, Video