SoundCloud's Collapse
&gt;&quot;In November 2014, SoundCloud closed a deal with Warner Music Group, giving the label an undisclosed cut of revenue from ads, a 3%–5% stake in the company and protection against past copyright infringement from the label.&quot;<p>This sounds like terms dictated by the Mob. It&#x27;s quite telling that the deal also conferred ownership on a content holder in order to be able to license and pay handsomely for their content. This is only one of the big 4 they were negotiating with too. By the time they get done negotiation with the other 3 they would have likely given up 15% of the company. Note the big 4 all have stakes in Spotify as well[1].<p>At any rate I think this should have been a sign that they were going down the wrong path. Propping up these labels and hitching your wagon to them, only to have to constantly renegotiate your deal with them every couple of years seems contra to a platform that gave artists direct access to music fans without the middle man.<p>[1] <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.swedishwire.com&#x2F;jobs&#x2F;680-record-labels-part-owner-of-spotify" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.swedishwire.com&#x2F;jobs&#x2F;680-record-labels-part-owner...</a>