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Ooooh boy. This feels like the kiss of death for SC. So many startups hit this point and then get rescued at the 11th hour with more funding... on the condition

Ooooh boy. This feels like the kiss of death for SC. So many startups hit this point and then get rescued at the 11th hour with more funding... on the condition of ushering in a new CEO and COO to try and pivot the company's direction. They completely change up the product and drive away the users, and the entire thing collapses like a house of cards.

lavezzi 9y ago
Don't worry, SoundCloud has been driving away core users and artists for years now. Can't see what's wrong at this stage with a final throw of the dice from someone with different ideas.
- triplesec 9y ago
  what kind of things has it been doing to drive them away?
- devmunchies 9y ago
  Where are the bedroom DJs and indies going now, then? I think soundcloud is still the place to be. I'm a daily user.
  - jtmcmc 9y ago
    mixcloud, bandcamp
  - bigbugbag 9y ago
    Those who didn't leave soundcloud in 2014, left after the 2015 purge. Many went to mixcloud.
    - devmunchies 9y ago
      I've been using SC since 2011 and didn't even know about these exoduses. I even though it was getting more popular. Guess I was out of the loop. EDIT: I just created an account on Mixcloud and searched for 11 artists i'm following on SC and not a single one had a presence on Mixcloud. I'm calling bs on that.
jbob2000 9y ago
SoundCloud's problem was going too big too fast. The investors think that SC is going to compete with iTunes/YouTube/Spotify/etc. It's not. It's an audio file hosting service. It has incredible professional use cases, but it is not a mass market audio streaming service.
- virgil_disgr4ce 9y ago
  Agreed. I've never personally seen it as a source for music I want to listen to on a daily basis (though clearly a lot of people do use it that way).
  - seanp2k2 9y ago
    At one point, back in like 2012 when trap was all the rage, SoundCloud had interesting stuff coming out every day. I'd listen to it in the car, and was annoyed at the bug where turning your phone to landscape required switch apps then switching back to trigger SoundCloud to actually reorient itself. It was my source of new music, and going to trap shows and clubs in the Bay Area, I'd know what was being played even if it was super new. I remember making a joke at one point when some friends commented on my SC usage that "I only listen to music that was released today". We lived in the future for a little while there.
    - virgil_disgr4ce 9y ago
      I'll evolve that wonderful quote slightly: "I only listen to music that was made today" could be an amazing guiding principal for SoundCloud that differentiates it from Spotify et al.
- WalterSear 9y ago
  It wasn't too big too fast. It was the wrong direction entirely. They misunderstood their market and their product, and thought they could become Spotify. It's like Etsy deciding they want to be the next Amazon.
  - 9y ago
AndrewKemendo 9y ago
Isn't the point that SC messed up by trying to compete with Spotify and now the new CEO/COO are going to double down on the "Youtube for music" option? I mean I get why SC went the direction of Spotify, Youtube is going that direction too!
- new299 9y ago
  Unfortunately, Youtube is the youtube for music. :(
  - beepboopbeep 9y ago
    Unless you turn your screen off. Then it's just silence. Lots of it.
    - notheguyouthink 9y ago
      I thought they allowed that? Though, pay only via Red edit: Why the down vote? I was serious - I thought with Youtube Red you could listen with the screen off, am I wrong? Perhaps I misunderstood your screen on statement. edit2: Well, as others confirmed, it is indeed allowed via Youtube Red like I said. So my post being down voted makes no sense, the OP was wrong. Get your shit together HNer. edit3: Well, the down vote has been reverted (or upvoted out of it) - regardless, I probably overreacted. To be clear, I don't care about the "Karma" (I try to recreate accounts somewhat often for privacy), I just get irrationally angry when it feels like people try to silence you for an unexplained reason. It's why I hate Reddit.
      - mort96 9y ago
        Just getting YouTube red is a great solution - for those two or so countries where it's available. Most of us here in the non-US part of the world don't really have that option.
        k_sh 9y ago
        This is payback for everyone else getting Spotify before we did.
jldugger 9y ago
Kiss of death is probably the wrong term. It's not like these companies are healthy and decide to cash out to some rapacious VC. More like like CPR: lifesaving but usually comes with a lot of injurious complications. Yes, grandpa was never the same after his heart attack, but the nursing home seems like a better option than the funeral home.
oelmekki 9y ago
Seems to me like completely changing up the product was the previous direction (trying to squeeze in some kind of spotify-like product), and the article mentions explicitly the new CEO want to get back to the core value of the service. Of course, we'll see what they mean by that and how it will be executed, but it sounds like good news, actually.
- forthelove 9y ago
  That's the problem tho, isn't it? The core value of the service was great for fans, but not for any sort of business and certainly not for the labels (without whom SC cannot exist and hope to make any money whatsoever).
  - nitrogen 9y ago
    Why does SoundCloud need labels? They just need a way to make money with independent musicians.
    - islanderfun 9y ago
      I also believe it can make money on independent musicians. But can independent musicians money scale to VC expectations?
      - bhalp1 9y ago
        Well at this point the expectations are a little lower. "Anything but going all the way to zero" seems like the current tone.
        acchow 9y ago
        > "Anything but going all the way to zero" seems like the current tone. You don't invest in a company without expectations of ROI
      - oelmekki 9y ago
robbyking 9y ago
They already pivoted, though, and that pivot was their downfall. I understand that the goal of any business is to make money be profitable, but SoundCloud went from being a resource for independent musicians to an also-ran in the subscription music streaming race.
twblalock 9y ago
> They completely change up the product and drive away the users, and the entire thing collapses like a house of cards. The company will collapse if nothing is done. The only downside to trying something new is that the company might collapse a little bit sooner if the new direction doesn't work out. On the other hand, there is a chance the company can be saved, so it seems like they might as well try it.

