SoundCloud revenues soar by 31% in 2020

The Berlin-based company said it made more revenue than expected. “Total revenue exceeded expectations and our operating losses were lower than initially planned,” it said.

Operating losses shrunk from €26.2m in 2019 to €15.4m in 2020. The company’s gross profit increased by 53% to €61.1m, although it has not reached operating profitability yet. As part of its long-term strategy, SoundCloud has been focusing on reducing its operational costs since 2017. Its annual operating losses peaked at €70.5m in 2016, but have been declining since then.

SoundCloud’s streaming ad revenue jumped by 24.8% to reach €175.1m while listener subscriptions increased by a significant 156.5% for a total of €18.4m. The jump in listener subscriptions was driven by both an “influx of new Repost subscribers and growth in royalties due to increases in subscriptions and advertising revenues across music streaming services”.

SoundCloud hired a number of new executives in 2021 including its president Eliah Seton and chief content and marketing officer Lauren Wirtzer-Seawood. The platform made some ground-breaking moves such as the introduction of its ‘fan-powered royalties’ payment system, making it the first music streaming platform to launch a user-centric payment model. The service is now used by about 100 000 artists who upload their music directly to the platform.

The company also hinted at the possibility of acquiring new businesses in the future: “Having seen several mergers and acquisitions in our industry, we also see an opportunity in the current consolidation activities within the wider industry. Management continues to monitor those opportunities closely and reserves the right to react quickly to opportunities arising.”