SoundCloud
Encyclopedia
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform which allows collaboration, promotion and distribution of audio recordings.
, Sweden
, but was established in Berlin
, Germany
in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss. It had the intention of allowing musicians to share recordings with each other, but later transformed into a full publishing tool which also allowed musicians to distribute their music tracks.
A few months after it began operating, SoundCloud began to challenge the dominance of MySpace
as a platform for musicians to distribute their music, by allowing recording artists to react more nimbly with their fans.
In a 2009 interview with Wired
, co-founder Alex Ljung said:
In April 2009, SoundCloud received €
2.5 million Series A
funding from Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures
. By May 2010, SoundCloud announced it had one million subscribers. In January 2011, it was confirmed that SoundCloud had raised a $10 million Series B funding round from Union Square Ventures
and Index Ventures
. On June 15, 2011, SoundCloud announced they had 5 million registered users, and investments from Ashton Kutcher
and Guy Oseary
's A-Grade Fund.
. This contrasts to MySpace
, which hosts music only on the MySpace site. By allowing sound files to be embedded anywhere, SoundCloud can be combined with Twitter
and Facebook
to increase its audience reach.
SoundCloud distributes music using widgets and app
s. Users can place the widget on their own websites or blogs, and then SoundCloud will automatically Tweet every track uploaded. SoundCloud has an API
that allows other applications or smartphone
s to upload or download music and sound files.
Apps are available for the iPhone
, iPad, and Android platforms and a Symbian
App is also thought to be on the way.
This API has been integrated into several applications, most notably by the Pro version of the PreSonus Studio One
DAW
. Several other web services integrate with the API, including Songkick
and FourSquare.
SoundCloud allows users to comment at a specific part of wave-graphic of the tracks.
History
SoundCloud was originally started in StockholmStockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, but was established in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
in August, 2007 by sound designer Alex Ljung and artist Eric Wahlforss. It had the intention of allowing musicians to share recordings with each other, but later transformed into a full publishing tool which also allowed musicians to distribute their music tracks.
A few months after it began operating, SoundCloud began to challenge the dominance of MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
as a platform for musicians to distribute their music, by allowing recording artists to react more nimbly with their fans.
In a 2009 interview with Wired
Wired (magazine)
Wired is a full-color monthly American magazine and on-line periodical, published since January 1993, that reports on how new and developing technology affects culture, the economy, and politics...
, co-founder Alex Ljung said:
“We both came from backgrounds connected to music, and it was just really, really annoying for us to collaborate with people on music — I mean simple collaboration, just sending tracks to other people in a private setting, getting some feedback from them, and having a conversation about that piece of music. In the same way that we’d be using Flickr for our photos, and Vimeo for our videos, we didn’t have that kind of platform for our music.”
In April 2009, SoundCloud received €
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
2.5 million Series A
Series A round
A Series A round is the name typically given to a company's first significant round of venture funding in the Silicon Valley model of startup company formation....
funding from Doughty Hanson Technology Ventures
Doughty Hanson & Co
Doughty Hanson & Co is a British private equity fund manager focused on leveraged buyout and recapitalization transactions primarily of upper middle-market companies in Europe...
. By May 2010, SoundCloud announced it had one million subscribers. In January 2011, it was confirmed that SoundCloud had raised a $10 million Series B funding round from Union Square Ventures
Union Square Ventures
Union Square Ventures is a venture capital firm based in New York City, New York, United States.The firm was founded by Fred Wilson and Brad Burnham in 2004...
and Index Ventures
Index Ventures
Index Ventures is a venture capital investment firm based in Geneva, Switzerland, with offices in London, Jersey, and starting in 2011, Silcon Valley. The firm was founded in 1996 by Neil Rimer and Giuseppe Zocco. Since its inception, the firm has raised four main venture funds and a growth...
. On June 15, 2011, SoundCloud announced they had 5 million registered users, and investments from Ashton Kutcher
Ashton Kutcher
Christopher Ashton Kutcher , best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show...
and Guy Oseary
Guy Oseary
Guy Oseary is an Israeli-American expert businessman who began his career in entertainment at 17 at what was to become Maverick Records. He is Madonna's manager.-Maverick:...
's A-Grade Fund.
Features
A key feature of SoundCloud is that it lets artists upload their music with a distinctive URLUniform Resource Locator
In computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
. This contrasts to MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, which hosts music only on the MySpace site. By allowing sound files to be embedded anywhere, SoundCloud can be combined with Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
to increase its audience reach.
SoundCloud distributes music using widgets and app
Application software
Application software, also known as an application or an "app", is computer software designed to help the user to perform specific tasks. Examples include enterprise software, accounting software, office suites, graphics software and media players. Many application programs deal principally with...
s. Users can place the widget on their own websites or blogs, and then SoundCloud will automatically Tweet every track uploaded. SoundCloud has an API
Application programming interface
An application programming interface is a source code based specification intended to be used as an interface by software components to communicate with each other...
that allows other applications or smartphone
Smartphone
A smartphone is a high-end mobile phone built on a mobile computing platform, with more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary feature phone. The first smartphones were devices that mainly combined the functions of a personal digital assistant and a mobile phone or camera...
s to upload or download music and sound files.
Apps are available for the iPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
, iPad, and Android platforms and a Symbian
Symbian
Symbian is a mobile operating system and computing platform designed for smartphones and currently maintained by Accenture. The Symbian platform is the successor to Symbian OS and Nokia Series 60; unlike Symbian OS, which needed an additional user interface system, Symbian includes a user...
App is also thought to be on the way.
This API has been integrated into several applications, most notably by the Pro version of the PreSonus Studio One
PreSonus Studio One
PreSonus Studio One is a music creation, production and mastering application for Mac OS X and Windows made by PreSonus.-Early development:In 2006, KristalLabs Software Ltd., a start-up company founded by Wolfgang Kundrus and Matthias Juwan, began working on Studio One in cooperation with PreSonus...
DAW
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
. Several other web services integrate with the API, including Songkick
Songkick
Songkick is a website and service that provides personalized news about live music events. It allows users to track their favorite bands and receive email alerts when a tracked band plays a gig nearby. Songkick is one of the original high tech startups in London's Silicon Roundabout area.- Service...
and FourSquare.
SoundCloud allows users to comment at a specific part of wave-graphic of the tracks.