In the highly competitive digital music streaming industry, Spotify continues to give upstart rival Apple (AAPL) a run for its money.
And now the Swedish group is reportedly looking to acquire SoundCloud, of Germany, to gain a service akin to an audio version of Youtube. The Financial Times reported early talks between the two companies but noted it was unclear how Spotify would pay for the purchase and that the deal could still fail. The report cited "people briefed on the discussions."
Spotify could not be reached immediately. SoundCloud said it does not comment on speculation.
Founded in Stockholm in 2006, Spotify offers music, podcasts, and videos online from a wide range of record labels and media companies. It is headquartered in London.
Meanwhile, Berlin-based SoundCloud offers a platform for users to record, upload, and share sounds online. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud was also originally based in Stockholm.
The report comes as Apple belatedly attacks the music streaming market and seeks to grab audiences away from the Swedish early entrant. Paid subscribers for Apple Music, launched in June 2015, reached 17 million, CEO Tim Cook announced this month. Spotify, which has seen subscriber numbers expand from 500,000 to 40 million over the six years, added 10 million subscribers in the last six months alone. Amazon (AMZN) is also reportedly planning to launch a streaming service, while Alphabet (GOOGL) already offers Google Play.
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