Led · Series B · Oct 2021

Audio Up produces original scripted audio entertainment and has created a slate of shows featuring marquee names across music, Hollywood and publishing. The company was established in 2020 and has a back catalog that includes Halloween in Hell, The Ballad of Uncle Drank, Bedtime Stories of the Ingleside Inn, Sonic Leap and Make It Up as We Go. Audio Up announced a creative programming and strategic agreement with SiriusXM under which it will develop new original scripted podcasts for SiriusXM platforms. The agreement gives SiriusXM an exclusive first-look for new Audio Up podcast concepts and exclusive rights to manage and sell advertising inventory for any podcast produced for SiriusXM. A variety of Audio Up’s existing originals will be represented across the SXM app, Pandora and Stitcher as part of the partnership. Jared Gutstadt is the CEO and founder, and SiriusXM’s Andrew Moss is joining Audio Up’s board.

Led · Equity · Feb 2020

SoundCloud is a creator-led music streaming platform often described as the “YouTube of audio,” hosting over 200 million tracks from roughly 25 million creators with listeners in 190 countries. The company emphasizes tools and features that deepen connections between creators and listeners to fuel discovery and career growth. It maintains an ad partnership with Pandora (owned by SiriusXM), which resells SoundCloud’s inventory on its programmatic platform. SoundCloud reached a forward revenue run-rate of $200 million in Q4 2019 and had previously raised $404 million before this round. The new funding is intended for product development and launching new services to accelerate its roadmap. Founded in Berlin in 2007, SoundCloud has undergone restructurings and leadership changes but continues to expand its creator and listener base. SoundCloud operates a streaming service built around user-uploaded tracks, remixes, and DJ sets, with a catalog the company says exceeds 170 million tracks. The company is positioning itself as an "anti-Spotify," emphasizing a $5 tier of ad-free access to independent music, legally grey remixes and DJ sets, and new commerce tools to help artists earn beyond royalties. After laying off 40% of its staff and securing $169 million in emergency funding, SoundCloud has runway to execute product and positioning changes. Its first product push is a home-screen redesign that prioritizes curated and personalized discovery over a social feed. The refreshed home highlights featured playlists (e.g., Hip Hop Supreme, In The Mix), a Discover-Weekly-style personalized list called The Upload, algorithmic recommendations like More Of What You Like and Artists You Should Know, plus charts and editorial collections such as New & Hot, Top 50, Fresh Pressed, SoundCloud Next Wave, and Playback. CEO Kerry Trainor frames the change as a way to "elevate and celebrate the incredible talent" on the platform and make SoundCloud more accessible to new users while improving discovery for longtime listeners. Soundcloud is a platform where creators post and share music and other audio, hosting around 150 million tracks and reaching approximately 175 million listeners across free and paid tiers. The company is unprofitable; its February report covering fiscal 2015 showed losses of €51.22 million on revenues of €21.1 million. A filing and company statements project revenue rising to €52.75 million this year, and Soundcloud said it expects 2.5x year-over-year growth in 2017. The annual report noted theoretical runway until December 2017 but warned that risks could cause the company to run out of cash earlier. The company plans to use new financing to build more technology, hire personnel and build a financially sustainable platform. Soundcloud was founded by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss out of Berlin, has offices in New York, and its business is registered in the UK. SoundCloud is an audio streaming platform used by many emerging artists to self-promote. Its core product includes on-demand audio streaming and a recently launched $9.99 monthly subscription, SoundCloud Go, which the company is rolling out globally. The company has been signing licensing deals with music labels to support the subscription offering and to drum up interest. Despite its popularity, SoundCloud has struggled to convert that attention into sustainable revenue and earlier said it needed a cash infusion to stay alive. Twitter’s venture arm made a $70 million investment in SoundCloud at a $700 million valuation, reuniting the two firms roughly two years after a botched buyout attempt. SoundCloud said the investment will enable it to remain focused on building value for creators and listeners and to continue the global rollout of company initiatives. SoundCloud is a music streaming platform and community known for remixes and yet-unheard artists. The company has roughly 150 million registered users and a growing younger audience, according to Bloomberg and comScore. In November it launched a dedicated app for creators and has recently debuted an ad-free subscription service to pursue monetization. SoundCloud has not disclosed revenue since 2013, when it reported $14M in revenue and a $29M loss. To support its growth, the company secured a flexible credit line with Tennenbaum Capital Partners early in 2015. Competition from Apple, Google, Amazon, Pandora and Spotify is intense, but SoundCloud positions itself as a differentiated product in the streaming ecosystem.