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The Correlation Between Social Media and Record Sales

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Before the turn of the century, when an artist recorded a song, you had to buy the music before you got to listen to it at will. The more record sales, the more successful the artist and the music was. People loved buying records; there was the vinyl LP, the cassette tape, the compact-disc and then the evolution of mp3s. While before you have to have a special player to hear the record you bought, today things are very different. Now you can just log on to social media or streaming sites and listen to the newest tunes.

But is there a connection between social media popularity and a track or album’s final sales? Check out the following graphs from hypebot.com to see the correlation between the two works:

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DJs React to Donald Trump Winning US Presidency

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Last night the US Presidential election delivered an unexpected result: Donald Trump will be the 45th president of the United States, a historic victory for outsiders that represents a stunning repudiation of Washington’s political establishment for some, but a win for hatred, prejudice, ignorance and misogynism for others.

The naturally more left-wing faction of dance music’s industry took to social media to express their thoughts on the news. Most were obviously shocked and appalled, while others dejected and sad, making predictions for a bleak four years of politics ahead of us. Others decided to focus on music, sending a message that together and united we are above Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, and any other politician running or holding office:

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Is SoundCloud Really Worth $1 Billion?

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SoundCloud money

Following news last month that Twitter reached an agreement with SoundCloud for an investment of $70 million, it is now being reported that the music streaming company is seeking a buyer for an estimated $1 billion.

When the Twitter cash infusion story broke mid-June, experts believed that the funding valued SoundCloud at about $700 million — the same value that investors placed on the company in 2014 when it raised $60 million. According to Bloomberg, however, SoundCloud is now looking to sell for $1 billion.

The publication cites “people familiar with the matter,” affirming that SoundCloud’s investors and founders are exploring ways to reach a sale. The business news outlet states that other sources have confirmed SoundCloud’s interest in finding a buyer, reporting that the music company has been having difficulties finding someone willing to pay $1 billion for the business although talks of a sale have been ongoing now for some time.

Is the streaming platform really worth $1 billion and will they find a buyer willing to match that evaluation? The company reported $44 million losses for 2014, specifying that “in the three years from 2012-2014, SoundCloud lost almost €75m – but only brought in €37m in income.”

A SoundCloud representative declined to comment.

Twitter Is Investing $70 Million Into SoundCloud

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Twitter SoundCloud

Although Twitter pulled out of a deal to buy SoundCloud in 2014, it is now reported that the social network giant has invested $70 million into the music streaming platform.

When discussing the investment deal, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stated: “Earlier this year we made an investment in SoundCloud through Twitter Ventures to help support some of our efforts with creators. They’ve been great partners of ours over the years and their community-supported approach mirrors ours in many ways.”

This follows Twitter’s announcement that SoundCloud will now appear in and stream via Twitter Moments thanks to a deal struck in April. The move aims to allow curators to build specific playlists for specific tweets.

There is no public information that discusses the $70 million cash infusion at this time, although a statement from a SoundCloud spokesperson reads: “We can confirm that Twitter has made an investment in SoundCloud. Both companies facilitate and inspire contemporary culture to happen in real time while reaching millions of people around the world.

“This investment will enable SoundCloud to remain focused on building value for creators and listeners alike, and to continue the global rollout of many company initiatives such as our recently launched subscription service, SoundCloud Go.”

It is estimated that this funding round values SoundCloud at about $700 million — the same value that investors placed on the company in 2014, when it raised $60 million.

Source: Recode

SoundCloud Revenues Dip As Costs Increase; Negotiations With Majors At Impasse; Partnership Formed With Twitter

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Twitter Aut

SoundCloud is losing money faster as it grows. While the popular music sharing and streaming service based in Berlin posted a turnover of $14.1 million in 2013 (a 40% increase from the previous year’s revenues), its operating loss in the period more than doubled to $29.2 million in 2013 from $15.8 million in 2012.

“We are in a phase of growing SoundCloud into the market-leading platform for listening to, creating and sharing sound,” the company notes in its annual filings. “This has necessitated investment in technology, headcount and marketing. Our overhead base has increased faster than our revenues.”

The company is also at a deadlock at negotiations with Sony, Universal, and Warner over royalties for unauthorized uploads. “Deals with labels have been complex because they are about more than about advertising alongside content hosted and consumed on SoundCloud. There is also the issue of paying out royalties for licensed music that gets listened to on SoundCloud.”

However, SoundCloud and social media giant Twitter  launched today a feature enabling content creators to utilize Twitter “Audiocards” to deliver music right into their followers’ Twitter timelines on iOS and Android by hitting a play button within the Twitter app. Audiocards for the time being are exclusive to Twitter’s mobile platforms and not yet available on the desktop.

Sources: TechCrunch; hypebot