Satellite radio giant SiriusXM announced Tuesday that it has invested a whopping $75 million to acquire a minor stake in music streaming platform SoundCloud. Along with the acquisition of stocks, SiriusXM will have two seats on SoundCloud’s board of directors, per the agreement. SoundCloud plans to use the extra cash to enhance its existing services, as well as to continue development.
SiriusXM’s investment in SoundCloud continues the radio company’s acquisition of streaming platforms. SiriusXM owns music discovery platform Pandora, and Pandora already has a working relationship with SoundCloud. But the new investments allow SoundCloud to directly tap into Pandora’s sales and data, according to Billboard.
SoundCloud’s CEO Kerry Trainor hopes the new investments will continue the platform’s “evolution of music culture.” “We have an exciting roadmap focused on deepening the connections between creators and listeners that fuel creator discovery, career growth and the evolution of music culture on SoundCloud,” Trainor said in a statement. “We’ve built a great relationship with SiriusXM through our highly successful Pandora ad sales agreement, and their investment gives us added capital flexibility to accelerate our vision and take advantage of strategic opportunities as they arise.”
Jim Meyer, CEO of SiriusXM, echoed Trainor’s excitement. “SoundCloud’s unique platform serves a vital role in today’s music ecosystem where new artists are discovered and build their fan base, and established artists experiment and connect directly with their fans in highly effective ways. We admire SoundCloud’s loyal and growing audience, its offering for creators, and its reputation and popularity in global music communities. We believe this is another opportunity to continue creating value for SiriusXM stockholders by investing in expanding digital audio platforms.”
