SoundCloud Cuts Jobs & Closes Offices in San Francisco & London
Things aren't looking good for SoundCloud. The streaming service which has been a big way for indie artists to get their music out there has been struggling to move from being a free service to a subscription model. And by the looks of thing, the struggle just got real. In an attempt to keep things going, the service has cut 40 percent of its workforce and shuttered its offices in San Francisco and London. “We need to ensure our path to long-term, independent success,” said company co-founder and CEO Alex Ljung in a blog post. He later added, “In the competitive world of music streaming, we’ve spent the last several years growing our business, and more than doubled our revenue in the last 12 months alone. However, we need to ensure our path to long-term, independent success. And in order to do this, it requires cost cutting, continued growth of our existing advertising and subscription revenue streams, and a relentless focus on our unique competitive advantage — artists and creators." We hope that, if only for the sake of the many independent artist to whom the service is vital, SoundCloud is able to pull through and bounce back. #IsThisTheEnd
