NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SoundCloud and
SiriusXM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) announced today that the
leading U.S. audio entertainment company, SiriusXM, has invested
$75 million in SoundCloud, the
world's largest open audio platform. SoundCloud will use this
additional investment to accelerate its product development and
enhance the services that fuel its global community of creators and
listeners.
"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 minority investment follows the highly successful ad sales
relationship between SoundCloud and Pandora, a subsidiary of
SiriusXM, which started in 2019. The agreement enables advertisers
and brands to purchase SoundCloud's U.S. ad inventory directly
through Pandora, leveraging the company's direct sales
capabilities, targeting data, and audio programmatic platform.
Together, SoundCloud and Pandora's combined U.S. audience offering
reaches more than 100 million unique listeners, creating the
largest digital audio advertising marketplace.
SoundCloud is the global accelerator for music culture and has
grown its business through the introduction of new products,
services and partnerships that empower audio creators and listener
discovery. The creator-driven platform continues to be the first
place creators share their audio with the world and the first place
listeners discover what's next in music. Many of the most
buzzed-about artists shaping music today – including Billie Eilish,
Post Malone, Bad Bunny, Khalid, Lil
Tecca, and more – started their careers first on
SoundCloud.
In 2019, SoundCloud set all-time highs for platform engagement,
creators heard, subscribers and revenue. The company exited the
year with its strongest financial performance in its history –
accelerating to a $200 million
forward revenue run-rate for the first time in the fourth quarter
2019.
Under the terms of the agreement, SiriusXM has purchased
$75 million of securities for a
minority investment, and the SoundCloud Board of Directors will
expand to include two individuals designated by SiriusXM.
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.
About SoundCloud
SoundCloud is the world's largest
open audio platform, powered by a connected community of
creators,
listeners, and curators on the pulse of what's new, now and next
in culture. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud empowers the world's audio
creators with the best tools, services, and resources to build and
grow their careers. With over 200 million tracks from 25 million
creators heard in 190 countries, what's next in music is first on
SoundCloud.
About SiriusXM
Sirius XM Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI)
is the leading audio entertainment company in the U.S., and the
premier programmer and platform for subscription and digital
advertising-supported audio products. Pandora, a subsidiary of
SiriusXM, is the largest ad-supported audio entertainment streaming
service in the U.S. SiriusXM and Pandora together reach more than
100 million people each month with their audio products. SiriusXM,
through Sirius XM Canada Holdings Inc., also offers satellite radio
and audio entertainment in Canada.
In addition to its audio entertainment businesses, SiriusXM offers
connected vehicle services to automakers and directly to consumers
through aftermarket devices. For more about SiriusXM, please go to:
www.siriusxm.com.
Contacts:
For SiriusXM
Media:
Patrick Reilly
212-901-6646
patrick.reilly@siriusxm.com
Investors:
Hooper Stevens
212-901-6718
hooper.stevens@siriusxm.com
For SoundCloud
Media:
Sheri Ladner
press@soundcloud.com
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SOURCE Sirius XM Holdings Inc.