SoundCloud is a music streaming service that is described (by the company) as “the world’s largest open audio platform”.
The Berlin-based platform hosts over 200 million tracks from 25 million creators in 190 countries.
SoundCloud was founded in 2007 by Eric Wahlforss and Alexander Ljung.
The company is led by CEO Mike Weissman, who succeeded former CEO Kerry Trainor, effective January 1, 2021.
In November 2020, MBW broke the news that SoundCloud achieved its first ever profitable quarter on an EBITDA basis in Q3 2020.
According to company filings, SoundCloud posted €147.6m ($165.7m) in revenues in calendar 2019, up 37% year-over-year (see below).
In 2018, SoundCloud posted a YoY revenue increase of 19%.
SoundCloud’s 2019 revenue growth accelerated as the year went on: the firm says its quarterly revenues were up 17% YoY in Q1; in Q4, they were up by 43% YoY.
Meanwhile, SoundCloud’s annual operating losses in 2019 narrowed significantly, down 28% to €23.8m ($26.7m) from €32.9m in 2018.
Other milestones
SoundCloud launched a distribution feature (SoundCloud Premier) in open beta in February 2019 that enables artists to spread their music to rival streaming services.
The upgrade to the Premier monetization toolset allows users to “seamlessly” distribute their music to the likes of Amazon Music, Apple Music, Instagram, Spotify, Tencent, YouTube Music and more – all from within their SoundCloud account.
In April 2020, SoundCloud launched a new artist services platform called Repost by SoundCloud aimed at “serious artists who want to take their career to the next level” – while allowing them to stay independent.
The service promises independent artists and labels access to “professional marketing and monetization services and industry-leading distribution features”.
Music Business Worldwide