Is SoundCloud in Trouble? And MySpace Was Sold Again?
I love SoundCloud. It’s one of the most convenient ways to share audio for…well, just about anything. The problem is that SoundCloud is a solution to a business model that doesn’t exist. With no reliable income stream, it’s doomed to be a money-loser, no matter how good its service is. Danny points us to this story at FactMag.
A report casts “significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”
SoundCloud struck a landmark deal with Universal Music Group last month, but its latest financial filings suggest the company is in dire financial straits.
As Music Business Worldwide reports, the company’s recently published financial report for 2014 reveals that its overheads have increased faster than its revenue in recent years.
While SoundCloud brought in €15.37m ($17.35m) in 2014, it lost a total of €39.14m ($44.19m). Employee wages during that period also increased 42.5% to €17.9m, meaning that the average wage per employee for that year totalled €79,980.
The report makes it clear that while the company had “adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the forseeable future,” SoundCloud was heavily reliant on “further capital investment” to continue operating in 2015.
Goddammit. I hope they work things out. The whole article can be found here.
Meanwhile, MySpace still exists. No, really. It does. And it’s just been sold. Again. From Music Business Worldwide:
Yesterday, the parent company of Specific Media, Viant Technology, revealed the final insult in the long decline of MySpace.
Viant has sold its assets to Time Inc, the newspaper and magazine giant, for an undisclosed fee.
Although MySpace didn’t warrant a specific mention in the press release, it was part of this bundle of assets, which Time Inc says “will allow [us] to participate in the growing $34 billion performance advertising segment”.
“This acquisition is game changing for us,” said Time Inc. Chairman and CEO Joe Ripp.
“Marketers are selecting media partners that have either data-driven capabilities or premium content; we will be able to deliver both in a single platform, and will stand apart from those that offer just one or the other.
“In other words, we will be able to deliver advertisers’ messages targeted to optimal audiences across all types of devices, along with the ability to measure ROI.”
You’ll notice he’s excited about Viant’s ad tech, as opposed to the MySpace brand.
This could, very well, be the end.
More information here.
