TouchTunes Taps Tech CFO to Scale Social Entertainment Empire

NEW YORK, NY – March 25, 2026 – TouchTunes Music Company, the dominant force in North America's in-venue entertainment, has appointed Andrew “Rusty” Russakoff as its new Chief Financial Officer. The move signals a clear and aggressive strategy to accelerate the company’s evolution from a digital jukebox provider into a fully integrated social entertainment ecosystem, combining music, interactive gaming, and unified payments.

Russakoff, a seasoned finance executive with a history of guiding complex, technology-driven companies, joins TouchTunes at a pivotal moment. The company is actively scaling a unified platform that now includes its massive network of digital jukeboxes, a recently acquired electronic darts empire, and a sophisticated mobile app designed to be the central hub for patron engagement. His appointment is a strategic play to install the financial architecture necessary to support this ambitious next phase of growth and innovation.

The Architect of Scale

Russakoff's resume is tailor-made for a company with the ambitions of TouchTunes. He most recently served as CFO at Angi (NASDAQ: ANGI), the digital marketplace for home services, where he managed the company's financial operations, investor relations, and capital allocation during a significant period of transformation. Before that, he held senior finance roles at the technology incubator IAC, where he was instrumental in supporting the financial planning and portfolio oversight for major digital successes like Match Group and Vimeo.

This background in navigating multi-product digital environments is precisely what TouchTunes requires as it integrates its diverse assets. The company is no longer just managing song plays; it is building a connected experience that spans different hardware and software platforms. Russakoff’s experience is expected to be critical in optimizing capital allocation for new technology, managing the financial scaling of the integrated platform, and ensuring long-term value for the company’s network of partners and operators.

“As we continue to build the future of in-person social entertainment with music, darts, loyalty, and payments into a single connected experience, Rusty's deep financial expertise and proven track record of strategic gravitas and tactical execution make him the ideal leader to help us drive our vision,” said Scott Levine, CEO of TouchTunes.

His expertise is not just theoretical. In addition to an MBA from Columbia Business School and an engineering degree from Harvard University, Russakoff has advised early-stage companies, demonstrating a passion for building strong financial foundations from the ground up—a skill set that will be invaluable as TouchTunes launches new ventures within its ecosystem.

Beyond the Jukebox: A Unified Ecosystem

The TouchTunes of today looks vastly different from the company that first digitized the bar-room jukebox. While its presence in over 63,000 bars, restaurants, and social venues remains the bedrock of its business, the company's vision has expanded dramatically. The most significant move came in 2024 with the acquisition of Arachnid 360, the pioneer of soft-tip electronic darts and owner of the iconic BullShooter® brand. This single transaction added over 32,000 connected dartboards to the TouchTunes network, instantly creating the largest interactive gaming footprint of its kind.

This acquisition was not merely about diversification; it was the cornerstone of a strategy to create a unified platform for social amusement. At the 2026 Amusement Expo, the company unveiled the physical centerpiece of this vision: a new flagship jukebox. Featuring a stunning 43-inch vertical display and customizable lighting, the device is more of a cinematic social hub than a simple music player. Built on a next-generation platform with AI-driven software, it is designed to support future integrations like social feeds, on-screen leaderboards, and interactive song battles, seamlessly merging the physical and digital worlds within a venue.

The Digital Glue: Mobile and Payments

Tying this expanding hardware network together is an increasingly sophisticated mobile application and a streamlined payment infrastructure. The company's revamped mobile app has become the digital key for patrons, allowing them to find venues on an interactive map, curate playlists before they even arrive, and see exactly where their song is in the queue.

More importantly, the app is becoming a tool for real-time social connection. The recent introduction of “Social Reactions” allows patrons to send emojis reacting to the currently playing song, fostering a shared experience that goes beyond passive listening. This digital layer is critical to creating the sticky, engaging environment that keeps customers in venues longer.

The final piece of the puzzle is the rollout of TouchTunes Pay, a unified mobile payment solution. This system allows patrons to use a single digital wallet to pay for song credits, dart games, and eventually other amusements like pool. For venue operators, this is a game-changer, enabling cashless transactions across their entertainment offerings without the need for additional costly hardware. For consumers, it offers a frictionless experience that encourages more frequent engagement across the entire TouchTunes ecosystem.

Navigating a Dynamic Market

This strategic pivot comes as the market for in-venue entertainment undergoes its own transformation. While the global digital jukebox market is projected to grow at a healthy 8.7% compound annual growth rate, the broader Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) sector is experiencing an even more explosive boom. Consumers are increasingly seeking immersive, interactive, and social experiences, and TouchTunes is positioning itself to be the premier provider of these experiences in bars and restaurants.

By integrating music, darts, and payments, the company is creating a moat that competitors focused on a single vertical, like other jukebox providers, will find difficult to cross. This integrated strategy is what attracted Russakoff to the role.

"TouchTunes has established itself as the clear leader in connected in-venue entertainment, and the breadth of its product ecosystem — from jukeboxes to dartboards to integrated payments — reflects a business model built for durability and growth,” Russakoff stated. “I'm eager to bring my experience to help the team scale what's working and capitalize on the significant opportunity ahead."

With a proven financial leader at the helm to guide its complex expansion, TouchTunes is making a definitive statement. The company is no longer just selling access to music; it is building the integrated operating system for social life in thousands of venues, a move that could redefine the industry for years to come.