Soundcloud and Spotify fill very different niches in the music streaming market. Spotify is slightly more difficult to break into, you have to either be signed

Soundcloud and Spotify fill very different niches in the music streaming market. Spotify is slightly more difficult to break into, you have to either be signed to a label or start your own label and get set up with a distributor to put your music on it (just like Tidal or any of the download stores). With Soundcloud, you can upload anything you want, and the barrier to entry is very low. It's important to those of us who are discovering new artists for whatever reason (DJ, record label, promoter, management, etc.), because artists can put their music on Soundcloud for the world to hear without already being involved in the industry. Soundcloud Go turned them into a competitor with Spotify, but that was never their forte in the first place. They just saw it as a way to possibly make money. I think they need to focus on the community aspect of things, and see themselves as more of a social networking tool centered around music rather than yet another music store/streaming service.