The future of digital music streaming and the landscape that comes with it is continuing to shift, as the Financial Times released a report yesterday announcing that music streaming platform Spotify is in advanced talks to buy rival company SoundCloud.
Those who were briefed about these advanced talks noted that it was unclear how much Spotify would actually pay for SoundCloud and that there was still a possibility that the discussion could collapse. If the talks do ultimately go through, however, this could be the potential for an entirely new giant in the music streaming space that will hold its own among competitors like Apple and Tidal.
According to the Financial Times, Spotify declined to comment and SoundCloud was not immediately available for a statement.
SoundCloud has been struggling to stay above water as of late, as they have not profited yet, regardless of the 200 million users and 135 million tracks that use and exist on the platform. It does hold its own in the independent creative community, as it is a highly sought out platform for the creators who need a platform to display their works – many remixes, tracks, DJ sets and EDM songs live on the site in a massive catalogue of sound.
This acquisition would come with risks for Spotify, but it would also come with benefits – they would be given access to this creative community and, in turn, allow the emerging artists that use SoundCloud as a platform to be discovered to also migrate to Spotify more easily. It would expand their current platform of tracks and allow for a larger variety of sound.
This purchase could be a game changer in the world of digital music streaming. Your move, Spotify. What’s next?