New reports confirm what we’ve been reporting for several months: SoundCloud needs a lot of cash or it needs a buyer; and it needs one of them fast. So far, attempts at monetization have not been able to turn around the money losing music service.
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Since last summer, SoundCloud has been trying to raise $100 million without success, according to multiple reports. And no white knight, including Spotify or Google, are actively seeking to save the company.
The net result could be an aquisition at a price far below the $700 million valuation that investors had given the company. The new fire-sale price is anything above the $250 million that investors poured into the company, sources tell recode.
A SoundCloud spokesperson told recode that they are still talking to potential investors; and that the conversations, led by new CFO Holly Lim, “reflect the market interest in our differentiated platform, unmatched user reach and strong outlook for 2017 and beyond.”
Who would buy a money losing SoundCloud?
Spotify had been interested in buying SoundCloud, but didn’t want to damage its pre-IPO balance sheet. Plus a new acquisition means Spotify could build its own SoundCloud-like service. Apple and Google both have the cash and could use SoundCloud to grow their existing music services exponentially. Or could the buyer be another tech giant looking to get into the music business?