SoundCloud facts for kids
Logo used since 2010
|
|
|
Screenshot
Screenshot of the desktop version of SoundCloud
|
|
| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
|
Type of site
|
|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 27 August 2007 |
| Headquarters |
,
Germany
|
| Country of origin | Germany |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Key people | |
| Industry | |
| Services | |
| Employees | ≈425 (2021) |
| Registration | Optional; Required to post and upload content. |
| Users |  140 million users monthly (2023) |
| Launched | 17 October 2008 |
| Current status | Active |
| Written in |
|
SoundCloud is a music streaming service from Germany. It lets people upload, share, and promote their music and other audio.
Started in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is now one of the biggest music streaming sites globally. You can use it in 190 countries! As of November 2021, it had over 76 million active users each month. It also has more than 200 million audio tracks. SoundCloud offers both free and paid memberships. You can use it on mobile phones, desktop computers, and Xbox. SoundCloud has grown from just a streaming site to a full entertainment company.
Contents
The Story of SoundCloud
SoundCloud began in Berlin, Germany, on August 27, 2007. It was created by Alexander Ljung, a sound designer, and Eric Wahlforss, an electronic musician. The SoundCloud website officially launched on October 17, 2008.
How SoundCloud Started
The original idea for SoundCloud was to help musicians work together. It made it easier for them to share and talk about their music recordings. But soon, it became a popular way for musicians to share their music with everyone. Wired magazine said that SoundCloud quickly became a strong competitor to Myspace. Myspace was a popular platform for musicians at that time.
Growing Big: Users and Funding
In April 2009, SoundCloud received €2.5 million in early funding. By May 2010, SoundCloud announced it had one million users. In January 2011, the company raised another US$10 million.
By June 2011, SoundCloud had five million registered users. Famous people like Ashton Kutcher also invested in it. In January 2012, the number of users reached 10 million. By May 2012, SoundCloud had 15 million users, and 1.5 million new users were joining every month.
Deals and Challenges
In March 2014, Twitter planned to work with SoundCloud to create a music app. However, this project did not happen. SoundCloud could not get the necessary agreements with music companies to use licensed music.
By July 2013, SoundCloud had 40 million registered users. About 20 million new users were joining each month.
In January 2014, SoundCloud started talking with major music companies. They wanted to get licenses for music that was being uploaded without permission. This happened after SoundCloud raised US$60 million, making the company worth about $700 million. These talks aimed to avoid problems like those faced by YouTube. YouTube had to deal with many requests to remove copyrighted videos.
In May 2015, there were rumors that Twitter might buy SoundCloud for about US$2 billion. But this idea was dropped. Some reports said the numbers did not make sense. Others believed it was because SoundCloud still could not make deals with big music labels.
In September 2016, Spotify also thought about buying SoundCloud. But by December 2016, Spotify decided not to go through with the purchase.
.jpg)
In February 2019, SoundCloud announced it had over 200 million sound tracks. This was four times more than what Myspace had. In May 2019, SoundCloud bought Repost Network, a platform that helps artists share their music. In January 2020, Sirius XM invested US$75 million in SoundCloud.
New Ways to Pay Artists
On March 2, 2021, SoundCloud introduced a new way to pay artists called "fan-powered royalties." This system started on April 1, 2021. With this model, artists earn money directly from their fans' subscriptions and ad revenue. This is different from the old system where all money went into one big "pool" and was then divided. This new method is supposed to help smaller, independent artists whose fans listen to their music often.
In December 2021, SoundCloud's Chief Financial Officer, Drew Wilson, said the company was close to making a profit. He expected them to be profitable by 2023. The rise of "SoundCloud Rap" also helped the platform gain more users. SoundCloud is an interactive platform, which helps artists become popular.
How SoundCloud Makes Money
In August 2014, SoundCloud launched "On SoundCloud." This program allowed "Premier" partners to earn money from their content. They could use audio ads, sponsorships, and mobile ads. SoundCloud made deals with partners like Comedy Central and independent music labels. They were also talking with major record labels.
In December 2014, it was reported that SoundCloud might raise US$150 million. This would make the company worth over a billion dollars. The issue with major music labels came up again. SoundCloud signed a deal with Warner Music Group. This deal allowed Warner Music to collect money for songs they chose to monetize. Other labels were still unsure about SoundCloud's business plan.
By December 2014, SoundCloud was sharing ad revenue with about 60 partners. But concerns about the money led Sony Music Entertainment to remove its content in May 2015. In June 2015, SoundCloud made a deal with the Merlin Network. This group represents 20,000 independent record labels. This deal allowed them to monetize their content.
In January and March 2016, SoundCloud made deals with Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. A Universal Music Group spokesperson said the deal might let them limit some content to paid subscribers. This suggested SoundCloud was planning its own subscription service.
In February 2017, SoundCloud launched a new subscription called SoundCloud Go. It cost US$5 per month and removed ads and allowed offline listening. The original plan was renamed SoundCloud Go+. It offered over 150 million songs, offline playback, no ads, and premium tracks for US$10 per month. These plans were for listeners. There were separate plans for creators.
