????但雷斯尼科夫對在硅谷以外地區落戶的風險也發出了警告，尤其是與投資方打交道而言更是如此，因為投資方往往必須就自己是否要繼續向初創公司提供投資資金這個問題作出各種艱難的決定。雷斯尼科夫說，初創公司規模龐大、運營分散自然也改變不了什么。目前，該公司已籌集了180萬美元資金，其中包括著名音樂雜志《公告牌》雜志（Billboard）的母公司之一——古根海姆合伙公司（Guggenheim Partners）的一筆投資資金。

????魯辛希望通過如下方式來賺錢：收集用戶在音樂活動方面的數據，然后把這些信息賣給藝人及唱片公司。其另一個收入來源是在玩家的虛擬貨幣“notes”用完時向他們出售更多的“notes”。然而，還有一個收入來源是更為統一地建立廣告收入，比如向玩家發起各種挑戰（比如，讓他們購買特定類型藝人的股票等）。魯辛認為，他可以建立一個“品味圖譜”（taste graph）——類似于更加風行的社會圖譜。Facebook首次公開募股的慘淡結果已經證明，在社交圖譜上做廣告業務也面臨巨大挑戰。很難估量音樂搜索服務的市場規模，但其中最成熟的平臺潘多拉（Pandora）上一財年已經實現了2.74億美元的營收。（當然，潘多拉同時還可以作為音樂播放器，而TastemakerX則想主要把重點放在發現藝人之上。）

????譯者:ido98

????But Resnikoff also warns of the risks of setting up shop outside of Silicon Valley, particularly when dealing with financiers, who often have to make difficult decisions early on about whether or not they want to continue funding startups. Having a sprawling, non-centralized company doesn't make it easier, says Resnikoff. The company has raised $1.8 million in funding, including an investment from Guggenheim Partners, one of Billboard's parent companies.

????Ruxin hopes to monetize by collecting data on how users are engaging with music and making that information available to artists and labels. Another stream is selling players more "notes" if they run out. Yet another is building in advertising more organically, such as having sponsored challenges for players, like having them buy the stock of specific types of artists. Ruxin believes he can build a "taste graph," akin to the buzzier social graph. The fallout from Facebook's IPO has proved it challenging to advertise on the social graph as well. It's difficult to gauge the market for music discovery services, but Pandora -- the most mature of the bunch -- had revenue of $274 million last fiscal year. (Pandora, of course, also serves as a music player, while TastemakerX wants to focus mainly on discovery.)