plug.dj

{{Infobox website

| name = plug.dj

| logo = Plugdjlogo2015.png

| logo_alt = Plug.dj logo

| screenshot =

| caption =

| founder = Steven Sacks
Alex Reinlieb
Jason Grunstra

| revenue =

| url = {{URL|https://plug.dj}}

| advertising =

| registration = Email or Facebook account

| language = Multilingual, primarily English

| current_status = Closed as of Feb 9th, 2021

| company_type = Private

| foundation = {{start date and age|2012|2}}

| area_served =

| location_city =

| location_country =

| key_people =

| num_employees =

| programming_language = Go (backend)

| unique_visitors =

}}

plug.dj was an interactive online social music streaming website based in Los Angeles, owned by Rowl, Inc.{{cite web|date=25 July 2016|url=https://blog.plug.dj/2016/07/official-update-plug-dj-is-now-owned-by-rowl/|title=Official Update: plug.dj is now owned by Rowl|publisher=plug.dj|accessdate=30 March 2017|archive-date=31 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170331115141/https://blog.plug.dj/2016/07/official-update-plug-dj-is-now-owned-by-rowl/|url-status=dead}} The site was "dedicated to growing positive international communities for sharing and discovering music". It was a free service with microtransactions, and had over 3 million registered accounts. The website was launched on February 29, 2012, by Steven Sacks, Alex Reinlieb, and Jason Grunstra.

Overview

Plug.dj consisted of different online chat rooms, called "communities", that users could freely create.{{cite web|last1=Grunsta|first1=Jason|title=PLUG.DJ DROPS THE RIGHT TUNE WITH IN-APP MESSAGES|url=https://blog.intercom.io/plug-dj-drops-the-right-tune-with-in-app-messages/|website=Intercom|accessdate=26 March 2016}}{{cite magazine|last1=Steinburg|first1=Scott|title=Sounddrop.fm Unveils Social Jukebox App Program requires Spotify Premium account|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/news/sounddrop-fm-unveils-social-jukebox-app-20120328|accessdate=26 March 2016|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=28 March 2012}}{{cite web|last1=Lasar|first1=Matthew|title=Classical communities at plug.dj: if you can't make one, join one|url=http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2014/04/07/classical-communities-plug-dj-cant-make-one-join-one/|website=Radio Survivor|date=7 April 2014 |accessdate=26 March 2016}} Inside each community, users could choose to join a wait list and wait for their turn to be the DJ for everyone else in the community, playing a video or song chosen from either YouTube or SoundCloud, or simply listen passively.{{cite news|last1=Davis|first1=Zach|title=LA's Hottest Showcasing Startup, Plug.dj Hopes to Give Turntable.fm A Run For Their Money|url=http://tech.co/plug-dj-2012-12|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=Tech.co|agency=Tech.co|publisher=Tech Cocktail|date=7 December 2012}} Users could also vote positively or negatively for each song or video played, or add it to their own playlists.{{cite web|last1=Riotta|first1=Chris|title=In Case You Didn't Know, There Actually Are Alternatives to Spotify and Apple Music|url=http://mic.com/articles/122661/apple-music-and-spotify-alternatives|website=Music.Mic|date=22 July 2015 |accessdate=26 March 2016}} By spending time or being active on the site, they were able to earn experience points (XP) and plug points (PP), which could be used to unlock and purchase various items, such as new avatars and chat badges. Each community on plug.dj was typically focused on a few specific musical genres, usually one of the subgenres of EDM (Electronic Dance Music), such as Trap, Dubstep, Electro, Drum'n'Bass and many others.{{cite news|last1=Roa|first1=Ericka Duarte|title=PLUG.DJ, UNA FIESTA EN LA QUE TODOS PUEDEN SER DJ|url=http://www.enter.co/cultura-digital/entretenimiento/plug-dj-una-fiesta-en-la-que-todos-pueden-ser-dj/|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=enter.co|date=13 February 2013|language=Spanish}} Communities dedicated to non-electronic genres, such as rock, jazz, death metal, and classical also existed.{{cite news|last1=Machida|first1=Roberts|title=アニソン、ダブステップ何でもOK！かわいいアバターでDJパーティを楽しむ『plug.dj』|url=http://www.kotaku.jp/2013/12/turntablefm_new_survice_plugdj.html|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=Kotaku|agency=Kotaku|publisher=© mediagene Inc.|date=7 December 2013|language=Japanese|archive-date=8 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160408235728/http://www.kotaku.jp/2013/12/turntablefm_new_survice_plugdj.html|url-status=dead}} The community creator was able to promote users to moderators to help ensure the community's rules were followed and to keep the environment friendly.{{cite web|last1=Lasar|first1=Matthew|title=The secret to great online music room communities: real off line connections|url=http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2014/03/17/the-secret-to-great-online-music-room-communities-real-off-line-connections/|website=Radio Survivor|accessdate=26 March 2016|date=17 March 2014}} Volunteer global moderators, called "Brand Ambassadors", also existed.{{cite news|last1=Rodriguez|first1=Sarah|title=Plug.dj Develops Ibiza Themed Party to Support BBC Radio 1's Ibiza Weekend|url=http://www.pr.com/press-release/432308|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=pr.com|agency=pr.com|date=6 August 2012}}{{cite news|last1=Nguyen|first1=Stephanie|title=Go DJ, That's My DJ: Plug.DJ Empowers Global Media Lovers|url=http://tech.co/plug-dj-media-music-vide-2012-07|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=Tech.co|agency=Tech Cocktail|date=28 July 2012}}

