DJs, producers and content outlets felt the effects of SoundCloud's great purge of 2015.  On Thursday, a purge of copyrighted material resulted in music files being removed from accounts and accounts being taken down or suspended.  SoundCloud did a sweeping purge a few days ago; removing content that did not belong 100 percent to account holders.  It was a situation where music was removed based on an automated algorithm.  Notices were emailed to account holders after the fact.

This is the latest step in the Berlin-based streaming platform's attempts at monetization.  SoundCloud has added advertisements and has begun siding with labels in removing any content that is deemed copyrighted by another label or artist.  The purge was automated and resulted in the removal of songs containing unlicensed samples, bootlegged remixes, and unlicensed tracks.  The platform which once catered to emerging electronic artists has now alienated a large number of its supporters and left them wondering which platform to migrate to.  Material that is suspected to be copyrighted will continue to be removed intermittently.  SoundCloud remains one of the most popular streaming platforms for artists wishing to upload and share original material.