SoundCloud is moving on up with its ‘Next’ version [LeWeb]

Things are looking good for audio startup SoundCloud. Just a few months ago, the founder and CEO of the company told the world at LeWeb London that he hoped to make the web more emotional through sound. Today Alexander Ljung returned to the LeWeb stage (this time in Paris) with some big news and announcements.

According to Ljung, users are now uploading up to 10 hours of audio every minute with a reach of eight percent of the internet population. It seems the Berlin and San Francisco-based startup is well on its way to achieving its mission of becoming the “YouTube of audio”.

Ljung says that the service has hit 180-million users a month and is sporting a brand new design with the launch of its “Next” version after testing in open Beta for the last few months.

Here are a few of the new features that Ljung says users can expect in the new version:

• Explore — Users will be able to browse through all audio by category, making it easier to discover new and interesting content.
• Search — This feature has been rebuilt to help users gain easier access to content and, according to Ljung, there’s a new algorithm for SoundCloud’s search, called DiscoRank.
• Related sounds — A push on recommendation, now all sounds will show related sounds giving users the opportunity to listen to sounds they might like.

Mobile is the future of the service, says the CEO. Updated version of the mobile apps will roll out later this week, offering repost support, improved search and better user experience updates for iOS and Android.

SoundCloud is currently funded by Doughty Hanson, Union Square Ventures, Index Ventures, Kleiner Perkins and GGV Capital to the tune of US$63.3-million.