Editing SoundCloud (section)

==History==

===Founding (2007–2008)===
On August 27, 2007, Swedish sound designer Alexander Ljung and Swedish electronic musician Eric Wahlforss founded SoundCloud in Berlin. The website for SoundCloud was launched on October 17, 2008. 

It was originally intended to allow musicians to collaborate by facilitating the sharing and discussion of recordings, but later transformed into a publishing tool for music distribution. According to Wired magazine, soon after its inception, SoundCloud began to challenge the dominance of Myspace as a platform for musicians to distribute their music. 

===Early Growth (2009–2013)===
In April 2009, SoundCloud received €2.5 million Series A funding from Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures. In May 2010, SoundCloud announced it had one million users. In January 2011, it was reported that SoundCloud had raised US$10 million Series B funding from Union Square Ventures and Index Ventures. On June 15, 2011, SoundCloud reported five million registered users and investments from Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary's A-Grade Fund, and on January 23, 2012, it reported 10 million registered users. 

In July 2013, SoundCloud had 40 million registered users and new users were joining at 20 million per month. 

===Licensing Negotiations and Twitter Partnership (2014–2015)===
SoundCloud announced in January 2014 that it had commenced licensing negotiations with major music companies to address unauthorized, copyrighted material regularly appearing on the platform. The announcement followed a round of funding in which US$60 million was raised, resulting in a $700 million valuation. 

In March 2014, Twitter announced it would partner with SoundCloud in developing its first integrated music app. However, the project never moved forward because SoundCloud could not accommodate licensed music due to a lack of necessary arrangements with music labels. 

In May 2015, reports emerged that Twitter was considering acquiring SoundCloud for approximately $2 billion, though the acquisition never materialized. In September 2016, Spotify was also reported to be exploring a purchase of SoundCloud, but abandoned those efforts by December 2016.

===SoundCloud Go and Financial Difficulties (2016–2017)===
On March 29, 2016, SoundCloud unveiled SoundCloud Go, a subscription-based music streaming service providing an ad-free experience, offline playback, and licensed music from major labels integrated into the existing user-uploaded content of the service. 

In early 2016, SoundCloud reached licensing deals with Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sony Music Entertainment, which limited certain material to paid subscribers. The deal with UMG, a company that had once declared SoundCloud a "pirate site," gave UMG the right to directly take down any files on SoundCloud that violated its copyright. 

On February 28, 2017, SoundCloud renamed its main Go plan SoundCloud Go+, adding a secondary tier titled SoundCloud Go at a US$5 price point, which does not include the licensed music library but still offers ad-free and offline playback. 

By mid-2017, SoundCloud faced a severe financial crisis, laying off approximately 40 percent of its global workforce. The Raine Group and Temasek Holdings acquired a majority stake in the company for approximately US$170 million, stabilizing operations and preventing a potential shutdown.

===Recovery and Profitability (2018–2024)===
In 2021, SoundCloud overhauled its royalty distribution model. Under the new model, royalties are awarded on the basis of subscription and advertising revenue, as opposed to the number of streams.  This fan-powered royalty system was widely praised as a fairer and more transparent approach to compensating independent artists.

In 2022, SoundCloud had to let go of 20 percent of its employees worldwide to cope with the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May 2023, a further 8 percent of full-time positions were cut in order to meet the owners' profit targets. 

SoundCloud achieved positive EBITDA in 2024, marking its first sustained period of profitability. The two main shareholders approached investment banks in early 2024 to prepare a possible sale of SoundCloud, with the Berlin-based company valued at approximately EUR 1 billion. 

===Recent Developments (2025)===
On September 15, 2025, it was announced that the MP3 and Opus audio formats would be deprecated on November 15, 2025, and replaced by 96 kbit/s and 160 kbit/s AAC via HLS, as part of efforts to provide a standardized experience across various devices and operating systems. 

In 2025, SoundCloud also deployed generative AI remix tools and added new social features allowing users to connect with friends and favorite artists. The platform partnered with Imogen Heap's Auracles on an artist data platform and expanded to connected TV through a partnership with Norigin Media.