SoundCloud may "run out of cash" after suffering a €51m loss in 2015 - News - Mixmag
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SoundCloud may "run out of cash" after suffering a €51m loss in 2015

The future of SoundCloud rests in the success or failure of its subscription service

  • Valerie Lee
  • 5 January 2017

Throughout 2016, SoundCloud remained a constant in vague headlines: Spotify was rumoured to be considering buying out the competitive platform, which was debunked later on, and the streaming service unrolled its premium subscription service, ruffling more than a few feathers amongst its user base.

It's obvious that the year has been a tumultuous one for SoundCloud and in a new report from Companies House, it seems the Berlin-based platform's woes may not end there. Despite a 21.6% growth in revenue (to €21.1m), the company suffered a net loss of 30.9% to a staggering €51.22m in 2015.

Accompanied with the report was a statement from co-founder Alexander Ljung, who frankly explained that SoundCloud's finances remain at mercy of the success of its newly introduced subscription service, which was introduced to the US, UK and Germany last year priced at $9.99 per month.

"The assumption of a successful launch of the new subscription service is the key element of [our] financial projections for the next three years," Ljung began. "Whilst the directors believe that the Group will have sufficient funds to continue to meet its liabilities through 31 December 2017, the risks and uncertainties may cause the company to run out of cash earlier than that date, and would require the Group to raise additional funds which are not currently planned. These matters give rise to a material uncertainty about the Group’s ability to continue as a going concern.”

Earlier this week, rumours began to swirl about Google's potential interest in acquiring SoundCloud for half of the platform's original price tag of $1 billion. Neither SoundCloud or Google have confirmed the purchase.

Valerie Lee is Mixmag's US Digital Editor. Follow her on Twitter here

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