I still fail to see how you need 200 people to run a CRUD app that streams audio. Or, at least, I fail to see how you would need that many people if you had a small team of computer nerds that knew how things work. Given the job market seems to be skewing more towards bootcamp grads, and given the general paucity of practical intelligence that I seem to encounter from businesspeople, maybe you're right on that one.
And of course Soundcloud wouldn't consider a business relationship that lets customers block acquisitions! Nobody would! That's why there needs to be a way for people to block it anyway.
That said, my earliest uploads are 6+ years old, and I had an account prior, so I think I have been around for at least part of what could be considered "humble beginnings".
And for the record I have never had an issue over their need to charge for premium accounts. That's fine. It was a bit bullshit when they switched to their "casette tape" model, as it fucks over the DJs in the crowd who use SC for hosting hourlong+ sets. I am not advocating for Soundcloud being completely free and 100% available to all -- you are right, it wouldn't survive.
The problem is that once SC was acquired, their tone shifted. SC slowly grew to be this place that was about more than indie artists posting their work -- SC started targeting big fish (like everyone else, sigh), and attracting large volumes of new users. The larger user pool has been slowly diluting what was once a relatively tightly packed (and very communal feeling) community of artists. You could write an artist and actually expect an answer from them! All this has gone away in the years SC has grown considerably.
SC should follow the model of DeviantArt, or Craigslist. Pick you niche, and dominate the shit out of it. Charge money only where absolutely necessary, from the subset of your customers most likely to pay, and do it in a way that supports the rest of the business.