SoundCloud, which has fashioned itself “the YouTube of audio,” will reportedly be on the acquisition market in 2024, according to a report in Sky News.
“Sky News has learnt that Raine Group and Temasek Holdings, the Singaporean state investment fund, have begun interviewing investment banks about a prospective auction of the company,” the report states. The owners are reportedly expecting to achieve an acquisition price greater than one billion U.S. dollars.
SoundCloud is a crowdfunded music showcase and streaming listening platform, founded in 2007. With an ingestion process far simpler than Spotify and other streamers which generally require a distribution service to access, Soundcloud makes it easy for any musician to upload a recording directly. This simplicity, paired with a substantial global catalog, has long earned SoundCloud the nickname “the YouTube of audio.”
Currently over 40-million musicians and bands maintain a presence on SoundCloud, creating a listening catalog of 320-million tracks.
SoundCloud has operated under a series of fragmented ownership structures. Raine Group and Temasek Holdings are the controlling investors currently, and are reportedly launching the sales process. Sirius XM bought a piece of SoundCloud in 2020, investing $75-million.
Eliah Seton is currently CEO, having joined SoundCloud in 2001 as President. Previously, Seton was at Warner Music Group for several years, serving as President of Independent Music & Creator Services and other executive roles.
(H/T: Michael Robertson)
