Presenting their fan-based royalty system.
SoundCloud has announced a new royalty distribution system with which it aims to help smaller artists to receive more money for the reproductions of their music. This way, a listener’s subscription or advertising revenue goes directly to the artists they listen to. This new implementation will apply from April 1st to independent artists, that is, those who have not signed with the three main labels, Sony, Universal, and Warner.
With this system, the streaming platform distinguishes itself from other competitors that distribute all the income among the artists based on the number of total reproductions together. That is, if a user only listened to the same artist, the money spent on the platform, instead of being distributed among all the artists based on their total reproductions, income would go exclusively to that artist to whom they dedicate their listening. In this way, each artist receives the money that their songs actually generate in relation to their fans and not to the rest of the artists on the platform.
‘Many in the industry have wanted this for years. We are excited to be the ones to bring this to market to better support independent artists. SoundCloud is in a unique position. to deliver this transformative new model due to the powerful connection between artists and fans that takes place on our platform. As the only direct-to-consumer music streaming platform and service company for first-time artists, the launch of fan-driven royalties represents a significant move in SoundCloud’s strategic direction to elevate, grow and create new opportunities directly with independent artists’, SoundCloud CEO Michael Weissman commented about the new system.
To be eligible for this program, artists must be subscribed to the Premier Program of the Pro Unlimited plan, or be Repost By Soundcloud subscribers or Repost Select members. You have more information about how the program works here.
