Jun 19, 2026 · 43 min · 14 segments
When the labels own the music, how does a disruptor even get in the door? Ex-SoundCloud SVP Sylvain Grande on a rare disruptor's dilemma: when the incumbents own the product, you don't beat them…
Sylvain GrandeGuest
Neil WilksHostChris MillerHost
Yeah, look, I think everybody talks about tech penetrating all sectors and not being a sector in itself, and I, I see, uh, a bit the evolution I had over my career in the same way.
I started in so-called business, right, in corporate strategy, and then did business developments and fell into, uh, product, which was a very, uh, nascent discipline, including in the US, and I had the chance-- SoundCloud was not my first pure product experience.
I had several before, but I always linked product and PNL management, monetization from start or developing an existing business plans or business unit.
And Sylvain, where was SoundCloud at at that point in time, just in case some listeners don't know?
I think, look, SoundCloud was, I think, was known and almost understood and positioned as a, as an audio creator first platform, right? Clearly not as a, as a music streaming consumer-focused platform.
And the core product was really about enabling creators and especially DJs, producers, and a few others, but it started really f- with a very strong kind of DJ electro music angle to publish and upload audio to the web.
So, and at the time, and share it, right? But it was a creator first platform, and so the value proposition was, look, it's, it's kind of unlicensed.
So I think the first thing is that CDs still were a declining but important share.
Paid, paid downloads was the kind of new kid on the block, uh, that was an established model from a few years back.
And so streaming was the new kid on the block that has not yet kind of established itself to replace or to augment paid downloads.
Yeah, look, I think everybody talks about tech penetrating all sectors and not being a sector in itself, and I, I see, uh, a bit the evolution I had over my career in the same way.
I started in so-called business, right, in corporate strategy, and then did business developments and fell into, uh, product, which was a very, uh, nascent discipline, including in the US, and I had the chance-- SoundCloud was not my first pure product experience.
I had several before, but I always linked product and PNL management, monetization from start or developing an existing business plans or business unit.
And Sylvain, where was SoundCloud at at that point in time, just in case some listeners don't know?
I think, look, SoundCloud was, I think, was known and almost understood and positioned as a, as an audio creator first platform, right? Clearly not as a, as a music streaming consumer-focused platform.
And the core product was really about enabling creators and especially DJs, producers, and a few others, but it started really f- with a very strong kind of DJ electro music angle to publish and upload audio to the web.
So, and at the time, and share it, right? But it was a creator first platform, and so the value proposition was, look, it's, it's kind of unlicensed.
So I think the first thing is that CDs still were a declining but important share.
Paid, paid downloads was the kind of new kid on the block, uh, that was an established model from a few years back.
And so streaming was the new kid on the block that has not yet kind of established itself to replace or to augment paid downloads.
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