Twitter has taken a bite out of music streaming service SoundCloud. The social media player has invested US$70 million in the music service. A spokesperson confirmed the news to Marketing sharing a statement from CEO Jack Dorsey who said: “Earlier this year we made an investment in SoundCloud through Twitter Ventures to help support some of our efforts with creators. They've been great partners of ours over the years and their community-supported approach mirrors ours in many ways.” According to media reports, the investment is part of a funding initiative which is expected to be in the range of $100 million, which would value SoundCloud at about $700 million, the Re/code report said. In a conversation with Marketing, Ben Crawford, Implementation Director at IPG Mediabrands said while much media industry airtime has been given to the moving image with the emergence of OTT and online video viewing in developed markets, the “battle for the ears” has been less prominent. "Twitter’s investment focuses on a strong online platform that provides alternatives to traditional radio in providing listeners audio content that is consumer centric in that pulled rather than pushed," he said adding: Twitter’s platform which focuses on snackable content offers a strong opportunity for Soundcloud to integrate audio clips at scale. This provides advertisers new opportunities to extend their reach from traditional channels such as radio in a more targeted way. "The battle for the ears will be one to watch moving forward as online and technology platforms continue to integrate into traditional spaces – such as the car stereo," he added.
Twitter has announced a $70m investment in music streaming service, SoundCloud. Reports say the investment forms part of a funding initiative in the region of $100m, placing SoundCloud's valuation at about $700m. Ben Crawford, implementation director at IPG Mediabrands, said that the "battle for the ears" had been overshadowed in the race for video, but Twitter's investment focuses on a strong alternative to traditional radio, offering consumer-centric audio content. Advertisers will gain new opportunities beyond traditional radio with a more targeted reach.