SoundCloud settles for lender, takes US$70M lifeline

The Berlin-based streaming audio platform, which revealed it could run out of cash before the year was out, has secured a US$70 million round of debt funding.

The lifeline comes from three new investors, Ares Capital, Kreos Capital, and Davidson Technology, and will be used to expand its technology, make new hires and according to an official statement build “a financially sustainable platform.”

UK Business Insider broke the story after it found documents filed with Companies House in the UK.

It could be said SoundCloud has ‘settled’; the platform was either looking to raise US$100 million to stay afloat or sell. It had previously raised US$123 million last year, including US$70 million from Twitter.

SoundCloud launched its premium on-demand streaming service SoundCloud Go in Australia last September when it announced plans to hire a Sydney-based advertising sales team.

At the time though, it was rumoured to be seeking a buyer with Spotify and Google named in industry whispers.

The decade-old company has 135 million tracks and 175 million monthly listeners, but that figure was released in 2014 and the company is yet to update it.

This article originally appeared on The Industry Observer, which is now part of The Music Network.