“It would be a wonderful day,” was how Lyor Cohen described reports that Twitter is exploring the possibility of acquiring music streaming site SoundCloud. Of course the esteemed music industry vet, who once helmed Def Jam and Warner Music and recently opened his own music shingle under the name 300, isn’t exactly objective.
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Cohen announced in February at Midem that his 300 label had entered into a partnership with Twitter to help with discovering talent, a deal which he today explained is still very active. “We’re on the phone all the time,” Cohen said of Twitter’s Bob “Moz” Moczydlowsky, head of music at Twitter. “He is an absolute music junkie who is ridiculously savvy on engagement and how Twitter can help artists get signed and once they’re signed develop their careers.”
Though 300 has yet to sign any artists from its Twitter partnership, when asked if he expects to sign anyone through the Twitter deal Cohen said emphatically: “One-hundred percent.”
SoundCloud was founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, and has raised $123.3 million in four funding rounds since its launch. The service had 40 million users as of last year. Twitter claims 255 million monthly users.
The music executive said he knew nothing of a Twitter-SoundCloud deal, but thinks the music streaming service is an “amazing and fantastic product.” In fact, he said, he had met with the company’s cofounder Alex Ljung when he was in Berlin. “Alex is a compelling young person who is unencumbered by the past,” he said. “He has huge ambition and is also passionate about supporting artists.” Something Cohen himself is also known for.