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After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

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Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#51
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dear lord, no. That feature is not ever anything but annoying.

I have actively spent a good amount of my free time finding or maintaining chrome addons to block that garbage. It's the most inane and vacuous product feature I've come across and that's ignoring that it used to be so badly optimised that changing the comment caused a noticeable browser slow down

On the other hand, it's really useful to know that DragonSlayer69 thinks 0:41 of this song kicks ass.

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#52

It's a huge shame that SoundCloud is likely dying, because large segments of the music industry and literally entire genres of music are solely on SoundCloud. This may sound hyperbolic, but I feel like them shutting down would be the "burning of the Library of Alexandria" of 21st century music

>"This may sound hyperbolic, but I feel like them shutting down would be the "burning of the Library of Alexandria" of 21st century music" Except that all the original content still exists and could be made available somewhere else.

could

won't

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you think that employees stick around because the CEO/leadership says "we've got this new direction we are super excited about" and they would bail if they got "nothing... has created a viable business"? That is, are the employees who stick around happy to stick their heads in the sand as long as the leadership throws out the "we're excited" bone? I would prefer the honesty about the hail mary and I would think mo…

> Do you think that employees stick around because the CEO/leadership says "we've got this new direction we are super excited about" and they would bail if they got "nothing... has created a viable business"? That is, are the employees who stick around happy to stick their heads in the sand as long as the leadership throws out the "we're excited" bone? I think you underestimate the capacity for people to delude thems…

The capacity for self-delusion is indeed great, but in my experience, the only people deluding themselves in a situation like that is management thinking they are successfully saving face. Which is really what it's about.

Employees know what's up. The people who just lost their job are plunged into chaos regardless, and the ones who are still part of the ride are now wondering when they'll be next. If management has shown they will keep up appearances right up until it becomes untenable, that teaches employees a very destructive lesson: you won't have any clue you might lose your job until it's already a done deal. That doesn't create peace of mind, it creates paranoia.

Worse is when such a restructuring is paired with lofty visions of how the new strategy is going to work out in 6 months or a year, often presented in a very long and painful meeting. All anyone really wants to know is what is going to happen next: how are the next few weeks going to play out, now that a bunch of people are no longer here, and everyone else has to pick up the slack regardless?

That's why you should respect people who are actually honest with you. Being given the information you need to plan for the future is far more important than pretending you don't need to.

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#55

It's a huge shame that SoundCloud is likely dying, because large segments of the music industry and literally entire genres of music are solely on SoundCloud. This may sound hyperbolic, but I feel like them shutting down would be the "burning of the Library of Alexandria" of 21st century music

As another mentioned, the Alexandria analogy is best applied to what.cd being shut down last year. Here's an article describing it.

https://qz.com/840661/what-cd-is-gone-a-eulogy-for-the-great...

I wasn't ever a member, but it's clear to me that an immense body of knowledge was lost when it was shut down. Much more so than SoundCloud shutting down, unfortunate as that may be.

edit: anyone who was familiar, how did the categorization and documentation of what.cd compare to Discogs now? I find Discogs invaluable and immensely useful, but it certainly doesn't have the rigorous QC that what.cd had. Anyone can edit entries, and it's not infrequently that I encounter something incorrect.

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#56
post #15

I thought Soundcloud would truly become the 'Youtube of Audio'. But it seems to be trying to do too many things. Right now, there is no place on the internet where I could search a keyword and find relevant podcasts about a topic. Why can't Soundcloud do that? Just be the Youtube of podcasts, leave the music part to others.

Curious...why doesn't fit the bill? Not a podcast listener, so maybe it's not as simple as searching for music.

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#57
post #36
post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Largely already happened previously with MP3.com Not to say "we" couldn't do better but there's always been a huge amount of content, music and otherwise, from amateurs and mostly amateurs in particular that isn't preserved in any systematic way.

MP3.com and SoundCloud are not as comparable. SoundCloud has really re-defined how new music is released and how new artists promote their music.

> SoundCloud has really re-defined how new music is released and how new artists promote their music.

For promotion Soundcloud undoubtly serves its purpose, but actually releasing the music has to happen somewhere else. And in my opinion the actual re-defining service in that regard is Bandcamp. After all, you can't buy music on Soundcloud, can you?

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#58

It's a huge shame that SoundCloud is likely dying, because large segments of the music industry and literally entire genres of music are solely on SoundCloud. This may sound hyperbolic, but I feel like them shutting down would be the "burning of the Library of Alexandria" of 21st century music

I almost feel like they should go non-profit a la wikipedia.

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#59
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have actively spent a good amount of my free time finding or maintaining chrome addons to block that garbage. It's the most inane and vacuous product feature I've come across and that's ignoring that it used to be so badly optimised that changing the comment caused a noticeable browser slow down

On the other hand, it's really useful to know that DragonSlayer69 thinks 0:41 of this song kicks ass.

If you're a producer or DJ, it actually is incredibly useful.

Re: After big layoffs SoundCloud founder says its strategy is to ‘take back control’

#60
I am still waiting for some words from Fred Wilson, one of their loudest VCs. After he was worshipping SoundCloud in so many posts and glorifying the future of 'sound' for (too) many years I'd like to hear an update. A VC should not just hype a company when he invested but also comment on tough times.

Fred, what happened? What did you tell your LPs? Bad luck? Let's gamble on the blockchain now?

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