Spotify in talks to buy Soundcloud

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Spotify is looking to consolidate its subscriber base and increase the amount of new music on its service by absorbing SoundCloud's user base. However, there is no word yet on how much Spotify is willing to pay for the company.

According to the Financial Times, Spotify is in "advanced talks" to purchase music streaming website SoundCloud.

SoundCloud's strengths lie in its active community and the ease with which new artists can upload music to the service. However, in spite of its 200 million users and 135 million tracks, the service has never made a profit.

Spotify apparently had talks with the company last spring about an acquisition, but eventually rejected the deal due to the asking price.

The Financial Times' sources say that SoundCloud's biggest challenge was its position as a yet another mid-tier subscription service, and with SoundCloud Go - a $9.99 subscription service priced identically to Spotify and Apple Music - the company "lost its best chance of independent success".

This news comes after Apple denied being in talks with Tidal to purchase the streaming service, seemingly deciding to focus on Apple Music which has been updated with the release of iOS 10. Tidal has lost nearly $30m since Jay Z purchased it in 2015.

MORE: Apple Music review

Adam Smith

Adam was a staff writer for What Hi-Fi?, reviewing consumer gadgets for online and print publication, as well as researching and producing features and advice pieces on new technology in the hi-fi industry. He has since worked for PC Mag as a contributing editor and is now a science and technology reporter for The Independent.