We have all heard of Soundcloud. A website geared towards providing streaming platforms for emerging and independent recording artists. The brand has been so influential that independent hip-hop artists are often labeled as “Soundcloud rappers”. Many household names had their start on the music platform. Post Malone, Bryson Tiller, and Kodak Black are notable examples just to name a few.
Media outlets over the world have been in a frenzy since news got out that they fired 40% of their staff and closed two of their biggest offices in London, and San Fransisco. Various news outlets have been reporting that sources at SoundCloud tell TechCrunch 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.
In my opinion, I feel that the site became over saturated with subpar music and lost it’s credibility as a legitimate source for content. When companies like TuneCore began offering services to get indie music on iTunes, and Spotify they lost a bulk of their users. In January they announced that they were running out of money and we thought they were doing better since we did not hear anything. It turns out that the situation is worse than any of us thought.
Chance the rapper took to Twitter to speak on the situation with other users.
Could Soundcloud be approaching it’s final days? Can Chance the Rapper save the day? How would that effect the underground music industry? Let us know in the comments below!
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