lavezzi 9y ago

Don't worry, SoundCloud has been driving away core users and artists for years now. Can't see what's wrong at this stage with a final throw of the dice from someone with different ideas.

triplesec 9y ago
what kind of things has it been doing to drive them away?
devmunchies 9y ago
Where are the bedroom DJs and indies going now, then? I think soundcloud is still the place to be. I'm a daily user.
- jtmcmc 9y ago
  mixcloud, bandcamp
- bigbugbag 9y ago
  Those who didn't leave soundcloud in 2014, left after the 2015 purge. Many went to mixcloud.
  - devmunchies 9y ago
    I've been using SC since 2011 and didn't even know about these exoduses. I even though it was getting more popular. Guess I was out of the loop. EDIT: I just created an account on Mixcloud and searched for 11 artists i'm following on SC and not a single one had a presence on Mixcloud. I'm calling bs on that.

jbob2000 9y ago

SoundCloud's problem was going too big too fast. The investors think that SC is going to compete with iTunes/YouTube/Spotify/etc. It's not. It's an audio file hosting service. It has incredible professional use cases, but it is not a mass market audio streaming service.

virgil_disgr4ce 9y ago
Agreed. I've never personally seen it as a source for music I want to listen to on a daily basis (though clearly a lot of people do use it that way).
- seanp2k2 9y ago
  At one point, back in like 2012 when trap was all the rage, SoundCloud had interesting stuff coming out every day. I'd listen to it in the car, and was annoyed at the bug where turning your phone to landscape required switch apps then switching back to trigger SoundCloud to actually reorient itself. It was my source of new music, and going to trap shows and clubs in the Bay Area, I'd know what was being played even if it was super new. I remember making a joke at one point when some friends commented on my SC usage that "I only listen to music that was released today". We lived in the future for a little while there.
  - virgil_disgr4ce 9y ago
    I'll evolve that wonderful quote slightly: "I only listen to music that was made today" could be an amazing guiding principal for SoundCloud that differentiates it from Spotify et al.
WalterSear 9y ago
It wasn't too big too fast. It was the wrong direction entirely. They misunderstood their market and their product, and thought they could become Spotify. It's like Etsy deciding they want to be the next Amazon.
- 9y ago

AndrewKemendo 9y ago

Isn't the point that SC messed up by trying to compete with Spotify and now the new CEO/COO are going to double down on the "Youtube for music" option? I mean I get why SC went the direction of Spotify, Youtube is going that direction too!

new299 9y ago
Unfortunately, Youtube is the youtube for music. :(
- beepboopbeep 9y ago
  Unless you turn your screen off. Then it's just silence. Lots of it.
  - notheguyouthink 9y ago
    I thought they allowed that? Though, pay only via Red edit: Why the down vote? I was serious - I thought with Youtube Red you could listen with the screen off, am I wrong? Perhaps I misunderstood your screen on statement. edit2: Well, as others confirmed, it is indeed allowed via Youtube Red like I said. So my post being down voted makes no sense, the OP was wrong. Get your shit together HNer. edit3: Well, the down vote has been reverted (or upvoted out of it) - regardless, I probably overreacted. To be clear, I don't care about the "Karma" (I try to recreate accounts somewhat often for privacy), I just get irrationally angry when it feels like people try to silence you for an unexplained reason. It's why I hate Reddit.
    - mort96 9y ago
      Just getting YouTube red is a great solution - for those two or so countries where it's available. Most of us here in the non-US part of the world don't really have that option.
      - k_sh 9y ago
        This is payback for everyone else getting Spotify before we did.

jldugger 9y ago

Kiss of death is probably the wrong term. It's not like these companies are healthy and decide to cash out to some rapacious VC. More like like CPR: lifesaving but usually comes with a lot of injurious complications. Yes, grandpa was never the same after his heart attack, but the nursing home seems like a better option than the funeral home.

oelmekki 9y ago

Seems to me like completely changing up the product was the previous direction (trying to squeeze in some kind of spotify-like product), and the article mentions explicitly the new CEO want to get back to the core value of the service. Of course, we'll see what they mean by that and how it will be executed, but it sounds like good news, actually.

forthelove 9y ago
That's the problem tho, isn't it? The core value of the service was great for fans, but not for any sort of business and certainly not for the labels (without whom SC cannot exist and hope to make any money whatsoever).
- nitrogen 9y ago
  Why does SoundCloud need labels? They just need a way to make money with independent musicians.
  - islanderfun 9y ago
    I also believe it can make money on independent musicians. But can independent musicians money scale to VC expectations?
    - bhalp1 9y ago
      Well at this point the expectations are a little lower. "Anything but going all the way to zero" seems like the current tone.
      - acchow 9y ago
        > "Anything but going all the way to zero" seems like the current tone. You don't invest in a company without expectations of ROI
    - oelmekki 9y ago

robbyking 9y ago

They already pivoted, though, and that pivot was their downfall. I understand that the goal of any business is to make money be profitable, but SoundCloud went from being a resource for independent musicians to an also-ran in the subscription music streaming race.

twblalock 9y ago

> They completely change up the product and drive away the users, and the entire thing collapses like a house of cards. The company will collapse if nothing is done. The only downside to trying something new is that the company might collapse a little bit sooner if the new direction doesn't work out. On the other hand, there is a chance the company can be saved, so it seems like they might as well try it.