Soundcloud ‘may close’ after heavy losses

Soundcloud ‘may close’ after heavy losses

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norman lebrecht

February 11, 2016

The streaming service lost €39.14m ($44.19m) in 2014, according to auditors, on revenues of €17.35m. Over three years, the service has lost almost €75m.

The black crows are gathering around the Berlin-based venture.

soundcloud

Soundcloud says: ‘Over 18 million creators are using the platform, sharing well over 110 million tracks, and reaching 175 million monthly active listeners.’

Comments

  • Simon Holt says:

    This is desperately sad for all those young composers who need to get their pieces heard by as many people as possible. It’s hard enough without this body blow.

  • Robert says:

    I am shocked to find out that giving stuff away on the internet does not make money.

  • Oliver Rivers says:

    There’s quite a lot of confusion here. The accounts that have been released are for 2014, not 2015. The company burnt EUR 34m in 2014, and had EUR 13m cash, i.e. enough cash to last it just under five months, hence the auditor’s qualification of the accounts.

    However, in 2015 the company raised EUR 77m of further financing, EUR 42m of equity, EUR 35m of debt. That would give it just over two years’ runway, so Soundcloud will be around until at least mid 2017.

  • Derek Williams says:

    The site has serious functional misfeatures that make it less than alluring and less than a joy to use. I signed up as a Pro member hoping to get better functionality, but it’s in need of a makeover. I’m sure they could do that for a few thousand, never mind the millions. Maybe the improved experience would encourage more to sign as financial members.

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