Skip to main content

SoundCloud pursuing its first licensing deals with record labels

SoundCloud pursuing its first licensing deals with record labels

Share this story

soundcloud iphone 1020
soundcloud iphone 1020

SoundCloud has long played host to indie musicians, podcasters, and beat boxers, but soon it could transition into the YouTube for audio it's always aspired to be. With a fresh infusion of $60 million from venture capitalists, SoundCloud plans to pursue licensing deals with record labels so copyrighted music can be posted and played on the site, reports Recode. Today, SoundCloud systematically takes down copyrighted content, but soon, you might be able to play your favorite tracks on the site, just like you can on YouTube. SoundCloud's latest round of fundraising values the company at around $700 million, The Wall Street Journal reports.

We might soon see licensed music on SoundCloud with accompanying ads

SoundCloud has a very different community from YouTube, and lets you annotate and comment on tracks as you listen to them. For this reason, some speculate that there is truly an opportunity for a "YouTube of music" even though so many people flock to YouTube to listen to their favorite tracks. This means we might soon see licensed music on SoundCloud with accompanying ads, just like on YouTube. As SoundCloud expand its business beyond subscriptions for unlimited sound uploads, an ad-supported content model seems logical.