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SoundCloud CEO stands down, replaced by current President
By Chris Cooke | Published on Wednesday 2 December 2020
SoundCloud CEO Kerry Trainor has announced that he will stand down from that role next month. The company’s current President Michael Weissman will then be promoted to the top job.
Trainor and Weissman became CEO and COO of SoundCloud respectively back in 2017 after a significant new investment in the business brought an end to months of speculation that the digital firm was about to go under. The duo had previously worked together at video platform Vimeo.
Prior to 2017, SoundCloud had been increasingly pushing into the consumer-facing streaming market, with ad sales and consumer subscriptions becoming new revenue streams alongside income from selling services to creators. Those moves came after SoundCloud agreed licensing deals with the music industry, which had become increasingly tetchy about the unlicensed music on the firm’s platform.
However, despite having a significant catalogue of music and sizeable userbase, going head-to-head with the likes Spotify and Apple Music – who both have much deeper pockets – was very challenging indeed. And while those consumer-facing products are still part of the SoundCloud business, since Trainor and Weissman took over the company has refocussed its efforts of selling services to creators.
Confirming that he was now standing down as CEO, but would remain on SoundCloud’s board, Trainor said: “Leading this platform and incredible global team through these transformational years has been an immense privilege. It is a great joy to name – and confirm with the SoundCloud board – my partner and friend, Mike Weissman, as my successor. I look forward to continuing to work with Mike and the team as a member of the board”.
Commenting on the latest executive rejig, Soundcloud founder Alexander Ljung, who moved from CEO to Chair of the board back in 2017, added: “It’s been over thirteen years since we founded SoundCloud and Kerry and Mike’s leadership has been transformative in many ways. SoundCloud has always been one of the world’s most important cultural platforms, but the last three years have shown that it is also a fantastic business. I am excited to watch Mike lead SoundCloud’s next chapter and I am THRILLED Kerry will remain engaged as a member of our board”.
