SoundCloud has cleared its final major hurdle. The embattled streaming and discovery service has been in long and tenuous negotiations with the three major labels, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group and Sony for years, signing with Warner in 2014, Universal in January and now according to a new report, they just inked a deal with the last holdout, Sony Music. With all three majors in the bag, SoundCloud is now set to start rolling out its subscription tier that it desperately wants to start generating some real revenue.
First reported by Music Business Worldwide, the deal will allow Sony to buy into the Berlin-based company's next round of funding, something which really benefits SoundCloud who needs funding. Sony will also receive stock option in SoundCloud as well, giving them a pretty hefty stake in the company, though the exact numbers were not revealed.
There had been whispers that the sides were coming close to a deal that seemed inevitable at this point after Universal, the largest music label, officially signed their deal with SoundCloud in January.
They were able to put some serious animosity behind them with some public comments made on both sides and Sony pulling down content from some of its biggest artists from the service last May.
With this signed, SoundCloud now counts the three majors and Merlin, an association representing 20,000 independent labels worldwide among its partners. It also has a deal with publishing collective NMPA.
The subscription service for SoundCloud is expected at some point this year, but it isn't clear exactly when they will unveil the details for the program. The service lost $44.19 million in 2014 in their drive for growth. It has rolled out ads to try and generate some revenue, but this has offset the losses from marketing, labor, licensing etc.