In April 2015, a paid subscription service was launched, which provided access to subscriber avatars and badges without the user having to spend PP.

Financial issues and relaunches

=2015 shutdown=

On September 14, 2015, plug.dj announced that the service would be shutting down if it was unable to raise enough money to support the running of the service by a disclosed deadline of September 28 through a donation drive.{{cite news|last1=Wolf|first1=Jacob|title=The heir to Turntable.fm is shutting its doors|url=http://www.dailydot.com/technology/plug-dj-shut-down/|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=The Daily Dot|agency=The Daily Dot|publisher=The Daily Dot, LLC|date=28 September 2015}} It was noted by the administrators of plug.dj that the company was forced to sell their office and developers were to work from home in order to reduce running costs. Other attempts to reduce costs, like another tier in plug.dj subscription system, rewriting some portions of the backend in Go (plug.dj was previously written in Python, a less-efficient and consequently more expensive programming language to operate under) and cutting staff were unsuccessful in keeping the service afloat.{{cite web|author= |url=https://www.reddit.com/r/plugdj/comments/3lh650/im_the_founder_of_plugdj_ama/cv6b8td |title=I'm the Founder of plug.dj. AMA. |publisher=reddit.com |date=2015}} On September 28, 2015, having not met their donation goal in time, the plug.dj service went offline at 3 PM Pacific Standard Time and the closure of its parent company, Plug DJ Inc. followed at an unknown date.{{cite news|last1=Olanoff|first1=Drew|title=UPDATED: Turntable.fm Clone Plug.dj Has Shut Down|url=https://techcrunch.com/2015/09/26/turntable-fm-clone-plug-dj-turns-to-its-community-to-keep-it-alive/|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=TechCrunch|publisher=© 2013-2016 AOL Inc. All rights reserved.|date=26 September 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Lasar|first1=Matthe|title=The perils of a young audience: why plug.dj died|url=http://www.radiosurvivor.com/2015/09/30/the-perils-of-a-young-audience-why-plug-dj-died/|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=Radio Survivor|publisher=© 2016 Radio Survivor. All Rights Reserved.|date=30 September 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Reid|first1=Mike|title=Plug.dj, a Turntable.fm clone, shuts down|url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/plugdj-turntablefm-clone-shuts-down|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=Tiny mix tapes|publisher=© 2016 Tiny Mix Tapes|date=30 September 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Volceka|first1=Petr|title=Plug.dj končí, s přáteli si už po večerech nezamuzicírujete|url=http://www.pcdays.cz/2015/10/plug-dj-konci-s-prateli-si-uz-po-vecerech-nezamuzicirujete/|accessdate=26 March 2016|work=PCDays Magazine|agency=PCDays|date=5 October 2015|language=Czech}}

=2016 relaunch=

On December 10, 2015, plug.dj posted a message on their Facebook page, saying "The hype is real".{{Cite web|title = plug.dj - The hype is real.|via=Facebook|url = https://www.facebook.com/plugdj/posts/1045211672210099|accessdate = 2015-12-10}} Later, on February 8, 2016, another post was made explaining that the service will likely return under new management at an unannounced date.{{Cite web|title = We're all anxiously awaiting the relaunch, and once we have a real date, we will let you know!|via=Facebook|url = https://www.facebook.com/plugdj/posts/1080337682030831|accessdate = 2016-02-08}} The site was bought by Rowl, Inc and relaunched on May 31, 2016, with the existing user database restored. This brought all playlists back allowing users to keep all data that they had previously.

=2021 shutdown=

On January 28, 2021, plug.dj services went offline without warning. The official Twitter page posted a tweet saying that plug.dj was working to resolve the issue "ASAP".{{Cite tweet|user=plugdj|number=1354848370066665477|title=The site is currently unavailable. We're working to get this resolved ASAP. Thanks for your understanding, we will keep you posted.}} After 12 days the service was still down, and on February 9, 2021, plug.dj announced that they would be shutting down once again due to financial issues, but with intent to resume service at an unspecified future time.{{Cite tweet|user=plugdj|number=1359210486798114819|title=plug.dj is shutting down. We have run into financial issues that result in http://plug.dj not being viable to keep running at this time. We intend to resume service at a more appropriate time. Thank you for partying with us}}