SiriusXM Invests $75M In Soundcloud

SiriusXM has made a $75 million minority investment in SoundCloud.

The streamer is already partnered with SiriusXM owned Pandora for ad sales. SoundCloud and Pandora’s combined U.S. audience of more than 100 million unique listeners makes it the largest digital audio advertising marketplace.

The SoundCloud board is expanding to include two directors from SiriusXM.

Just a few years ago SoundCloud was running out of cash. But new management has breathed life into the streamer which has shown solid revenue growth in recent quarters.

Today’s investment is being touted as an extension of the strong ad sales partnership. But with Pandora steadily loosing listeners to on demand streaming and other outlets, it’s not hard to imagine further synergies ahead.

“SoundCloud’s three consecutive years of strong financial performance directly reflect the success of our creator-led growth strategy,” said Kerry Trainor, Chief Executive Officer, SoundCloud. “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. 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.”

“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,” said Jim Meyer, Chief Executive Officer of SiriusXM. “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.”

The Raine Group served as financial advisor to SoundCloud, and Morrison & Foerster as its legal counsel. Allen & Company LLC served as financial advisor to SiriusXM, and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP as its legal counsel.