Not long ago, the future of SoundCloud was uncertain. Significant layoffs and office closures suggested the Berlin-based streaming service didn’t have much longer. But after the company filed an annual report to the UK’s Companies House in late January, it’s clear they’re on the up and up.
According to the report, SoundCloud’s revenues grew 80% to $102 million in 2017.
More importantly, the company’s losses narrowed 27% to $58 million, down from $79.5 million the previous year. This is a huge turnaround from 2016, when only $56.6 million in earnings was reported, leading to rumors that the company may be shutting its doors for good.
A SoundCloud spokesperson told Music Business Worldwide that the 2017 report “reflects a pivotal year in which the company fully recapitalized for sustainable growth, while achieving substantial revenue growth and loss reductions vs. 2016.”
SoundCloud’s three revenue streams are advertising, subscriptions, and creator services.
The streaming giant had a few rough years leading up to the turnaround.
In 2014 it was reported that Twitter was close to acquiring the company but backed out. A similar scenario happened with Spotify, who allegedly feared it could impact their IPO. In July 2017 SoundCloud announced it had closed its London and San Francisco offices and laid off 40% of its 240 employees. One month later, SoundCloud CEO Alex Ljung stepped down and former Vimeo CEO Kerry Trainor took the reins. Soon after, the company received $170 million in a round of funding. In the past five months, SoundCloud has announced advertising partnerships with Pandora (US) and DAX (UK).
Just days before the most recent numbers were released, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, Eric Wahlforss, announced on Twitter he was stepping down from his position after more than 11 years of building the platform.