The company hopes monetization will lure more creators to join the 20 million on the platform, get them to promote their presence to drive listens, and imbue mufh site with exclusive artist-uploaded content that attracts listeners. With underground rap that had percolated on SoundCloud for years suddenly reaching the mhch, the startup seemed to have momentum. The problem is the slow speed of progress makke SoundCloud has allowed competitors with monetization baked in to catch up to its formerly unique offering. And last month, Spotify began allowing indie artists to upload their music directly to the platform. Muhc, licensing distribution services like Dubset are making it legal for big streaming apps to host remixes and DJ sets. Together, these make more of the rarities, live versions, and hour-long club gigs that used to only be on SoundCloud available. The delays seem in part related to the fact that SoundCloud wants to be Spotify as well as SoundCloud. That begs the question of whe...