SoundCloud, a music streaming platform, has laid off 8% of its workforce. The latest round of layoffs comes after the corporation fired off 20% of its workforce in August.
In a statement to employees seen by Variety, CEO Eliah Seton stated that SoundCloud is decreasing employment in order to become profitable this year.
“This is a difficult but necessary decision to ensure the health of our business and get SoundCloud profitable this year.” In doing so, we are safeguarding the company’s future for the millions of artists who rely on us for a living and self-expression, as well as the millions of fans who come to SoundCloud for the joy of music’, CEO, Seton, stated in a memo.
This is Seton’s first big move since taking over as CEO in March, succeeding Michael Weissman.
SoundCloud has increased its collaborations with labels such as Merlin and Warner Music Group in recent years to fund its fan-powered revenue programme. The project distributes ad and subscription money to the artists whose music customers have listened to. In comparison to other streaming services, it has a more granular royalties programme.
Earlier this year, the startup unveiled a vertical stream similar to TikTok for music discovery. SoundCloud developed a fan-engagement tool last month to help musicians gain additional insights and communicate with their fans.
According to SoundCloud, it has 130 million “engaged fans.” It now has over 320 million tracks from over 40 million producers.
