Quick Hits: SoundCloud sale questions; YouTube TV; Ed Sheeran; Spotify’s rainy day tune

Brief news items and worthy reads from around the web:

Value vs price at SoundCloud: SoundCloud has been the subject of much financial speculation. The company has long been talking about its potential to sell at a stellar valuation. However, those lofty expectations have been tempered recently by its need for more investment, which means some skepticism about whether SoundCloud could achieve anywhere near the goal price it had a few years ago.

YouTube’s new live TV service: YouTube is getting in on the TV market. With YouTube TV, with video platform is offering live television programming from the major networks and several cable channels. It also includes the YouTube Red Originals, tying in with the previous subscription effort. The new service costs $35 a month. This does feel like YouTube Red 2.0, another attempt to integrate paid content under the brand banner. But as Quartz shows, this price point may make YouTube TV an equally tough sell.

Ed Sheeran’s new album destroys records: Ed Sheeran’s having a good year. The British crooner just released the peculiarly-titled album ÷ and is breaking records left and right.The album has more than 273 million Spotify streams in its first five days, exceeding the previous top number set by The Weeknd. Also striking, Sheeran’s new project is the fastest-selling album ever by a male artist per data from the Official Charts Company. All 16 tracks are present on the Top 20 chart from the OCC.

Spotify’s rainy weather track: Thanks to a unique partnership with North Face, Spotify has a track that can only be played in areas with rainy weather. It’s part of the outdoor clothing brand’s marketing for a new rain jacket, but the campaign is also an interesting example of how a digital music company could get creative with geo-targeting technology.

Anna Washenko