In the second half of 2016 a number of reports linked Spotify with a big-money move to take control of Soundcloud, as music's 'streaming wars' heat up.

However, this deal failed to transpire. The asking price was believed to be close to $1bn.

SoundCloud co-founders Eric Wahlforss, left, and Alex Ljung / PA

There are fresh reports today that the company could now sell at a lower price and that Google is emerging as the party most likely to buy the streaming platform.

Music Business Worldwide reports that industry sources have indicated that it could now sell for closer to $500m.

All three surviving major music labels (Universal, Sony and Warner) have stakes in the company which hosts DJ mixes, podcasts and music from small labels and unsigned acts. Universal owns that largest share which is estimated to be close to 4%.

SoundCloud features an extremely attractive user interface and a distinctive media player which shows audio's sound-wave as it plays.

The company has never made a profit - it has launched a premium service for €9.99 which allows users to download content. It also has a limited ad business.

It raised $100m in June of last year and was then valued at more than €620m