SoundCloud To Slice A Fifth Of Its Global Workforce

Cutting Its Work Force

SOUNDCLOUD has begun reducing its global workforce by approximately 20%.

SOUNDCLOUD CEO MICHAEL WEISSMAN took to LINKEDIN with the news, “Making changes that affect people is incredibly hard. But it is one that is necessary to ensure SOUNDCLOUD’s long-term success given the challenging economic climate and financial market headwinds.

“For those impacted by this decision, I want to thank you personally for your passion and contributions to SOUNDCLOUD and the artist communities we serve. You have all made an incredible impact on the music industry and on artists’ lives.”

The news follows layoffs being made in the tech sector this summer, including CRUCHBASE, ORACLE and even TIKTOK.

As of the end of 2020, the SOUNDCLOUD reported having 392 employees worldwide (359 of them full-time), posting revenues of $218.7 million in 2020, up 31% year over year, with annual operating losses narrowed by 41% year over year to $17.4 million., claiming “total revenue exceeded expectations and our operating losses were lower than initially planned."

In 2017, SOUNDCLOUD laid off 173 employees in its global workforce, which then numbered 420 people.

SOUNDCLOUD was majority-acquired by THE RAINE GROUP and TEMASEK in a $170 million deal that same year – which brought now-CEO WEISSMAN into the company.

In 2020, SOUNDCLOUD accepted a $75 million investment from SIRIUSXM.

Last month, SOUNDCLOUD inked a new licensing deal with WARNER MUSIC GROUP, which will see the latter company adopt a user-centric ("Fan-Powered") royalty payout model for all of its artists going forward.

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