The Beat of SoundCloud: Key Statistics and Trends
As one of the top music streaming platforms, SoundCloud has captured the ears and hearts of over 200 million monthly active users. Since launching in 2007, it has provided artists big and small with an accessible way to share their sounds while creating a uniquely diverse musical community.
Let‘s break down the key SoundCloud statistics and find out what they reveal about one of music‘s most influential online hubs in recent years.
The SoundCloud Story: Humble Origins to Audio Empire
SoundCloud began simply – two Swedish creators, Alex Ljung and Eric Wahlforss wanted an easy way to share audio creations. But this modest idea would soon birth a bustling, worldwide community.
Some key milestones:
- 2007 – SoundCloud founded in Stockholm by Ljung and Wahlforss
- 2008 – Public beta launch
- 2010 – Official launch
- 2011 – Reaches over 10 million users
- 2016 – Hits revenue of $52 million
- 2021 – Surpasses 250 million tracks with over 25 million creators
While it hasn‘t always been smooth sailing (more on financial turmoil later), SoundCloud has undeniably risen to be a top force in streaming music.
By The Numbers: Key SoundCloud User Statistics
Now on to the juice – let‘s dig into some need-to-know stats on SoundCloud‘s global reach and userbase.
Over 175 Million Listeners
With over 175 million monthly active users, SoundCloud caters to a mighty musical community. To put it into perspective, if SoundCloud users formed a country, they would amount to the 9th most populous country in the world.
To cover such a vast group, SoundCloud supports listening across a variety of platforms and devices from iOS, Android, desktop, Sonos smart speakers, to even Tesla touch screens.
20 Million Uploaders and Counting
Impressively, 1 in 10 users are not just listeners but also uploaders. This means over 20 million users actively post their audio creations to SoundCloud as a platform to share their sounds and find their audience.
From bedroom hobbyists to budding professionals, these 20 million uploaders are what gives the platform its distinct, boundary-pushing style. Compared to the tighter curation of Spotify or Apple Music, SoundCloud offers a diverse range of emerging and experimental artists.
Youth Movement: Strong Millennial and Gen Z Base
The majority of SoundCloud users are under 35, meaning millennials and Gen Z form a significant chunk. Over 35% of listeners fall into the 18-34 demographic.
This youth predominance gives the platform an ear to the ground in surfacing rising talents – often before they breakthrough into the mainstream.
Listening Behaviour: How People Engage on SoundCloud
Now that we know who‘s tuned into SoundCloud, let‘s break down how they listen and engage on the platform.
Over 500 Million Hours Streamed Monthly
According to SoundCloud, users stream over 500 million hours of audio every month. That‘s equivalent to streaming 57,000 years worth of music!
To put it another way, if you started listening the day the first Homo Sapiens emerged, you‘d only just finish streaming today. Safe to say SoundCloud supplies an endless feast for hungry ears.
250 Million Tracks and Counting
Having started with only 150k tracks, SoundCloud‘s audio library has seen mammoth growth.
It now hosts over 250 million tracks – an increase of over 150 million from last year. This makes it competitive even with Spotify‘s library of over 70 million.
The difference lies not just in quantity but diversity. Whereas Spotify focuses on mainstream commercial tracks, you‘ll find way more experimental cuts on SoundCloud.
Hip Hop Reigns Supreme
While the variety is wide, hip hop dominates as the most popular genre. It captures 25.6% of plays and helps propel rap artists like Post Malone to fame. Pop follows second at 17.1% then Dance/Electronic at 15.2%.
However niche styles have found thriving pockets too – from Ambient to Dancehall to Deep House. Rather than having to conform to traditional genre labels, creators have more freedom to mix and blend.
Financial Standing: Investments, Revenue and Downsizing
SoundCloud‘s impact on music culture hasn‘t always aligned with business success. Let‘s get into the dollars and cents behind the platform.
Over $500 Million in Investments
While the platform has struggled to turn a profit, investors see serious potential. Over half a billion has poured into the platform from investors like Union Square Ventures, Doughty Hanson and Temasek Holdings.
This has allowed them to keep expanding even when finances looked dire in 2017 (see next section). However it also creates pressures to deliver returns – a challenging balancing act.
Major Layoffs in 2017 But Revenue Now at $200 Million
2017 marked a rocky chapter for SoundCloud. With financial losses mounting, they had to layoff 40% of staff and close many offices.
However as the latest numbers show, SoundCloud has bounced back – hard. Revenues have more than doubled from $102 million in 2017 to $200 million in 2021.
Cost cutting paired with strong membership growth put them back on track. While the platform is still not profitable, they have bought more runway to find a sustainable business model.
SoundCloud vs The Streaming Giants
While SoundCloud looms large in music culture and audio innovation, it still has minnow status in terms of subscribers. Let‘s see how it compares to the two streaming titans – Spotify and Apple Music.
Spotify Leads in Subscribers
As of 2022, Spotify dominates streaming with 183 million paying members globally. Apple Music lands second place with 78 million.
And SoundCloud? Their paid subscriber tally sits at just 7 million.
So while SoundCloud offers artists unique access to a large, youthful and highly engaged audience, it doesn‘t translate into paid memberships, at least not yet. Their focus lies more on creators rather than consumers.
Unique Experience vs Purely Commercial
The key to SoundCloud‘s differentiation lies in experience and ethos – not just numbers.
The platform maintains its competitive edge by offering artists and fans something more experimental, diverse and boundary-pushing than the mainstream music experience.
Its focus on serving creators rather than just commercial outcomes is both its biggest weakness and strength. SoundCloud provides indispensable cultural value even if it doesn‘t top charts or swell revenues.
The SoundCloud Sound: Here to Stay
While finances remain an ongoing balancing act, SoundCloud has undoubtedly made an imprint on music culture that won‘t wash away easily.
Some key ingredients that will likely see SoundCloud continue its amplification of audio innovation:
Committed Creator Community – SoundCloud offers artists at all levels access and agency unavailable in closed, corporate streaming ecosystems
Youth Energy – Millennial and Gen Z users drive much of the activity which will likely persist as they age into tomorrow‘s trendsetters
Audio Evolution – Music and audio creation tools continue advancing, calling for an accessible platform for sharing the results
The vibrancy and intimacy SoundCloud provides between artist and audience can‘t be forged overnight or bought simply by having the biggest budget.
Rather than solely chasing the charts, the platform has doubled down on its most precious asset – the ears and emotions of audio creators worldwide.
By providing space for sounds outside the mainstream, tracks too adventurous for radio playlists, its unique flavour of music sharing will continue enticing millions from bedroom dreamers to global megastars.
Final Listen: Key SoundCloud Stats
We‘ve covered a whole symphony of SoundCloud statistics – from founders to fans, uploads to layoffs.
Let‘s end by revisiting the most notable numbers showing SoundCloud‘s sweeping reach:
- 250+ million tracks hosted
- Over 175 million monthly active users
- 20+ million creator contributors
- 500+ million listening hours streamed every month
- Majority userbase between 18-34 years old
- Hip hop leads as #1 genre with over 25% of plays
Like a resilient rockstar, SoundCloud has powered through challenges while continuing to drive music culture forward since day one.
With an irreplaceable hive of youthful, world-spanning creators and listeners buzzing within it – SoundCloud‘s beat looks likely to play on for years to come.
