Soundcloud page for Post Malone's "Rockstar."
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SoundCloud has dismissed "inaccurate" claims that it has secretly decreased its sound quality, Billboard reports. Twitter users, including music producer Direct, suggested this week that the sound on the streaming platform had switched from 128 kbps MP3 down to 64 kbps. However, reached for comment by Billboard, a rep for the company said this was not the case, explaining that the change is down to regular audio testing.
"We always appreciate feedback, but these reports are inaccurate," a SoundCloud spokesperson said in a statement. "SoundCloud has not altered its approach to audio quality. We have been using the Opus codec (among others) since 2016, and we regularly test different combinations of encoding and streaming to offer listeners a quality experience on any device. Furthermore, we store all content from creators at its originally uploaded quality level so we can continually adapt to advances in encoding and playback."
Last year SoundCloud secured a "significant investment" from two different companies, allowing the music streaming platform to continue operations. In July 2017 SoundCloud laid off 40 percent of its employees and closed offices in San Francisco and London.