Further Reading SoundCloud has lost over $70M in 2 years, board cites “material uncertainties” announced Thursday that it would be closing its San Francisco and London offices—firing 173 employees, or around 40 percent of its staff.

The Berlin-based company has been struggling for years: it reported losses of more than €51 million ($58.1 million) in 2015—losses that have steadily grown since 2010.

In January 2017 financial statements, the company said the losses "give rise to a material uncertainty about the Group's ability to continue as a going concern."

As Ars reported nearly 18 months ago, the audio social network has been the darling of independent producers and DJs worldwide who use it to share and comment on each other’s work. But like some startups, it has struggled to turn its massive user base into meaningful revenue. As a "freemium" service, most people use the site without paying.

“By reducing our costs and continuing our revenue growth, we’re on our path to profitability and in control of SoundCloud’s independent future,” Alex Ljung, the company’s CEO, said in a Thursday blog post.