The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

London Advertising Soundcloud

Soundcloud cuts 40% of staff, closing up shop in London and San Francisco

Author

By John McCarthy, Opinion Editor

July 10, 2017 | 2 min read

Audio hosting service Soundcloud has let go 173 of its 420 staff in an attempt to balance the books. To do this it has shut offices in London and San Francisco.

Soundcloud homepage

Soundcloud homepage

The startup’s remaining staff have been consolidated into the Berlin headquarters and New York as a result of the company failing to adequately monetise its service amid rife competition from the likes of Spotify, Deezer, Amazon Music and beyond.

Alex Ljung, chief executive and cofounder of Soundcloud, said: “By reducing our costs and continuing our revenue growth, we’re on our path to profitability and in control of SoundCloud’s independent future.

“SoundCloud will continue to be the place for what’s new, now and next in music, powered by the world’s most diverse music community. I look forward to sharing more about our future plans in the weeks and months ahead.”

While the company is pushing into programmatic sales to bolster its offering to advertisers, the company has long looked for a buyer that could turn the forecast around – with the $1bn figure often thrown about.

Ljung did admit that the company has doubled its revenues in the last year – although he didn’t go as far as to sharing those figures. He said the company will buckle down with its advertising and subscription streams and continue to focus on helping artists and creatives.

London Advertising Soundcloud

More from London

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +