Soundcloud Launches Lower Priced Subscription Service

Struggling music service Soundcloud is introducing a new, $4.99 version of its music subscription offering, hoping the lower price will entice more folks to sign up.

According to USAToday, the mid-tier service, SoundCloud Go, offers 120 million songs, no ads and the ability to listen offline. The original, higher priced service, SoundCloud Go Plus, is $9.99, and has 150 million songs to listen to.

SoundCloud co-founder Alex Ljung says the difference between the music selection on both services is "nuanced." Some artists, like Chance the Rapper, don't mind being on both tiers, while signer Adele is only available on the more expensive service.

"The way to think about Plus, is it’s the ultimate music sub package," says Ljung, "with 150 million tracks, much more than any other service."

Apple Music says it has 40 million songs in its library, to 30 million songs on Spotify. Apple Music has 20 million paying subscribers to 40 million for Spotify. SoundCloud launched Go in March, but Ljung declined to offer numbers, beyond that SoundCloud has 175 million registered users.

Meanwhile, Ljung addressed January headlines that suggested SoundCloud could run out of cash this year and potentially be forced to shut down. "We’re not closing down this year," he said. "Absolutely not."