SoundCloud has announced that it will be laying off roughly 20 percent of its workforce due to recent changes in the economic and financial landscape, according to reports by Billboard and Variety.
âDuring this difficult time, we are focused on providing the support and resources to those transitioning while reinforcing our commitment to executing our mission to lead whatâs next in music,â the company wrote in a statement shared with Variety.
CEO Michael Weissman sent an email to SoundCloud employees on Wednesday (August 3) announcing the layoffs, which will impact employees worldwide, as Billboard reports. âTodayâs change positions SoundCloud for the long run and puts us on a path to sustained profitability,â Weissman says in the email. âWe have already begun to make prudent financial decisions across the company and that now extends to a reduction to our team.â
The announcement follows recent partnerships with Pandora and Splice, an acquisition of the artificial intelligence company Musiio, and a partnership with the management and creative services company Solid Foundation, as Variety points out.
In March 2021, the company announced a new âfan-poweredâ royalty distribution system that allegedly helps support smaller artists. They later claimed that the Portishead song âSOSâ earned 500 percent more under this new royalty system than it had under the âpro-rataâ model used by Spotify and others. In 2017, SoundCloud laid off nearly 40 percent of its workforce in an effort to âcontrolâ its âindependent future.”
Weissmanâs email also notes that SoundCloud employees in the United States and United Kingdom âwill be notified over the next few daysâ on the status of roles with the company.
Read âIs There a Fairer Way for Streaming Services to Pay Artists?â on the Pitch.
