SoundCloud Ltd. is finally getting into line to appease record labels. But being like everyone else in the streaming music business may not solve the Berlin-based startup's financial challenges.
On Tuesday, SoundCloud launched a long-awaited premium service, SoundCloud Go, that's strikingly similar to rival offerings already out there. This is a big change for the company, which rose to prominence by being different. It's known as the YouTube of audio tracks thanks to a huge library of free, exclusive remixes, b-sides and DJ sets that pulled in far more listeners than Spotify, Apple Music, or Pandora.