UPDATE :: CEO Alex Ljung has posted this statement to SoundCloud’s blog reassuring that the service is ‘not going away’.
Chance The Rapper has also jumped on the cause, sharing a collab track with Young Thug, Big B’s. Listen to it below:
I'm working on the SoundCloud thing
— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) July 13, 2017
It was announced last week that SoundCloud had cut 40% of its staff in attempt to maintain financial stability amidst its transition from free service to a more formal subscription-based streaming platform. However, it after a report released by TechCrunch yesterday, things may be fairing far worse than it seems for one of our favourite avenues for musical discovery.
TechCrunch has stated that founders Alex Ljung and Eric Wahlforss “confessed the layoffs only saved the company enough money to have runway until Q4” — which begins in just 80 days. Competition with Spotify could be to blame, with recent stats stating that monthly users may’ve dropped to just 70 million – apparently the company are in talks with potential investors at the moment, who could possibly save the service from going belly up.
Staff morale also seems to be down at SoundCloud with sources telling TechCrunch “it’s pretty shitty. Pretty somber. I know people who didn’t get the axe are actually quitting. The people saved from this are jumping ship. The morale is really low.” Ouch.
SoundCloud has yielded an unbelievable impact on the way we discover and release music in the last few years. Artists like Lil Yachty, XXXtentacion and Lil Peep all amassed huge followings on the service, prior to any formal media attention. Aesthetically and sonically, SoundCloud has offered a unrestricted platform for creativity. Check out Lil Pump’s new track OK here.
