Bain Leads $8.6 Million Investment in Internet Radio Advertising System

Boston’s Bain Capital Ventures is the lead investor in n $8.6 million Series B funding round announced today for New York, NY-based TargetSpot, which helps advertisers create and place ads on streaming Internet radio stations.

The company, launched less than a year ago, gives advertisers access to over 500 Internet radio channels, including many owned by CBS Radio and Entercom Communications, two of the nation’s top five radio networks. TargetSpot’s Web-based platform allows advertisers to upload their own audio ads or record new ones; choose which stations, geographies, time of day, or audience demographic they wish to reach; and manage how much they spend on each campaign, starting at as little as $50.

“Surveys have shown that online radio’s listener base has expanded 27 percent annually since 2000,” said Bain partner Jeffrey Glass, who is joining TargetSpot’s board, in an announcement of the funding round. “This has had a phenomenal impact on both terrestrial radio stations and internet-only stations, and has resulted in the spawning of many new web 2.0 music networks. TargetSpot has figured out a way to solve the one major problem with online radio, namely how to monetize this burgeoning field and turn it into a profitable revenue stream.”

Also participating in the funding round were Union Square Ventures, CBS Corporation and Milestone Venture Partners.