Soundcloud’s revenue skyrockets over $100 Million. Are they safe now?

After the many troubles faced in 2017, Soundcloud has finally unveiled some good news, announcing that the Berlin-based company’s revenue has soared past the $100 million mark.  Kerry Trainor, the company’s CEO, announced this in an interview with the Financial Times, but is this enough to officially count the company in safe waters and truly believe they left behind their troubled past? It’s hard to say as of now, but this is definitely positive news for all the artists and content creators who use the platform on a daily basis.

You may all remember last year when Soundcloud faced a near bankruptcy,  closed two offices and fired 40% of its staff (173 people). Despite this, a mysterious investor, The Raine Group, and Temasek Holdings saved the platforms pulling off a $170 million emergency bailout, which brought the company back on track, with much work to do to rebuild its empire. With Kerry Trainor (former CEO of Vimeo) as new CEO, the company has new goals and plans for the future. His involvement with the company has led to Soundcloud surpassing their growth revenue targets of $100 million, and kickstarted a new area of financial stability for the platform.

The secret of this new strategy is setting the artist at the core of it, initiating a new path that allows creators to buy the creative tools they need for about $70 to $100 a year, and share their crafts with the world. On this note, the platform has recently introduced a new feature to its ‘Pro Unlimited‘ users, which allows them to easily schedule their releases and uploads ahead of time. So they no longer focus on marketing themselves as a music subscription service like Apple Music, Spotify, etc. A smart strategy considering that Soundcloud outweighs Spotify in tracks hosted on the platforms, counting an impressing 177 million tracks opposed to the mere 40 million on Spotify. By giving artist easy tools to publish their music, Soundcloud in returns draws in listeners on the portal.

So far this seems to be working, as they are experiencing a period of flourishing financial growth, but it’s still a long way from claiming victory. While the engagement and digital presence on the platform is still high and rivals Spotify, the Berlin company will need to come up with a formidable long-term strategy to differentiate itself from its competitors. Not to mention that a future acquisition from Spotify or other suitors, is still in the air, as Trainor believes that an acquisition could be in the best interest of Soundcloud.