Soundcloud has been reported on more in the last 48 hours then the last two years combined. The streaming service faced serious leaks from staff after firing about 40% of it's staff this past week. The leaks which were reported to Tech Crunch claimed that the company would fail within 50 days. This of course caused an uproar in the music community.
Deadmau5 Breaks Down The Failings of Soundcloud
Soon Chance The Rapper stepped in and the artist, in some unknown way, has helped the company stay afloat. We have to imagine a large investment was involved. Deadmau5 took to twitter and in an actually fascinating discussion with his fans helped the public understand some of the more intricate reasons behind the failings of Soundcloud and what we might expect for the future of the streaming platform.
Deadmau5 also revealed some of the steps he would take to help the platform succeed. That being said he also made it very clear that he is not going to step in and help like Chance did. All in all it was very interesting and for anyone who is unfamiliar with how Soundcloud works, his tweets are actually the perfect way to learn about politics of free streaming.
It all started with this tweet from Chance:
Just had a very fruitful call with Alex Ljung. @SoundCloud is here to stay.
— Lil Chano From 79th (@chancetherapper) July 14, 2017
Then Deadmau5 got technical revealing a lot about the streaming service that the general public has decidedly ignored:
Congrats on your new boat anchor. https://t.co/7pr3mcGu8C
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
The only real value to it is the email / Facebook and twitter account db it has amassed over the years. That's a db a record label wants. https://t.co/iemO7tPJKv
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
We still have hope, I've got my 40 bucks on Spotify waving a cheque in someone's face for their user db. https://t.co/8B1FmsIfcq
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
Oh trust me. They will. That's the whole point… you think Chance would likely hold up in a bidding war against Spotify? ok. https://t.co/PsNJkGYQq2
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
Discovering talent on Soundcloud to me is like taking a chick on a date and she's on instagram all day. I'd rather deal with a person.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
And I'll tell you what's going to happen, it's going to the highest bidder or tanking indefinitely… neither option benefits indie artists.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
First of all, I'd put money into securing the service, and stop collecting user data outside of userIDS, then I would rebrand it. https://t.co/tiX89agR3M
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
After that, I would integrate a Creative Commons liscense for independent labels to seek liscense from its users on a person to person basis
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
From there, indie artists can then continue to use the platform without being buried by "sponsored content" from whore mongering labels
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
Uploaded content can still be screened by most "published music" algos to prevent users from uploading someone's published works. https://t.co/c7EYEFd2cf
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
Well there's the rub. A free service is good and great, but data services and hosting isn't free… so you have to get creative there. https://t.co/3IzkqQvH7d
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
I think you could provide a SoundCloud-like environment by involving label investments, agency subscriptions…
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
Has no one ever thought of charging the major labels to use the site as a bespoke / staffed music resource for new acts? Okay.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
Like fuckin charge Spotify to have liscense to the users catalogues on liscense to rebroadcast music. They can pay artists and site fees.
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
In summary, sure. I could turn the SoundCloud shitshow around with a decent team. But why fix someone else's fuckup after paying for it?
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
It might have been worth pointing out that sc is a Berlin based company and they manage to dodge a ton of US copyright laws… but ☕️🐸
— dead mow cinco (@deadmau5) July 14, 2017
