How Audio Streaming Platform SoundCloud Journey Finished And Spotify Begins

SoundCloud was once a platform beloved by listeners and creators, whose leaders hoped to revolutionize the music industry. Hamstrung by management mistakes and fierce competition, they never did. Here’s the story of how it all came crashing down.

Starting in August 2007, the audio streaming software SoundCloud was designed to be a place for musicians to collaborate by sharing and discussing recordings. However, the website quickly became a place for artists to publish music for other users. The defining characteristic of SoundCloud that has made it so popular for aspiring musicians is that it is largely free to post and listen to music, something that sophomore Thomas Melcher, who posts beats to SoundCloud, said he appreciates.

“I like SoundCloud because it’s free, and it’s a great platform for people who don’t have prior connections to get themselves out there,” Melcher said. “It’s also free to listen to, and you can find a lot of new stuff that you don’t usually see in the mainstream like Spotify or iTunes.”

Former SoundCloud employees familiar with the Sir Bizzle incident point to it as an encapsulation of the company’s promise missed opportunities, and inability to coherently work with entrenched music industry. Three years after Bieber’s selfie, SoundCloud has squandered its position as a maverick, but the beloved audio platform failed to build a meaningful business.

In a music era dominated by Spotify, SoundCloud has been, at the best of times, a startup in stagnation, and, at the worst of times, an organization in disarray. Once harboring aspirations to be the YouTube of sound, the Berlin-based company has struggled to remain viable, hamstrung by management missteps, an ineffective business strategy, and a stubborn music industry that would rather it had never existed.

Reports started to appear online on July 5 that said SoundCloud was about to cut its 420-strong workforce by 40%. Bloomberg had read a draft blog post in which SoundCloud CEO Alex Ljung explained that the company was letting go of 173 staff, and shutting down its offices in London and San Francisco (leaving only offices in New York City and Berlin) as part of an effort to reduce costs at the company whose losses have been spiraling out of control. 

SoundCloud was constantly battling with the major music labels

In May 2015, Sony Music pulled music by several key artists from SoundCloud after the label decided it wasn’t making enough money from music hosted on the streaming site. Original recordings from Sony artists like Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Miguel, and Hozier were removed. They have later added again after SoundCloud negotiated a new deal with Sony Music. 

In August 2015, SoundCloud was sued for not paying musicians royalties. In an email sent to its members, the Performing Rights Society for Music (PRS for Music) announced that it felt it has “no alternative but to commence legal proceedings,” following “five years of unsuccessful negotiations.” 

By November 2015, loyaSoundCloud users were starting to lose faith in the site as it shifted from a hangout for DJs and radio hosts to a commercial platform. Users said the music streaming app and website had strayed from its earlier focus on supporting DJs and felt that it was unfairly removing content and focusing on high-profile users and licensed music. 

Spotify vs Soundcloud

Spotify vs Soundcloud, a hot debate in 2021 for audiophiles and brands around the globe – well, not anymore. We’re here to settle this debate once and for all!

As two massive streaming platforms, Spotify and Soundcloud both have their advantages and disadvantages. What’s more, they both fill two completely separate niches; Spotify provides a curated, expansive music streaming service for casual listeners and music fanatics alike. Soundcloud, on the other hand, is a drastically different platform, well-known for allowing startup artists and rappers to get a foot in the door.

PLAYLISTS

When it comes to playlists, there is no better music streaming service than Spotify. The app offers a multitude of options in this section. You can easily create your playlist just by clicking the New Playlist button, or you can subscribe to other user’s song selections. If you want to stay up to date on a specific user’s playlists, use the “Follow” button at the bottom of the top bar. You will get a notification when the songs are added to the playlist. Both Soundcloud and Spotify let you create public and private playlists, but you can also follow your friends and make collaborative playlists on Spotify.

On the other hand, Soundcloud allows you to repost tracks on your profile, just like Retweet. If you want to organize your songs into an album or a collection, it’s easy to make a Soundcloud playlist. Just click the “Add to Playlist” button to create a playlist and add the track. Soundcloud allows you to drag and drop songs into the playlist to reorder them. You can also change the playlist name, change the permalink, add an image, and edit the tags. What is more, Soundcloud has a great sharing tool, with which you can share your playlists via Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, Pinterest, or email. Simply copy and paste the HTML code, and a built-in mini-player will appear.

MUSIC DISCOVERY AND PODCASTS

When it comes to music discovery, both apps offer a system with suggestions of musicians and composers, which you may like. Spotify has an extensive collection of all the artists you know or have heard of. Its recommendation engine is brilliant – the app creates/shows playlists and songs according to your listening habits. The catalog is full, and you will probably find the music you are looking for. In fact, you might even say that Spotify “knows” its users – and it does! The AI tracks your song collection and playlists to make sure each recommendation matches your preferences perfectly.

Soundcloud gathers mostly indie artists, who upload their original music and various remixes of existing songs. Some musicians and labels don’t want to stream to sites like Spotify, and Soundcloud is the perfect place for them. However, when it comes to music recommendations, Soundcloud doesn’t have a good algorithm like Spotify. It shows new artists that you should check out, but the system isn’t very accurate in your music taste. Also, Soundcloud has paid recommendations, so you might see the sponsored music, even if it’s not your favorite genre.

The derivatives

Spotify has been a game changer & has almost ended music piracy globally. All its challenges apart, they have continued to make money in billions. Unfortunately that most of that revenue goes out quickly to pay a hefty sum of royalties to the music companies & artists. The concept of legally streaming content for free was further adapted by likes of Netflix which not only challenged movie piracy but also helped pave a way for original content creators who could not break into the conventional movie or TV distribution system.

Spotify has also launched many exclusive singles of aspiring artists. It benefited both the artists as well as listeners. If 15 years back anyone told us that you could legally listen to all the top music for free, we would laugh on their faces. Spotify since its inception has not just limited themselves to music but also launched various other forms of entertainment. They are limited to 60 regions around the globe, but now that the funding is not a problem, we can expect them to launch their services across every contingent. While many streaming apps & websites boast of their popularity, it is only fair to acknowledge that Spotify was indeed the flag bearer of this movement.

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If you are attracted with the facts and figures of Spotify and also want to start a similar Website like Spotify then take a look at a customizable ready-to-go Spotify clone script for your start-up.

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