SoundCloud unveils new "for artists" initiative with direct monetization and fan communication for paying artists

SoundCloud is bringing a "fan-powered" monetization system and a new analytics and fan interaction platform to it's "SoundCloud Next" subscribers. Here is everything you need to know:

What's new

1. SoundCloud has rebranded its premium subscription for artists to SoundCloud Next. It starts at $2.50/month
2. Next artists will receive SoundCloud royalty payouts based on the direct listenership of their fans. This should drastically increase artist payout
3. SoundCloud is releasing a new dashboard to see monetization, distribution, and promotional tools all in one place.
4. SoundCloud wants artists to be able to focus on core fans with these tools

What's not new

1. SoundCloud's subscription allows artists to publish songs to Spotify, Apple Music, etc

What's not to like

1. In this announcement, SoundCloud says "We believe that what’s next isn’t determined by algorithms", but they bought AI company Musiio (a music hit finding algorithm) a few months earlier.

While direct royalty payments are a great step in the right direction, I would caution artists against switching to SoundCloud if they don't already have an audience there. SoundCloud's royalty system is only going to benefit people who have established fanbases on the platform already.... Overall, SoundCloud Next is a great service for artists who have not published anything yet, and a helpful upgrade for people already using SoundClouds publishing platform
- Tyler Mansmann @ The Music Debrief

SoundCloud has recruited Tracy Chan, former Product Director at Spotify who spearheaded Spotify for Artists and Head of Music at Twitch, to create SoundCloud for Artists. The platform is a rebranding and expansion of their previous efforts of moving into the music publishing sphere. The new initiative includes a redesigned artist dashboard with access to more key information all in one place. See below:

For $2.50/month, SoundCloud Next subscribers can publish music to major streaming platforms, but the real killer feature of the SoundCloud for artists initiative is the ability to monetize on SoundCloud with "Fan powered royalties". This means that you are paid directly based on your fans' listening habits instead. For instance, if a SoundCloud Go+ subscriber were to listen to only your music, you would receive their entire subscription value minus SoundCloud's cut. This could mean 1 fan could net you $1-5+ in a month instead of $0.05. This should encourage SoundCloud artists to focus on their core audience.

My Take:

While direct royalty payments are a great step in the right direction, I would caution artists against switching to SoundCloud if they don't already have an audience there. SoundCloud's royalty system is only going to benefit people who have established strong fanbases on the platform already. Furthermore, unless you plan on republishing all your other tracks, the new dashboard will not give you proper readouts on non-SoundCloud royalties. Overall, SoundCloud next is a great service for artists who have not published anything yet, and a helpful upgrade for people already using SoundCloud's publishing platform

Read the full announcement at: https://community.soundcloud.com/playbook-articles/introducing-the-new-dashboard-on-soundcloud-for-artists