Music-sharing startup SoundCloud is reportedly raising $150m in new funding round, which makes its entry into the billion-dollar club, joining Snapchat and Uber.
Following the funding round, the valuation of the company is expected to top $1.2bn.
The latest issue comes ahead of inking licensing deals with the key record labels and to compete with rivals including Spotify, which raised $250m in 2013, and Beats Music, now owned by Apple.
Further, the music streaming service reportedly attracts over 175 million unique listeners every month, while 12 hours worth of audio are being uploaded by content developers per minute, reports the Wall Street Journal.
The platform is also used by major record labels including Vivendi’s Universal Music Group, Sony’s Sony Music Entertainment to promote their records and explore new talent.
Last month, Warner Music Group became the first major label to join SoundCloud by signing a deal to licence its music, allowing revenue to be generated via the audio sharing start-up.
In May 2014, Twitter planned to acquire SoundCloud, which is considered to be ‘YouTube’ for audio, while later dropped plans.
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The online audio service enables users to upload, record, promote and share their originally-developed sounds.
