Apple Music, Deezer reportedly bidding for SoundCloud

A number of major streaming players are bidding to buy SoundCloud, according to the New York Post.

The Post has named Apple Music and Deezer among the suitors, quoting sources close to the talks.

According to speculation, French-based Deezer – which is owned by Len Blavatnik’s Access Industries – is the most eager. Blavatnik also owns Warner Music Group.

The Post quoted a source, “There will be a lot of consolidation, if you are Deezer or Spotify.

“SoundCloud’s massive user base — one that is melting as it grapples with a shrinking pile of cash — lets you convert” into a much bigger player, the source noted.

Last year the Berlin-based SoundCloud’s annual revenue jumped 43% year-on-year to reach almost $28 million, mostly because of its new $9.99 subscription offer.

But like many of its rivals, it was never profitable, losing $44 million in 2014 alone.

But its 175 million users would give larger companies the opportunity to grow even larger.

Spotify was in advanced talks last September to acquire SoundCloud.

Talks fizzled then, apparently over the price, and because of its fears that any team up and licensing headaches could hurt its plans for an IPO. But these are said to be back on again.

Apple Music has long been interested in the platform, to add to its own 20 million subscribers.

A number of investment companies are also said to be interested, as are tech giants as Google

SoundCloud, which launched in 2007 and is valued at $700 million, has a huge fan base of electronica artists, producers, remixers and hip hop acts – especially in the younger demo – that the larger companies can’t match. It gives them an entry point that didn’t need the support of labels and mainstream radio.

Chance The Rapper was a perfect example. His first two mixtapes 10 Days and Acid Rap, were issued on SoundCloud. His Grammy award-winning album Coloring Book, an Apple Music exclusive at first, was SoundCloud’s most streamed album in 2016.

Meanwhile,SoundCloud rapis essentially its own subgenre at this point, and the dominance of breakout acts like XXXTentacion, SmokePurrpp, Playboi Carti and Lil Pump make the SoundCloud charts look starkly different from those of other platforms.

The scenehas been compared culturally to the earliest days of punk and thematically to psychedelia; it’s raucous, raw, and ruled by DIYacts and Gen Zfans. So it’s only a matter of time before one of the giants of online media takes on one of the internet’s most unique content spaces.