In the past, musicians who wanted to share their tracks online might have used MySpace Music. But SoundCloud, a popular audio-sharing service, is steadily gaining traction as a way for musicians to post their songs and for fans to discover them.
The company is announcing on Wednesday that it is hitting a milestone: 5 million users.
Alex Ljung, co-founder and chief executive of the company, said 4 million of those had signed up in the last year. He attributed the recent growth of SoundCloud, which has been running since late 2008, to the wide variety of content on the site that extends beyond popular music.
“At first, we were focusing on professional musicians,” said Mr. Ljung. “But we’re building a sound platform that’s not just about music.”
It’s not uncommon to find everything on SoundCloud from the latest mixtapes from local DC-area DJs to the newest song from Beyoncé. In addition, several big-name artists like Moby and the Foo Fighters have released new songs through the service.
SoundCloud, which is accessible via the Web as well as through iOS and Android devices, is free for anyone to use, and the company offers a paid, premium version for the heaviest users.
Over the last few years, said Mr. Ljung, the catalog of sounds and recordings shared through SoundCloud has expanded to include podcasts, personal updates, audiobooks, birdsong and even financial reports.
“People share photos through Flickr and videos through YouTube, but sound hasn’t had a similar moment,” he said.
SoundCloud’s recent momentum, he said, also stems from an explosion in applications and services that make it easier for anyone to record, mix and tinker with music on their smartphones, tablets and home DJ setups.
“It’s approaching the simplicity of taking a photo,” he said.
Earlier this year, the company raised $10 million in a Series B round of financing from Index Ventures and Union Square Ventures to expand the business development arm of the company. The company, which has primarily been based in Berlin, recently opened an office in San Francisco.
The next step, Mr. Ljung said, is to broaden partnerships and the ways that people view the service as more than a place to upload new songs and mixes.
“On the music side, people know they can get audio, but we need the outreach to let universities know they can upload their lectures, to let politicians upload their speeches and news outlets to share broadcasts,” said Mr. Ljung. “That’s our next move.”