Stable Media LLC of Los Angeles today became the latest company to launch a virtual world: Riplounge.com. The music-focused site offers a virtual clubgoing experience featuring various genres of music, similar to that found in Doppelganger Inc.'s vSide world.

Stable Media co-founder Josh Stein says he and his two co-founders have bootstrapped the company thus far, but are in the process of raising a round of $1.5 to $2 million from seed and angel investors. They've passed on equity investments in the past, choosing instead to wait for their product launch to obtain a higher valuation, Stein says. In the process, however, they've signed away a portion of their royalties to the site's developers in exchange for deferred billing for their services.

Stable Media hopes to generate revenues via carefully planned, unobtrusive advertising that's integrated into the user experience, as well as premium services and sales of virtual goods. It will also market itself as a white-label service for events, Stein says. The company hasn't announced any agreements with music labels or artists yet, but it will surely need them to compete with the well-funded vSide, which has several partnerships in place and has hosted virtual concerts by the likes of Maroon 5. Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Trident Capital, Draper Richards, KPG Ventures and ComVentures have invested $25 million in vSide to date, most recently in an $11-million round announced in August 2007.

Doppelganger CEO Tim Stevens says Riplounge is likely aiming for an older demographic than vSide, with greater focus on alcohol and bars. He notes that vSide is pursuing short-term agreements with labels and bands rather than long-term partnerships, although it has an ongoing relationship with Universal Music Group's Interscope label. Stevens says vSide's "engaged users" now spend an average of 40 hours per month on the site, and generate $30 apiece in annual revenue for the company. -- Paul Bonanos

See April 17 press release on Riplounge from Stable Media
See Aug. 15 post from Tech Confidential