SoundCloud Finds Funding To Stay Afloat, CEO To Step Aside
After finding funding from Raine Group and Temasek, SoundCloud’s future was up to a vote.
Last month, SoundCloud sent shockwaves through the music industry as they laid off 40% of its staff as they continued their search for funding to stay afloat. The entire music scene was buzzing with news regarding the potential shutdown of the company as industry leaders and artists began to chime in on their thoughts of SoundCloud’s future.
If you held on and didn’t fully buy into sensationalist headlines of impending doom, the story continued to develop throughout the month of July. This led to the major news that SoundCloud found $169.5 million dollars in Series F funding from the Raine Group and Temasek, allowing the company to survive further into the future. The Raine Group, based out of New York, has a history of investing in creator driven platforms, media, and entertainment companies ranging from VICE Media to Draft Kings, and even C3 Presents.
“SoundCloud is a unique and essential music platform for new and developing artists,” said Fred Davis, Partner at Raine. “For ten years, SoundCloud has been the birthplace of genre-breaking musical movements in Electronica and Hip Hop. We are excited to partner with Temasek on this investment and are confident our involvement can ensure it remains the most artist-friendly music creation and streaming platform in the world.”
With this funding came some changes to the structure of the company, as founder and CEO Alexander Ljung has moved over to take on the chairman role. Former Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor will step in to lead the next period of SoundCloud’s history and Michael Weissman will join the team as Chief Operating Officer.
Alexander Ljung, founder and Chairman of the Board of SoundCloud, said regarding the move:
“Now in its 10th year, I’m proud to say SoundCloud stands as an indispensable part of global music culture. I look forward to fully dedicating my time to leading the board and helping drive SoundCloud’s long term strategic vision, and forging strategic partnerships and connections with industry partners and our one-of-a-kind creative community. With Kerry’s love of music and sharp business acumen, I know SoundCloud is positioned for continued success for many years to come.”
Hopefully, this investment will allow for SoundCloud to remain a consistent player in the music industry for the foreseeable future. The website continues to grow its collection as more content creators upload their work to the site every day. Now hitting $100 million in revenue annually, the ability for the media platform to become less reliant on outside investors is a valid possibility. To achieve this, SoundCloud will need to continue to grow the platform further and make their subscription tiers more appealing.
What are your thoughts on SoundCloud and the future of the service? Let us know in the comments below!
About SoundCloud:
SoundCloud is a catalyst for creativity, powered by a connected community of creators, listeners, and curators who are on the pulse of what’s new, now and next in music and creative culture. As the home to the world’s most diverse creator community and the largest music streaming catalog available, SoundCloud lets you stream, share, discover and influence global music culture. For more information, visit www.soundcloud.com.
About The Raine Group:
The Raine Group is a global merchant bank focused exclusively on technology, media, and telecommunications. The firm has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Shanghai, and Mumbai. With a global reach, Raine focuses on investment and advisory opportunities where its deep industry experience and unique network of strategic relationships can create value for portfolio companies and clients. For more information visit http://www.raine.com.
About Temasek:
Incorporated in 1974, Temasek is an investment company headquartered in Singapore. Supported by 10 offices globally; including New York and San Francisco in the U.S., London in Europe, Beijing in China, and Mumbai in India, Temasek owns a S$275 billion (US$197b) portfolio as at 31 March 2017, mainly in Singapore and the rest of Asia. Temasek’s portfolio covers a broad spectrum of industries: financial services; telecommunications, media & technology; transportation & industrials; consumer & real estate; life sciences & agriculture; as well as energy & resources. Its investment activities are guided by four investment themes and the long term trends they represent: Transforming Economies; Growing Middle Income Populations; Deepening Comparative Advantages; and Emerging Champions. Temasek’s current and prior investments in the U.S. include Airbnb, Ancestry.com, Classpass, Dell Technologies, Intapp, Internet Brands, Jasper, Sprinklr, Univar, Verily Life Sciences, Virtu Financial and Wish. For more information, visit www.temasek.com.sg.
Grant Gilmore
Editor-In-Chief at EDM Identity
Grant has been listening to electronic dance music since the early 2000s. Actively involved in the EDM community, Grant is an admin for the EDC & Coachella subreddits and their Facebook groups. Previously he has been part of several EDM startups and promotion companies such as Shamele55, Electric State of Mind and Q-Dance. Originally listening to trance artists such as ATB, Armin Van Buuren and Paul Oakenfold, Grant has expanded his listening experience to include a full set of genres ranging from hardstyle to deep house and has been regularly attending both festivals and club events since 2010.
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