Despite landing a deal with Universal Music Group only one month ago, the latest financial filings of internet behemoth SoundCloud suggest the end is near.
Reported first in Music Business Worldwide, the Berlin-based smusic streaming service pulled in just over $15,250,000 while reporting losses upwards of $44,000,000.
In SoundCloud’s three year existence, the losses total nearly $84,928,500, with only about $40,000,000 in income. Employees of the company have been well off, with a 42.5% wage increase to average out nearly $90,500 a year.
The report makes it clear that, while the company had “adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future,” SoundCloud was heavily reliant on “further capital investment” to continue operating in 2015.
It seems the “landmark” deal with Universal, allowing fans to stream artists such as U2, Taylor Swift and Kanye West for the first time via the service may have come too late.
Sony, the only major recording label to not have inked a deal with SoundCloud, may have prevented losses by holding out. SoundCloud’s only saving grace may come from future success of the long-awaited subscription service confirmed last July.
According to the Financial Times, SoundCloud auditor KPMG reported that the need for more investment represented “a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern.”