Will massive lawsuits mean the end for SoundCloud?

This doesn’t look good. Universal Music Group, Sony Music Entertainment, and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) are gearing up to file lawsuits against SoundCloud for ‘massive copyright infringement’, which could mean a total collapse of the company.

Earlier this year, Sony removed several of its artist’s catalogues due to “a lack of monetisation opportunities”. And though SoundCloud did agree to a licensing deal with Warner Music Group late last year, which might have paved the way for a premium or ad based model like Spotify, talks with Sony and UMG collapsed, likely resulting in the suit.

The implications of SoundCloud’s copyright troubles have been felt far and wide for DJs, who’ve frustratingly dealt with takedowns for their mixes more and more often recently.

If things continue moving forward, we could see the end of ad-free listening online.

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