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Chance the Rapper Hints at Plan to Save SoundCloud

Photo by Frederick M. Brown

Following a number of dire reports regarding SoundCloud's financial situation, Chance the Rapper on Thursday hinted at a plan to help the streaming service.

"I'm working on the SoundCloud thing," the emcee cryptically tweeted this afternoon, just hours after earning his first Emmy nomination for his Run-D.M.C. parody on Saturday Night Live.

It's unclear what Chance might have in mind, but the timing of his comment suggests he is aware of not only SoundCloud's ongoing struggles but its recent decline.

The company laid off 40% of its staff (173 employees) last week. And while co-founder and CEO Alex Ljung promised the cuts would ensure the company's "path to long-term, independent success," TechCrunch reported yesterday SoundCloud only has enough funds to make it "until Q4," which is now less than 50 days away.

A SoundCloud spokesperson has since responded to the leaked information, claiming the company is "fully funded" into the fourth quarter, but noted they are currently in talks with potential investors. 

At press time, Chance had not shared anything beyond his tweet and his rep was not immediately available for comment. But as a SoundCloud success story who is famously independent, he has clearly made it a point to give back and make wise investments, as evidenced by his recent mission to help fund Chicago schools.

It's also worth noting that while SoundCloud might not be a behemoth quite like YouTube or a have a massive paid subscriber count like Spotify, it boasted 175 million users as of last year, which would surely be of value to a number of third parties, in spite of—or perhaps, because of—the recent cost-cutting measures.