Sirius XM has made a $75 million investment into SoundCloud. According to the press release, SoundCloud will put the money toward product development, as well as enhancing services for creators and listeners.
This minority investment will tighten the existing ties between SoundCloud and Pandora, which Sirius XM acquired last year. With the new agreement, advertisers and brands will be able to purchase SoundCloud’s U.S. ad inventory directly through Pandora. Sirius XM will also receive two new appointees to the SoundCloud board of directors thanks to this minority investment.
“SoundCloud’s three consecutive years of strong financial performance directly reflect the success of our creator-led growth strategy,” SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor said. “We have an exciting roadmap focused on deepening the connections between creators and listeners that fuel creator discovery, career growth and the evolution of music culture on SoundCloud. We’ve built a great relationship with SiriusXM through our highly successful Pandora ad sales agreement, and their investment gives us added capital flexibility to accelerate our vision and take advantage of strategic opportunities as they arise.”
“SoundCloud’s unique platform serves a vital role in today’s music ecosystem where new artists are discovered and build their fan base, and established artists experiment and connect directly with their fans in highly effective ways,” said Jim Meyer, CEO at SiriusXM. “We admire SoundCloud’s loyal and growing audience, its offering for creators, and its reputation and popularity in global music communities. We believe this is another opportunity to continue creating value for SiriusXM stockholders by investing in expanding digital audio platforms.”