In 2017, SoundCloud faced financial difficulties. They needed to raise US$100 million to keep the platform going. In July 2017, SoundCloud announced layoffs and closed two offices to save money. In August 2017, SoundCloud secured a US$169.5 million investment. With this investment, Kerry Trainor became the new CEO, and Michael Weissman became the COO. Alexander Ljung stayed as chairman, and Eric Wahlforss became Chief Product Officer until 2019.
In May 2022, SoundCloud bought Musiio, an AI music company from Singapore. This was to add new features like better music discovery on the site.
SoundCloud Features and Apps
In December 2012, SoundCloud updated its system to work better on mobile devices. It added features like listening to multiple things at once and easier navigation. At this time, SoundCloud was reaching 180 million people each month. About 10 hours of new content were uploaded every minute.
Mobile Apps for Users and Creators
SoundCloud has two mobile apps. The main SoundCloud app is for listening to music. It helps you discover new songs, create playlists, and share music. In November 2015, a separate app called SoundCloud Pulse was released for Android and iOS. This app was mainly for artists. It let them upload and manage their music, reply to comments, and see how well their music was doing. By the end of 2016, SoundCloud Pulse had over 100 million downloads.
In July 2020, SoundCloud added "Insights" to its main mobile app and stopped using SoundCloud Pulse. Now, all users can see their top listeners, top cities, top countries, and top 50 tracks. Pro Unlimited subscribers can see their top 50 in all these categories. In April 2017, you could also use Chromecast with the main SoundCloud iOS app.
SoundCloud Subscription Services
SoundCloud Go for Listeners
On March 29, 2016, SoundCloud launched SoundCloud Go. This is a paid music streaming service. It offers an ad-free experience and lets you listen offline. It also includes licensed music from major labels along with music uploaded by users. Co-founder Eric Wahlforss said this mix of content makes SoundCloud Go different from other services like Spotify and Apple Music. It has a larger and more diverse library of songs.
The service first cost US$10 per month. On February 28, 2017, SoundCloud renamed this plan to SoundCloud Go+. They also added a cheaper plan called SoundCloud Go for US$5 per month. This cheaper plan does not include the licensed music library but still offers ad-free and offline listening. SoundCloud Go+ also lets you mix tracks for certain DJ apps and has a complete music catalog.
Next Pro for Musicians
SoundCloud offers premium services for musicians called Next Pro. With Next Pro, artists can upload unlimited audio files. They get access to detailed statistics about their music. They can also share their music to other streaming platforms. This service helps artists reach more people. Next Pro costs US$99 per year and is available worldwide.
SoundCloud for Artists
In October 2022, SoundCloud announced a new program called "SoundCloud For Artists." This is a new version of Repost Network, which SoundCloud bought in 2019. Repost Network used to have two parts: Repost and Repost Select. Repost was a paid service for anyone to share their music. Repost Select was a special department that helped artists and independent labels with marketing, funding, and music distribution.
In July 2022, SoundCloud made a deal with BlondeWorld Label. This was the first independent label to partner with SoundCloud before the rebranding.
SoundCloud's Impact on Music
Changing the Music Industry
SoundCloud changed how artists share and promote their music. It became a new way for artists to release music without needing a record label. SoundCloud users are both listeners and artists, creating a community. Features like commenting, liking, and sharing songs make it feel like a social media site.
In 2018, the Grammys started to recognize artists and music from SoundCloud. This showed how popular the platform and its artists had become. Chance the Rapper is a great example of a SoundCloud artist who changed the industry. He released his first mixtape, 10 Day, on SoundCloud. He chose not to sign with a major label. He felt it was better to give his music "without any limit on it."
SoundCloud Rap Music
SoundCloud helped create a new type of rap music called SoundCloud rap. Artists like Lil Pump, XXXTentacion, Juice Wrld, Lil Uzi Vert, and Playboi Carti started on SoundCloud. Many of them later became very popular on the Billboard charts.
This new sound was different from mainstream rap. It often had a rougher, darker sound because it was made with less professional equipment. SoundCloud rap often has a lo-fi feel, with strong melodies and distorted sounds. The lyrics often use repetition. SoundCloud artists are also known for their unique looks, like bright hair and face tattoos.
Smokepurpp, a SoundCloud artist, said that his first songs on the platform were recorded using a simple headphone microphone. SoundCloud's "do-it-yourself" nature allowed millions of artists to share their work without needing expensive studio equipment. This freedom means many SoundCloud rappers can post songs quickly or upload many tracks at once. For example, Lil Uzi Vert often uploaded songs to SoundCloud without telling anyone except close friends. The imperfect sound of these SoundCloud rappers helped them become popular and create a new rap style.
Where SoundCloud is Available
SoundCloud is available in most parts of the world. However, some countries have blocked access to the website.
In November 2013, the desktop version of SoundCloud was blocked in mainland China. By March 2014, the mobile version and app were also completely blocked there. The government of Turkey blocked access to SoundCloud in January 2014. In October 2022, Russia's media regulator blocked access to SoundCloud. This was because the platform refused to remove certain podcasts.
See also
- Weird SoundCloud
